Rocky V (1990)
[5] If you can get past the fact that the Rocky series never should have lived to see a fifth entry, Rocky V may actually surprise you a little. I'm glad it doesn't retread the old narrative of every installment…
The Drowning Pool (1975)
[5] Paul Newman returns as private eye Lew Harper, hired by an ex-flame to solve a blackmail case involving adultery and oil-rich land. As with the previous Harper film, the stakes are never high enough and no one's quite worth…
Crocodile Dundee II (1988)
[5] In the first film, Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) was a fish out of water in New York. This time around, the action is transported largely to the Australian Outback, with Linda Kozlowski's character being more of the fish. Unfortunately,…
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
[7] Mel Gibson returns as the iconic Mad Max, joined by Tina Turner in a fun, villainous role. But the third film in the series is also the weakest, first signaled by the PG-13 rating, a ridiculous attempt to make…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
[5] This belated sequel gets by, for the most part, on good will and fond memories of the previous three installments. It's light on memorable action scenes and heavy on silliness (the CGI mokeys and gophers are really, really hard…
City of the Living Dead (1980)
[4] A priest's suicide triggers a zombie apocalypse in this loose sequel to Zombie (aka, Zombie 2), both directed by Lucio Fulci. The story here is silly and the movie takes a lot of detours. The dead priest opening the…
2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)
[4] Peter Hyams (Capricorn One, The Relic) tackles Arthur C. Clarke's sequel novel. It is, of course, a fool's errand to follow so closely in the footsteps of Stanley Kubrick and his revolutionary and revered 2001: A Space Odyssey, but…
The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
[3] The Gill Man's second sequel starts off okay and gets progressively worse. It's cool enough while a team of scientists are hunting the Creature, especially when they catch him on fire (the highlight scene of the movie), but once…
Along Came a Spider (2001)
[6] Morgan Freeman reprises the role of Detective Alex Cross (which he began in Kiss the Girls) for this slightly superior sequel involving the kidnapping of a senator's daughter for ransom. At first, I was excited to see that Michael…
Magic Mike XXL (2015)
[8] Steven Soderbergh turns the directing reigns over to Gregory Jacobs for this sequel to Magic Mike, but stays involved as director of photography and editor (under pseudonyms). The sequel turns out to be superior because its infinitely more fun…