watching Deep Blue Sea 2... wow. I mean, it makes the original Jaws by comparison.

what else ya got...

I'd vote for Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill was one of the better video game adaptations, if not the best, and a visually stunning, relentlessly dark horror film that pleased most fans. Silent Hill 2 was just godawful with little to no redeeming qualities. I'll never forgive it for using a poptart for a jump-scare.

Caddyshack 2

/thread

S. Darko, American Psycho 2

I'll follow that up with Mortal Kombat Annihilation. The first film wasn't going to win any awards, but it was a damn entertaining film with characters from the game. The second movie was complete garbage in every way.

I'll also mention From Dusk Till Dawn. One of my favorite movies of all time and every sequel sucked balls.

Alien —> Aliens

Went from a thoughtful thriller to a mindless action movie

Nothing beats Showgirls 2- it's like if the guys from "Be Kind, Rewind" made it.

Alone in the Dark ... 2

I’ve never seen it, but the Now Playing podcast review was freaking hysterical. The movie was so bad it went straight to video AND was a Best Buy exclusive.

I know you’re just trying to be funny, but you’re not that far off.

Highlander to Highlander 2. Threw away all the good parts and made it a sci fi story that recycled the story of the original anyway.

Also, probably not the same but pretty much any Disney movie to the direct to video sequel, especially stuff like Pocahantas 2 and Mulan 2.

I'll limit my answers to theatrical sequels rather than DTV cash grabs....

Along with the aforementioned Caddyshack 2...

Speed 2
The Fly 2
The Sting II

But my choice for worst degradation in quality is probably Exorcist II.

Grease 2 and it ain't even close....

Transformers wasn’t perfect, but the sequels were awful.

Pretty much any comedy sequel. Airplane 2, Caddyshack 2, Ghostbusters 2, Fletch 2, European Vacation, Ted 2, Hangover 2, Horrible Bosses 2, etc. All cash grabs.

About the only outlier that comes to mind for me is American Pie 2, but then Wedding takes the franchise off a cliff.

First one that came to mind for me.

The Vacation franchise redeems itself after European Vacation though in my opinion. Actually Vegas Vacation is my favorite.

The Hidden 2. Mic Drop. End of thread (not really, but if you have seen this film like I have you will agree with me).

The Two Jakes
The Crow: City of Angels
The Sting 2
Staying Alive
Blues Brothers 2000
The Lost World
RoboCop 2
Blair Witch 2
The Matrix Reloaded

I don’t know. I thought the first one was terrible and boring. The second was terrible, but i wasn’t bored. The third is the only one that I found to be the right mix of dumb and fun.

I don’t remember 4 other than the creepy “Romeo & Juliet law” stuff, and I haven’t seen 5. But maybe Bumblebee will finally turn things around.

I think there should be separate consideration for sequels that bring back the original actors. Any movie sequel where the original stars don't come back is just a (sometimes glorified) DTV-quality cash grab, hoping to cash in on the name and not much else. That isn't the same thing as something where the cast comes back and you expect the product to sort of live up to the original (or at least not tarnish the memory of the original so much).

I'll cast a vote for The Two Jakes. Chinatown is in my Top 10 All-Time and I was so stoked that this got made-- until I watched it once.. and only once.

edit : And while I was writng that inri222 beat me to the punch.

Matrix > Matrix Reloaded
Superman II > Superman Returns
The Never ending Story > The Never ending Story II
Predator > Predator II

Amen.

um, hello...

American Graffiti --> More American Graffiti

Few falls from greatness in cinema were as far as this one. While the original is a classic that features interconnected stories that are meaningful, MAG features 4 rotating stories (in distractingly different aspect ratios) that are wholly pointless. If AG is a delicious strawberry milkshake, this one was a soggy 3-day old, roast beef sandwich. This was the biggest cash grab of a sequel that wasn't directed-to-video or a horror movie.

Caddyshack —> Caddyshack 2
The Howling —> Howling II
Highlander —> Highlander II: The Quickening

You’ve got that one backwards, Oldboy!