…to make:
21 Movie Sequels that took far too long to make
Have to admit, I’m fascinated with the list. For your convenience the list is presented in order and, therefore, the last movie on the list was the sequel that took the longest to make vis a vis the original.
I won’t spoil which film it is, but I’ll offer a couple of hints: That particular film’s sequel appeared a whopping 28 years after the original was released in 1982 and, even more interesting, actually featured the lead actors from the original film, though their roles were smaller in the sequel (gotta have young faces as the leads, I suppose).
I reviewed the sequel a while back and didn’t like it very much but, let’s face it, other than the original’s then-magnificent effects, the first movie wasn’t all that great to begin with either.
By the way, I agree with the inclusion of Superman Returns on this list. It appeared 26 years after the last, Christopher Reeve starring feature, essentially ignored the events of Superman III and IV, and had a new actor (Brandon Routh) play the role of Superman. This last bit, of course and very sadly, had to be done.
Thinking about Superman Returns fills me with frustration. I really loved Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner’s take on Superman and still feel, despite its age and now dated effects, the first Superman film is the best superhero movie ever made. Clearly director Bryan Singer (X-Men, Usual Suspects) also felt a great deal of love for that film and the proof of this fact is that Superman Returns is essentially a remake of the original Superman.
Unfortunately, it is a pale, dull, though admittedly reverent echo and could never be much more than that. The question I had after seeing it was: Why see Superman Returns when I can see the far better Superman? Talk about unnecessary!
In the end, Superman Returns could -and should!- have been a great “new” film and instead, because director Bryan Singer decided to make “his” version of the original Superman, it turned out to be a plodding remake.
What a missed opportunity!