Andrew Gill

Husband. Father. Friend. Follower of Jesus. Runner. Reader. That's Me.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Great Movies that Needed (and Received) no Sequel

One benefit of working overnight that I left unmentioned in my previous post is that we watch a lot of
movies.  Granted, many of these are forgettable Lifetime network movies whose plots generally run something like, "_______ just married _______ without realizing he/she is a serial killer/fugitive/addict/alien and, oh my goodness, what will _______do when he/she finds out?"

On occasion, one of my co-workers will bring in a dvd or TBS will air a classic movie that helps the time pass like a spoonful of sugar in my medicine. Sunday night, said movie was E.T. the Extraterrestrial. I first saw ET with my family at the old Showcase Cinemas on Bardstown Road in 1982. I loved it then. I love it now. Even when interrupted with commercials. (Did you know ET's face was  modeled after a Pug, Einstein and Carl Sandburg?)

Later, I was thinking about ET and it occurred to me that, unlike so many other movies that have been  huge box office hits (it was, at one time, the #1 money maker of all time), there'd been no sequel. I heard rumors that in the planned sequel ET takes Elliot with him into space, but, for whatever reason Steven Stielberg  allowed it to stand on its own.

Some movies have been sequeled to death. Rocky, for instance, spoofed in this scene from Airplane 2. I'm excited for the new Star Wars trilogy because, well...Star Wars (duh) and J.J. Abrams. But, after Episodes I & II, even die hard Star Wars fans became a bit leery of any more of these movies.

I made a list of other great movies that might have been expected to have part 2, 3, 4, etc. I also surfed Google to compare my list to others that have been posted. Here's my list of top 5 movies that needed and received no sequel:


  1. The Breakfast Club. There's a part of me that wants to know if Claire forgot about John on Monday. There's a part of me that suspects I know the answer, and would rather not think about it. 
  2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I guess there was, sort of a sequel since they made a television show based on the movie. The only good thing to come out that was Jennifer Aniston's career. But, the movie was allowed to stand, leaving us to wonder what happens when Ferris goes back to school? What happens when Cameron's dad gets home? Why couldn't Ben Stein be my economics teacher (aside from the fact that I didn't take economics in high school)? 
  3. The Truman Show. This one really gets me. What happens when Truman walks out of Seahaven? Does he re-connect with Lauren/Sylvia? How does he adjust to life in the 'real' world?
  4. Forrest Gump.  One thing I like about this one is that when it's over, it feels like it's over. It seems Forrest and his son are going to have a good life together and, even though it doesn't play out in the movie or a sequel, we're ok with it.
  5. Inception. This sequel is actually in the works, so it probably doesn't count. But, from what I gather it's a whole new set of characters. Still, I want to know, is Cobb actually still asleep? Is he in limbo? Is he awake (so he succeeded?) Who knows? That's part of what makes this movie awesome. You don't really know. But, for those of us who like our stories tied up in neat, or at least comprehensible bows at the end, a sequel answering our questions would be great; and will not happen thanks to the genius of Christopher Nolan.
What great unsequeled movies would you add?

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