Without the Bad we Wouldn't Have the Great

Is Godfather Part II an overall better movie than the Godfather? We can debate this for another 35 years. However we could not if there was no Godfather Part II.

In the fall issue of Substance, a Mt. Sac Journalism publication, Charlye Dehart published “Honey…No Sloppy Seconds: Why the Hollywood industry should stop recycling at the box office”. Dehart emotionally claims there should be a no sequels in film and that we should be demanding more creativity from the industry. Dehart supports his claims with personal opinions on several Disney movies, other children films and Horror movie sequels. The article concludes with a Dehart’s list of classic movies without sequels and mentions several creditable sources which have a top 10 list; not directly mentioned but we are lead to believe the sources top 10 list are free of sequels.

Sequels, though often redundant and stretches of the original screen play, are a necessary in the film industry. Such films as Rocky 2, Rambo 2, The Godfather Part II, and all of the Star Wars movies would not have been produced if the film industry had not “recycled” and expanded the original.

Dehart uses the Cinderella 2 as an example of how the film industry lacks on creativity and loves money. Although I agree that the film industry does love money, there is a relevant need for a Cinderella 2. As a parent I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of a child’s imagination. I have often been plagued with the questions: what happens next? Do they get married, have babies? By creating sequels for children’s films, we are allowing our children to continue the fantasy; to be captivated by the images and emerge themselves into the story.

Similar to children, many adults, including myself, embrace and idolize characters of the new movie classics. We want to see more, to see the persona of the character develop further. This creates a need to further the story line and expand on the characters. Therefore, in order to have Academy Award winning films such as the Godfather Part II, which explore the life of Don Vito and furthers the Godfather persona, sequels need to be produced. However the film industry needs to be cautious when producing sequels to avoid the statement, “it wasn’t as good as the original.”

So the real issue at hand is not whether or sequels should be produced but when should they be produced.