This month, we asked our crack team to chew on movie sequels that got a lot of flak by critics and/or audiences upon release but ended up experiencing a redemption arc thanks to a cult fandom and newfound appreciation. So which sequels got the last laugh?

ZombieDog: The one movie I can think of that had a lot of ill will towards it was 1992’s Army of Darkness starring Bruce Campbell. What you have to understand about Army of Darkness is that it was the next movie in line after the genre defining Evil Dead 2 (1987). The trailers that came up before the movie clearly showed a more comedic and tone down follow-up. It was such a radical tone change that it almost felt like a new movie series.

Here’s the thing though: The first Evil Dead was more dark horror when compared to the second in the sequence. While I wouldn’t call it a dark comedy, it definitely had its own style in my mind and was one of the top horror movies ever made. For this alone, if there was any doubt as to the third installment, it was mostly because of the tonal change.

Flash forward to Army of Darkness’ release, I do remember watching at the time and feeling… not impressed. Over the years as I’ve rewatched it and learned more about its production, it has earned a place on my list of movies to be watched yearly.

I can only attribute this to a singular factor and that is Bruce Campbell. As an actor he is eminently watchable no matter what role he plays. I actually saw a lecture from him when I was in college, and it was standing room only in a ballroom of about 2000 people. He was mesmerizing and insanely quick-witted. I also read his biography which paints a very dark view of making B-movies in Hollywood. It’s impossible to talk about Bruce Campbell without also mentioning Sam Raimi. The two have been friends since they were kids and made movies in high school. Looking back, it’s clear to see that they were destined to follow this path for their entire lives. It’s a similar story with a lot of actors that got into theater early or music or whatever. For me though, it justifies why I spend my time watching him. He is, in no uncertain terms, charismatic.

I don’t believe movies age like wine. I believe that as we age movies, along with our other likes and dislikes, partially represent who we are. Even more than that though, movies can be linked to an experience we had while watching them, changing perspectives as we get older, or as simple as it just grows on you. In this particular case, I would say Army of Darkness fits all three categories. In the beginning I hated it for what it was. As time passed, I love it for what it is.

Sitting Duck: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It had the misfortune of coming out during the nadir of the relationship between George Lucas and the fanboys, with anything he was involved with receiving a kneejerk hostile reception. And they were ready and willing to rip it a new one.

Right off the bat, the absence of Nazis in the villain role chafed hinders something fierce. The replacement of occult shenanigans with pseudoscience tomfoolery like psychic powers and ultra-terrestrials was denounced as unacceptable. With Transformers still fresh in the public mind, the casting of Shia LaBeouf in a prominent role did not go over well. And of course there was the nuked fridge. Clearly, this was an abomination unworthy of the Indiana Jones label.

But… not really. As my associate Anthony pointed out in an earlier Roundtable, the original trilogy has always had its share of stupid moments that were the equal of the nuked fridge. But more important is how certain adjustments were necessary to fit the new time period. Unless you expected them to apply a reverse version of Comic Book Time, where the characters age but the years don’t advance.

Nazis weren’t really up for active villainy during the 1950s. Those lurking in South America were more concerned with not attracting the attention of Mossad. Meanwhile, the ones at the Sooper Sekrit Antarctic Base had the more pressing matter of keeping the air ducts clear of shoggoths. Really, the Soviets were the only viable option for the baddies. As for the science fiction malarkey, this too was in keeping with the Red Menace (whose atheist ideology had pretenses of utter devotion to Science!) and 1950s schlock films (with their focus on strange lights in the sky and the horrors of atomic radiation). Just be glad they didn’t include Ilya Ivanov’s rumored ape men. Though I personally think it would have been awesome.

LaBeouf I can take or leave, as I was never interested in checking out the live action Transformers movies and therefore don’t affect my opinion of him. But seeing as how filming had already begun when Transformers was released, recasting the role wouldn’t have been feasible at that stage even if they had wanted to.

All in all, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out a lot better than it had any right to. Keep that in mind as you sob in frustration over Dial of Destiny.

Justin: If there was a sequel that ever got an undeserved bad rap, it has to be Predator 2. People were pretty unkind to it when it released, and that sentiment got even more harsh when the nitpicky internet got its claws into it. The big disappointment was that Arnold wasn’t in it and the setting shifted to an urban jungle rather than a South American one.

Yet I’ve seen people coming around to Predator 2 in recent years, and I’m sincerely happy that this is happening because — and I say this without a trace of irony — I consider it the best film in the franchise and a masterful sequel. Flipping the script to take place in a hot warzone of a city and hand the lead role to a Lethal Weapon superstar is a great idea, yet this still retains the Predator formula: deadly gadgets, safari hunting, a quippy ensemble, and brutal R-rating action.

Not only did the original Predator actor Kevin Peter Hall reprise his role (the last time before his sad death in 1991), but Predator 2 is packed with an amazing cast, including Gary Busey, Bill Paxton, Robert Davi, Maria Conchita Alonso, and Adam Baldwin. The opening city street fight, the subway attack, and the finale aboard the predator’s ship all emerged as fine of setpieces as you could ever ask. I think this is a great example of how a sequel can adapt to a new setting and cast while still being very faithful to the spirit of the franchise — and there’s a growing fanbase that agrees with me.

Drake: OK, say what you want about The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. It’s a paper-thin plot slathered in a thick coating of neon and glitz. It’s ludicrous at best and laughingly brain-dead at worst. Lucas Black alternates between casual bewilderment and outright confusion in any given scene.

Yes, yes, and yes. It’s all true.

However, Tokyo Drift gave us all something that only one other film* before had gifted the world: A sequel title so inane that it could be used in conjunction with any other given film title for comedic effect.

Just think of what you can do with it. Sure, a sequel to Unforgiven might sound like a terrible idea… BUT! What if it’s called Unforgiven: Tokyo Drift? Yeah, I have your attention now, don’t I? Tired of John Wick sequels? Don’t tell me you wouldn’t be first in line for John Wick 5: Tokyo Drift. Or maybe you’re a horror movie fan? If so, Friday the 13th: Tokyo Drift is definitely going to be on your must-see list. And Godzilla: Tokyo Drift practically writes itself.

So, good reader, appreciate The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift not for what it is (that being a bad movie about making cars spin around corners), but for what it’s given us: the ability to imagine a world in which Richard Nixon and Carl Bernstein rub fenders and squeal their tires in All the President’s Men: Tokyo Drift.

*And I mean, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, of course.

Anthony: I have and will keep making the case that Nimród Antal’s Predators (2010) is one of the more underrated movie sequels ever. And it certainly is the absolute closest in tone, genre, and sheer quality to the 1987 original film that we got until Amber Midthunder showed up and blew our minds. The AVP movies were nothing short of shite for either franchises and the Shane Black reboot attempt from 2018, although admittedly fun, clearly didn’t know what it wanted to be and ended up all over the place.

The one thing Predators itself suffered from is timing. It was a pitch-perfect expansion to the original — but it happened 20 years too late. Had it been made before the atrocious AVP insanity, the franchise would have had much stronger legs to survive the Xenomorph encounter.

Just look at the pedigree in that film, starting with the bonkers cast: Adrien Brody ripped AF, Laurence Fishburne NOT doing a variation on Morpheus for once, Alice Braga being a badass, plus Machete himself, Mahershala Ali, Walton Goggins, ever Derek Friggin Mears playing the “classic” predator! Then you have Robert Rodriguez producing in full fanboy mode, and director Antall whose previous effort Kontroll is easily on of the most underrated indie efforts of the 2000s.

Yes, I know, I’m the guy who once said that Prey is the best sequel since T2 back in the 1990s, and I stand by that, because without Predators, Prey might not have been made at all. It showed what works and what doesn’t in that franchise, and allowed it to find itself a brand new direction to go in: back.