10 Disappointing 2000s Sequels That Failed To Match The O...

10 2000s Movie Sequels That Sucked Compared To The Original Films Blade fighting in Blade Trinity

By Kevin Pantoja Published 24 minutes ago Kevin Pantoja is a writer and editor at Screen Rant based in New York City, where he brings deep expertise in blockbuster franchises ranging from Harry Potter and Spider‑Man to Succession and the MCU. A passionate storyteller with a creative writing degree (Valedictorian, Full Sail University), Kevin blends entertainment news, feature essays, and pop‑culture commentary into engaging, audience-first content Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

While there are certainly some great sequels out there, it's films like these from the 2000s that give them a bad name. These are the cases where a sequel ended up being a major disappointment compared to what came before it, leaving audiences with a bad taste in their mouths about the franchise.

It's important to note that these aren't the worst sequels, as a poorly-received movie that gets a bad sequel wouldn't be considered here. Instead, this is reserved for those movies where the sequels failed to live up to what worked about the original. Disappointing sequels happen in all decades, but there were definitely some major ones in the 2000s.

Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000)

Book of Shadows Blair Witch 2 group around a bonfire in the forest

In 1999, The Blair Witch Project kind of took the world by storm. It ushered in the found footage craze, grossed nearly $250 million on a budget of under $1 million, and was marketed as a real thing that happened, which added to the terror audiences felt when they first saw it.

As is often the case, when something becomes a smash hit, studios demand a sequel. About a year later, we got Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, which was a far cry from the first film. The movie felt nothing like The Blair Witch Project, which is why it failed.

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 had a much bigger budget, yet failed to gross $50 million. Gone was the found footage format that worked so well and in its place was something lacking scares. It sits at a paltry 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and was criticized for being unoriginal and formulaic, which is the opposite of the original.

American Psycho 2 (2002)

Mila Kunis as Rachael looking sweet and innocent in American Psycho 2

Mila Kunis looking up in American Psycho 2

Based on the novel of the same, American Psycho wasn't a hit upon arrival, yet became a cult classic. The movie received solid reviews and has been looked at better with age. It also helped launch Christian Bale into stardom ahead of his turn as Bruce Wayne.

Most people actually don't even know that there's an American Psycho 2. The direct-to-video release came two years later and follows a criminology student who advances her career by murdering her classmates. The most notable thing about the film is that the cast is led by Mila Kunis and William Shatner.

American Psycho 2 also does the unfortunate thing of having the protagonist kill Patrick Bateman in the opening scene. The film was a misfire, getting panned by critics, having its script denounced by the writer of the novel, and Kunis has even expressed regret about working on it.

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Halloween Resurrection Busta Rhymes as Freddie

To be fair to Halloween: Resurrection, there aren't many great sequels in the Halloween franchise. The original is an all-time horror classic and while some sequels have been solid, pretty much everyone agrees that nothing had come close to the first up to this point.

The franchise lost its luster until Halloween H20 injected new life into it. Unfortunately, the follow-up, Halloween: Resurrection, was a swing and a miss. The film makes up a ridiculous retcon for how Michael survived getting decapitated in the previous installment, which is just the start of the problems.

The movie also kills off final girl Laurie Strode in unceremonious fashion right at the start before moving into a story where Michael's childhood home is used for a reality show, giving him people to kill. None of it works and Michael loses a fight to rapper Busta Rhymes, doing karate. The next installment ended up rebooting the whole series.

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Ryan Reynolds beaten and bloodied as Hannibal King in Blade Trinity

Superhero movies had their rise in the 2000s but the three biggest franchises all had the same problem. The third installment in the trilogy missed the mark. X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man 3, and Blade: Trinity, while different in quality, were all nowhere near as good as the two films that preceded them.

The worst of the bunch is Blade: Trinity. The first film is an absolute blast and the second does so much right with Guillero del Toro in the director's chair, but Blade: Trinity was a mess. New characters were introduced that didn't work, the action was lackluster, and the script was formulaic.

There were also all sorts of production issues with Blade: Trinity. Star Wesley Snipes was unhappy with several aspects, including the choice of director, and made things difficult. He even refused to open his eyes for one particular scene, causing the filmmakers to add in expensive CGI eyes. There was even a lawsuit involving Snipes and New Line Cinema.

Son Of The Mask (2005)

Jamie Kennedy holding up an ID card as the new Mask in Son of the Mask

In 1994, no actor was hotter than Jim Carrey. The comedic legend starred in three classics of the era in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask. All three hits received sequels to mixed results, yet it was The Mask that didn't bring Carrey back.

Carrey was in talks to do a sequel back in 1996 but his experiences on Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls caused him to not want to do the sequel and the film was shelved. It finally saw the light of day in 2005 with Jamie Kennedy in the lead role of Son of the Mask.

Given its reception, Son of the Mask shouldn't have ever happened. The film was a box office bomb, was panned by critics to the point of a 6% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and is widely considered one of the worst movies ever. Many fans of the original have avoided it for those reasons.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)

Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, starring Tim Allen and Martin Short

The first two installments of The Santa Clause franchise are good fun. The original is a Christmas classic that gets rewatched annually by so many and while the sequel received mixed reviews, there's a fair amount of heart to it and it succeeded commercially.

The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause came a few years later and added comedic icon Martin Short to the cast as Jack Frost. Unfortunately, that didn't end up helping things and the movie was met with poor reviews.

It's widely believed that The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause is the worst entry in the series, with a lot of negative reception going to the slapstick comedy. The gags were considered bland as well, with Short's performance being one of the only things highlighted.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008)

Indy and Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The original Indiana Jones trilogy is as good as it gets when it comes to adventure films. The titular character is a pop culture staple and all three movies were well-received, with some held up as true classics. Getting a fourth film from Steven Spielberg had people excited in 2008.

Alas, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proved to be the franchise's first misfire. The pieces were in place for success, including a strong cast that added Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf, who was a rising star at the time.

From the infamous "nuking the fridge" scene to the inclusion of aliens in the climax, most aspects of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull were panned by longtime fans and critics. It was more than a decade before another installment was made, which was a box office bomb.

Saw V (2008)

Scott Patterson with his head in a box in Saw V

While reviews for the original Saw movie weren't fantastic, it is one of the most important and original horror movies of all time. Saw II is actually an ideal sequel for the franchise, though each subsequent entry was met with worse critical reception.

However, Saw VI in 2009 was actually a mild step up, meaning the low point of the series is Saw V. In fact, it sits at 13% on Rotten Tomatoes and really hammered home the biggest problems that the franchise dealt with.

Mark Hoffman was the focal point and he was never all that interesting as a character. The traps feel less creative than ever before and the film dives deep into the lore of John Kramer's backstory, which were also weak points of the series.

Terminator: Salvation (2009)

Terminator--Salvation-Had-Two-Unused-Alternate-Endings-That-Would've-Changed-Everything

The Terminator and T2: Judgment Day are two of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made and they hold up remarkably well. Giving the world a third entry over a decade later meant it had a lot to live up to and it just couldn't pull that off.

That said, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a solid enough movie on its own. A few years later, Terminator: Salvation arrived and had all the makings of being a success. Fresh off his role as Batman, Christian Bale in the lead role was exciting and the trailer looked great.

In the end though, Terminator: Salvation received negative reviews. The action and effects were considered solid, but the script was considered robotic. It also hurts that this is the one entry in the franchise that doesn't feature Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)

John Turturro smiling in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

2007's Transformers was a huge hit commercially and while reviews weren't great, it was considered a fun action movie. A sequel had to be made and it ended up becoming one of the highest-grossing franchises in Hollywood history, yet none of the films are considered fantastic.

That's most evident in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the immediate follow-up to the first installment. The film features all the worst tropes of Michael Bay movies, from being overly long to having an underdeveloped script, to trying way too hard with comedic bits.

There was also the widespread disdain for Mudflap and Skids, two Transformers characters who played up racist stereotypes. Shia LaBeouf has expressed his dislike for the movie, while even Michael Bay has come out and apologized for it.

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