The Sequels Have It!

I’m sure you’ve experienced it too - you see a movie and it’s AMAZING. Then you hear about a sequel and you are just not sure. Will they ruin it (Highlander 2 was an embarrassment)? Will they take the story in a completely different direction (Aliens 2 was good, but in a completely different way than the original Alien)? Will it be blah, which is just not great (All the movies after the original Matrix were kind of a waste).

Well, we saw four (!) sequels in June and enjoyed all four of them, though some were much better than others. Note that a sequel is defined as a work that continues the story or develops the theme of an earlier one.* The set of sequels below continue/develop the story of the previous work(s) in very different ways.

Here’s the quadfecta:

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025)

Really good, was worth seeing on the big screen.  It was a solid end cap to the series - a little long, but managed to keep my attention for most of it (which is really impressive considering I have the attention span of an 8 year old). It was nice how they brought in a bunch of people/story lines from previous installments. As always, great stunt scenes - very nerve wracking.

Dina Meter: 🍿 🥷 📖 🎥

Wonka (2023)

The old Charlie and The Chocolate Factory movie was one of my favorites as a kid. The remake wasn’t quite as magical for me. It took me a couple of years to see this “sequel” as a result. I didn’t realize it was about Wonka’s early life. It was great! Magical, even. I loved the old timey musical aspects, the story, and it felt to me like a fitting extension of the original movie I loved. Chalamet did a great job, as did the rest of the cast. Two thumbs up.

Dina Meter: 🍿 😍 🎼 📖

Accountant 2 (2025)

Was a lot of fun, but not as good as the first movie. The chemistry between the brothers was pretty good, but the story was weak. I did enjoy the extension of the Justine character’s support of The Accountant’s activities. Fewer fight scenes than I would have liked.

Dina Meter: 🍿 👍

Ballerina (2025)

We managed to see this one in a theater also. It’s part of the John Wick universe and helps flesh out life in the Ruska Roma. Ana de Armas did a really nice job as the Ballerina, but again, the plot was pretty weak. There were some really good fight scenes. The John Wick cameo made no sense - I can’t say more, but I think you’ll know. I can summarize by saying I enjoyed watching the movie but would not say it was good.

Dina Meter: 🍿 🥷 🎥 👍

* NOTE: Craig once again disputes something I’ve written. He thinks my calling some of the above sequels is weak. I say, he is weak.