Alphabetical Movie – Lethal Weapon I, II & III
Some sequels are merely terrible. Other sequels are so awful, their name should not be spoken because their mere existence makes the rest of the franchise look bad.
When is the last time, for instance, that you had a meaningful conversation about Beverly Hills Cop III? What’s that? You didn’t even know there was a Beverly Hills Cop III? That’s because nobody ever talks about it.
It is easy to note that I watched three Lethal Weapon films when there are, in fact, four. The first three films are an exercise in increasing laziness that manages to be entertaining anway. Every one of them involves Murtaugh and Riggs stumbling across a major drug ring and bringing it down while Murtaugh continues to insist he is too old for this shit.
They add a new character in each film and if the character is successful, they add more in the next one. Joe Pesci is around just enough to be interesting in Lethal Weapon II, they give him a bigger role in Lethal Weapon III. Then they mix Renee Russo into the story in Lethal Weapon III.
And then comes the moment when they make the fatal decision to make Lethal Weapon IV and the whole thing goes to hell.
Alphabetical Movie – Legally Blonde
Some movies are so surprisingly good, you believe that the sequel simply can’t help but be good as well. In spite of all evidence that most sequels are not as good as the original movie, you simply feel that the charm of the original film will rub off on what is, at heart, an attempt to squeeze more cash out of a popular film.
One has to understand that nobody makes Friday the 13th, Part 34 thinking that they are about to add some heretofore missing depth to the franchise. They do it because they believe they will make more money off a stuntman in a hockey mask and a couple of oil barrels full of fake blood.
So when Legally Blonde II turned out to be a nearly unwatchable piece of trash, nobody should be surprised. As much as we might have thought that the artistic integrity of the original film would not be compromised, we all should have known that in all likelihood, Elle was going to have to screw shit up again before we were once again shown that she wasn’t just a pretty face. She was a bright young lady and a gifted legal mind.
I mean, we thought that at the end of the last movie but hey, that was law school. Being a real lawyer is totally different so it makes perfect sense the same thing would happen to the same girl. Two steps forward, one step back. Right?
Grail Diary 