It's an unavoidable fact: Hollywood makes sequels. They even make sequels to sequels. Those are called "threequels." And as everything Hollywood does, there's a pattern to how they're structured, sometimes good and sometimes awful. And just like with most movies, there's usually a pattern to the whole process, and the more and more franchises Hollywood makes, the more they're exploited and the easier they are to notice. The modern day sequel has been even more patterned with the advent of the trilogy. Now, three movies can follow that pattern. The first film of a franchise is usually pretty standard, whether it's The Godfather or Green Lantern. But just as the first film is usually patterned(and noticed for it's pattern after the sequel comes out), the sequel is just as patterned as the first film.I can pinpoint the birth of the modern day sequel to The Godfather Part II. It was the first major film to recognize in title that it was a sequel. Before this, Hollywood shied away from calling a sequel a sequel and giving it a numerical designation. The Godfather revitalized the film industry, making more money than a film had made in a long time. A sequel today would be a no-brainer, but back then it was sort of a risky idea. But with the success of the first film, Paramount felt like it was a good idea to directly associate the second film with it.
Soon there were other sequels and franchises popping up in the 70's and early 80's; French Connection II, Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones...Hollywood now wasn't just making sequels they were making franchises; film empires that could sustain themselves through not only film revenue but through other media and merchandise.
Enough film history. Let's look at the patterns that started way back then and are still being used today in sequels. First off, it should be noted that trilogies could be looked at as one long three part movie. With the first being Act One, the second being Act Two and the third being Act Three. The first act sets up the hero, sets up the world and the major problem, and ignites the hero on a wider adventure. The second act is the big ordeal the hero goes through, perhaps it is the hero's darkest hour or an unmasking where he learns who he really is and who his enemy really is. The third act sets up the final conflict and resolves the turmoil.
In franchises, the first film is usually some sort of origin, especially in super hero films. The hero comes to terms with who he is and begins his quest in the "New World." First films vary widely, usually following the same basic story structure, but the big difference is that at this point its not always knowable if the film will turn into a franchise.
Third films vary even more, but that can be attributed to other non-story elements. There's either years between films, a change in the writer or director or there's such a problem with tying everything together it gets too bogged down in the details. Examples include The Godfather Part III where it was almost twenty years between films, or X-Men 3 where there was a new director involved.
Now onto what's often described as the best film in the trilogy: "the second one."
The biggest and easiest trait to see in the sequel is the "our house is under invasion" or "they've gotten into our system" or in the case of the new G.I. Joe sequel the "they've destroyed our whole freaking team!." This provides the basic framework for the sequel, but each film does it in a different way, some more subtle like The Dark Knight, and some way too obvious like G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Here's some of the better examples. In the first Godfather film we see the rise of Michael Corleone into the role of the new Godfather. It's basically his origin story set at the end of his father's reign as the Godfather. By the end of the film Michael has not only attained that status, but also set himself up as the definitive power in organized crime. It appears as if no one could take him down. In the second film, as the first there are a few plots going on, and there's two that directly play into the sequel theme. One plays into the notion from the first film, Michael is so powerful he could not be brought down, except a power outside the realm of organized crime: the government. Michael and the family is under attack from a Congressional committee looking into his crime family. It looks as if he's going to be taken down by this bigger power, especially since the star witness is a member of the crime organization. Michael outwits the Feds by bringing the witness' brother from Italy in a statement that his brother would be in danger if he testified.
The other plot is that there is a mole somewhere in the organization that allowed an assassin access to the family compound. Literally, a sniper is within the family gates shooting into Michael's house, and the mole is the relative closest to him; his brother. His house is literally under attack. Oh and one of the other plots...Michael's wife had an abortion and she's leaving him.
The other plot is that there is a mole somewhere in the organization that allowed an assassin access to the family compound. Literally, a sniper is within the family gates shooting into Michael's house, and the mole is the relative closest to him; his brother. His house is literally under attack. Oh and one of the other plots...Michael's wife had an abortion and she's leaving him.
Here's a few more examples. X-Men 2 is about the government finding out about Professor X's secret school for mutants. They infiltrate the school, taking some of the student mutants and scattering the team.
One of the most classic sequels: Empire Strikes Back literally starts with the rebels base being invaded, scattering the rebels and our heroes. Toy Story 2 involves a plot to split up the heroes, changing their world, they're being invaded by the toy store owner. Back to the Future 2 involves Marty saving his own family from being ruined.
One other often used trait of the sequel is the internalization of conflict. In most of the films above there is also some internal conflict the hero struggles with concerning his new place(i.e. new powers, new station, new setting.)
In X-Men 2, that great internal struggle is placed on the shoulders of Wolverine, who basically carries the entire franchise anyway. In the sequel, Wolverine is struggling with his identity and who he really is. Through the plot of the film, he ends up discovering his dark past and what he was "supposed to be." But he rejects that and becomes a hero instead.
In Empire Strikes Back, we delve deeper into the feelings and emotions of the characters we came to know in the first film. Luke Skywalker goes on a journey to find Yoda and learn the ways of the force. Literally, he has to find the power within himself in the form of the force. As well, Han Solo and Princess Leia are internally discovering their real feelings, as they fight against the walls they've built up. And even as they finally build their relationship, a metaphor for unity, Darth Vadar and the Empire tear it down. Again, back to the idea that "our base is under attack."
In Back to the Future 2, Marty McFly no longer is trying to save his family's past, he's now saving their future in the opening segment of the movie. He comes literally face to face with himself(actually his son) and as the arch of his three film story goes, he begins to look internally at what his own demons are. Those demons and his internal conflicts, as is the case with most trilogies, don't get totally resolved until the third film, but it's the sequel where the hero begins looking internally at them.
Hollywood has gotten really good at making sequels. So good that they usually can hide the pattern when done well. And perhaps when not done so well the sequel doesn't turn out "as good as the first one." Iron Man 2 is a good example of a poorly structured sequel. At first it seemed to profess the traits of a good franchise sequel, Tony Stark was supposed to feel more of the weight of being a hero, there was a government investigation that was trying to take him down, and there was supposed to be a plot inspired by the comic book storyline of Tony's alcoholism being his real demon. But none of those storylines authentically stuck. The film got bogged down in the actual villain, Whiplash. The Whiplash story bookends the film, rather than a storyline dealing with something internal to Tony. The other villain is also an extremely external villain, Justin Hammer, is trying to destroy Iron Man from the outside. (It appears from the trailers that Iron Man 3 is taking on the persona of a usual sequel: Tony's house is literally destroyed, the villains are trying to make Tony weak, and there is a great amount of emphasis placed on Tony's personal struggles rather than struggles as the superhero Iron Man.)
The film I'd like to explore, and that brought this whole thesis to a head is Kung Fu Panda 2. I was extremely surprised by how well done this film was. It is not a perfect film, by the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses, and the pattern DreamWorks has drawn upon and the way they crafted it into this story is remarkable.
The film opens with a trope often employed in sequels, the reveal of the villain. This doesn't always work, Iron Man 2 uses it, but in this case it works quite well. It tells the tale of Lord Shen and how he came to be, which also leads to how Po came to his circumstance. Their stories become so intricate that for the film you almost can't tell one without the other. Po became the Dragon Warrior because of Shen, and Shen became a villain because of his fear of who Po would become. Even with the villain, it's internal.
The film then movies on with what seems like an average adventure for the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five; they rescue or attempt to rescue and subdue bandits raiding the Musician's Village. Of course, that ties in with the larger plot, and isn't just any adventure. This is where the movie could have turned into something for the straight to video bin. Their adventure is seen as ordinary. That may work for an episode of the Kung Fu Panda TV series, but for a movie it has to be epic and life or death.
But what the film does well is tie together Po's opening, learning the internal secrets of Kung Fu, and infuses that into every aspect of the plot and theme. In the first film, Kung Fu and Po becoming the Dragon Warrior was about becoming an external fighter. Po, the panda, was the only creature that could defeat Tai Lung, a tiger. Po defeats him externally, and Po is able to get to that point by learning to take his inner strength and make it external.
In the sequel, Po must take his external strength and internalize it. He slowly gets there on his journey of self discovery. That first reveals itself in the opening battle when Po has the flashback. It again happens when Po winds up where he was born and lived as a child. It's here, discovering his roots, that he first begins to internalize Kung Fu. In the final conflict, Po has internalized his power so much, that he's able to internalize any external force, including the great power that Shen has controlled; his canons.
It's interesting also to note the other part of the plot. Not only is Po fighting to save Kung Fu for himself, he's fighting to save all of Kung Fu. Kung Fu is LITERALLY under attack. Literally. That's greater than any base, or organization, he's saving an entire philosophy and way of life. A way of life that is actually internal. The Kung Fu Panda franchise was set up for this story and this setup. It would have been so easy to make another adventure. But the filmmakers finely crafted the story to provide just what the whole arc needed. Hollywood may know how to exploit things. But along the way that means they can make really good sequels.
In Empire Strikes Back, we delve deeper into the feelings and emotions of the characters we came to know in the first film. Luke Skywalker goes on a journey to find Yoda and learn the ways of the force. Literally, he has to find the power within himself in the form of the force. As well, Han Solo and Princess Leia are internally discovering their real feelings, as they fight against the walls they've built up. And even as they finally build their relationship, a metaphor for unity, Darth Vadar and the Empire tear it down. Again, back to the idea that "our base is under attack."
In Back to the Future 2, Marty McFly no longer is trying to save his family's past, he's now saving their future in the opening segment of the movie. He comes literally face to face with himself(actually his son) and as the arch of his three film story goes, he begins to look internally at what his own demons are. Those demons and his internal conflicts, as is the case with most trilogies, don't get totally resolved until the third film, but it's the sequel where the hero begins looking internally at them.
Hollywood has gotten really good at making sequels. So good that they usually can hide the pattern when done well. And perhaps when not done so well the sequel doesn't turn out "as good as the first one." Iron Man 2 is a good example of a poorly structured sequel. At first it seemed to profess the traits of a good franchise sequel, Tony Stark was supposed to feel more of the weight of being a hero, there was a government investigation that was trying to take him down, and there was supposed to be a plot inspired by the comic book storyline of Tony's alcoholism being his real demon. But none of those storylines authentically stuck. The film got bogged down in the actual villain, Whiplash. The Whiplash story bookends the film, rather than a storyline dealing with something internal to Tony. The other villain is also an extremely external villain, Justin Hammer, is trying to destroy Iron Man from the outside. (It appears from the trailers that Iron Man 3 is taking on the persona of a usual sequel: Tony's house is literally destroyed, the villains are trying to make Tony weak, and there is a great amount of emphasis placed on Tony's personal struggles rather than struggles as the superhero Iron Man.)
The film opens with a trope often employed in sequels, the reveal of the villain. This doesn't always work, Iron Man 2 uses it, but in this case it works quite well. It tells the tale of Lord Shen and how he came to be, which also leads to how Po came to his circumstance. Their stories become so intricate that for the film you almost can't tell one without the other. Po became the Dragon Warrior because of Shen, and Shen became a villain because of his fear of who Po would become. Even with the villain, it's internal.
The film then movies on with what seems like an average adventure for the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five; they rescue or attempt to rescue and subdue bandits raiding the Musician's Village. Of course, that ties in with the larger plot, and isn't just any adventure. This is where the movie could have turned into something for the straight to video bin. Their adventure is seen as ordinary. That may work for an episode of the Kung Fu Panda TV series, but for a movie it has to be epic and life or death.
But what the film does well is tie together Po's opening, learning the internal secrets of Kung Fu, and infuses that into every aspect of the plot and theme. In the first film, Kung Fu and Po becoming the Dragon Warrior was about becoming an external fighter. Po, the panda, was the only creature that could defeat Tai Lung, a tiger. Po defeats him externally, and Po is able to get to that point by learning to take his inner strength and make it external.
In the sequel, Po must take his external strength and internalize it. He slowly gets there on his journey of self discovery. That first reveals itself in the opening battle when Po has the flashback. It again happens when Po winds up where he was born and lived as a child. It's here, discovering his roots, that he first begins to internalize Kung Fu. In the final conflict, Po has internalized his power so much, that he's able to internalize any external force, including the great power that Shen has controlled; his canons.
It's interesting also to note the other part of the plot. Not only is Po fighting to save Kung Fu for himself, he's fighting to save all of Kung Fu. Kung Fu is LITERALLY under attack. Literally. That's greater than any base, or organization, he's saving an entire philosophy and way of life. A way of life that is actually internal. The Kung Fu Panda franchise was set up for this story and this setup. It would have been so easy to make another adventure. But the filmmakers finely crafted the story to provide just what the whole arc needed. Hollywood may know how to exploit things. But along the way that means they can make really good sequels.
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