Great Movies With Terrible Sequels

The Matrix was a well-thought-out remix of anime, cyberpunk, and martial arts that was able to make philosophy mainstream.

The sequels were a half-baked mess that would've benefited from more time in development to fine-tune the script.

Curse of the Black Pearl was a fun adventure featuring an Oscar-worthy performance by Johnny Depp as cunning scoundrel driven by revenge, Capt. Jack Sparrow.

The sequels sanitized Jack's less family-friendly character traits and reduced him to a comic relief buffoon. They also had the unnecessary habit of introducing yet more cursed undead pirate crews in every installment.

Say what you will about the first Transformers, it's way better than the sequels at least (except Bumblebee, but that's more a spin-off than a sequel).

Pacific Rim was a love letter to kaiju movies vividly brought to life by Guillermo del Toro's creative vision.

The sequel got rid of everything special about Pacific Rim, including fridging heroine Mako Mori, resulting in a second-rate mash-up of Transformers and Power Rangers.

The Secret Service was a stylish modern Bond movie with compelling characters and exhilarating action.

The sequel went overboard with silliness and needlessly killed off Roxy.