TRON: Legacy arrives in theaters Friday nearly three decades after the original TRON opened to mediocre business and lukewarm critical reception in the summer of '82.
This may seem an unlikely turn of events, but it's hardly the first time that a sequel has surfaced long after anyone expected it. Just a few months ago, Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas reunited after 23 years to continue the story of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Whether it's because an older movie has developed a devoted cult following, or a filmmaker gets the itch to revisit characters from an earlier film, or for no discernable reason whatsoever (was anyone really clamoring for The Sting II without Redford and Newman?), more than a few belated sequels have made their way to theaters over the years. Here are five of our favorites and five we could live without.
Five to rent
2010 (1984) -- Director Peter Hyams took a nuts-and-bolts approach to this follow-up to Stanley Kubrick's seminal mind-bender 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was probably his only real choice. Any attempt at replicating Kubrick's abstract visual poetry would inevitably result in embarrassing self-parody. Instead, Hyams crafted a more conventional sci-fi adventure that's better viewed as an adaption of Arthur C. Clarke's novel about a joint Soviet-American mission to Jupiter in search of the Discovery space station and its onboard computer HAL, rather than a continuation of the Kubrick classic. Despite the dated Cold War element, 2010 is a solid space opera, boasting impressive special effects and several well-executed suspense sequences.
The Color of Money (1986) -- Paul Newman received his first Oscar nomination for his role as pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson in 1962's The Hustler, but he didn't win the coveted Best Actor award until he reprised that role a quarter-century later. Tom Cruise's confident star turn, Richard Price's punchy script and Martin Scorsese's flashy direction all contributed to this sequel's success, but it's Newman's sardonic, seasoned performance that holds it together.
Texasville (1990) - Author Larry McMurtry is fond of catching up with his characters later in life, so when he returned to the small Texas town of his seminal 1966 novel The Last Picture Show for 1987's Texasville, it was only a matter of time before the cast and crew of the acclaimed film adaptation of Picture Show -- including director Peter Bogdanovich and stars Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and Timothy Bottoms -- reconvened in Archer City. Set during the oil bust of the mid-1980s, the sequel jettisons the black-and-white nostalgic glow of the original in favor of a more broadly comic, soap opera-ish tone, but it eventually settles into an enjoyably relaxed groove.
Saraband (2003) -- In 1973, legendary filmmaker Ingmar Bergman chronicled the disintegrating relationship between Marianne (Liv Ullmann) and Johan (Erland Josephson) in Scenes From a Marriage. Three decades later, Bergman reunited the long-divorced couple, and the result is anything but the sentimental, maudlin affair it might have been in other hands. Clear-eyed and tough-minded as always, Bergman illustrates how time doesn't necessarily heal all wounds, and how old hurts and resentments can be passed down through the generations.
Before Sunset (2004) -- Richard Linklater's real-time reunion of Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy), who spent one memorable night together in 1995's Before Sunrise, is perhaps the most unexpected sequel ever made. Nevertheless, the film works beautifully as a meditation on what might have been -- and still might be -- as the now older and wiser characters meet again in Paris nine years later. As the clock ticks away the waning minutes of their brief opportunity to reconnect, the film builds to a pitch-perfect epiphany alive with possibilities.
Five to miss
Psycho II (1983) -- Although it's certainly not the worst thing to ever happen to Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho -- that would be Gus Van Sant's pointless 1998 shot-for-shot remake starring Vince Vaughn -- this return to the scene of the crime has not held up well. Norman Bates is pronounced cured and released from the insane asylum, but no sooner has he returned to the house he shared with his mother than the murders begin again. Bates is a more sympathetic presence this time around, if only because too many people around him won't let him stay sane, but Anthony Perkins' twitchy performance is all this plodding revival show has going for it.
The Two Jakes (1990) -- It's hard to say exactly what went wrong with this long-delayed, much-anticipated second chapter in what was envisioned as a trilogy centered on Chinatown private eye J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson). Screenwriter Robert Towne was originally slated to direct, but when he left the project due to creative differences, Nicholson himself took over the helm. The result was a sluggish, dull mystery that seemed to take its cue from its star's torpid performance. To date, the third chapter has yet to materialize.
The Godfather: Part III (1990) -- The third time was most definitely not the charm for Francis Ford Coppola, who returned to the Corleone family saga after a 16-year absence. Casting his daughter Sofia as Michael Corleone's doomed offspring may have been the lightning rod for most of the criticism, but the movie's problems go deeper than that. Robert Duvall is sorely missed, and George Hamilton is nobody's idea of an adequate replacement. Worst of all, Al Pacino's hammy performance transforms Michael into a completely different character, diminishing a cinematic icon in the process.
Basic Instinct 2 (2006) -- The first Basic Instinct was no timeless classic, but it looks positively Hitchcockian compared to this laughably lurid "erotic thriller." Michael Douglas, who reprised his role as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, was wise to pass on this misguided flop. Sharon Stone was not so lucky, as her vampy author/possible serial killer Catherine Tramell works her fading charms on a Scotland Yard psychiatrist (bland David Morrissey). Equal parts cheese and sleaze, this unwanted comeback should have gone straight to late-night cable.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) -- For many years, it seemed that the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones series would never actually get made. After seeing this silly, uninspired outing, many fans of Harrison Ford's fedora-wearing, whip-cracking adventurer wished it hadn't been. Steven Spielberg's usual sure-handed touch is overwhelmed by George Lucas' CGI obsession, and the addition of Shia LaBeouf does nothing to liven up the tired chase scenes.
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