The Bottom Line: Are 'Rising' Sequels a Case of More Is Less? at Hollywood.com

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The Bottom Line: Are 'Rising' Sequels a Case of More Is Less?

By Robert Sims, Special to Hollywood.com | Wednesday, February 14, 2007

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Arnold Schwarzenegger is back for more in "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines"

It ain’t over till it’s over when it comes to milking a franchise for all it’s worth.

Just ask Hannibal Rising director Peter Webber.

“The thing that you worry about if you get involved in franchises, sequels, prequels, is the law of diminishing returns; you think the well will run dry after a while,” Webber tells Fangoria.

That’s likely the case with Hannibal Rising, which chronicles how a young Dr. Lector acquired his taste for human flesh.

Unfortunately, audiences know Hannibal Lector—and Gaspard Ulliel is no Hannibal Lector. And Anthony Hopkins’ presence is sorely missed in Hannibal Rising. Producer Dino De Laurentiis should have paid Hopkins whatever he wanted to secure his services—even just to narrate this prequel. So hopefully De Laurentiis will learn from this mistake if he follows through with his threat to make a Hannibal Rising sequel—or a third prequel to The Silence of the Lamb.

How much more do we need to know about Hannibal the Cannibal's culinary feats before his Red Dragon arrest? No matter. If Hannibal Rising leaves audiences hungry for more, De Laurentiis will sate their appetites.

Of course, the Hannibal Lector franchise isn’t the first to outstay its welcome. And, judging by the following sequels and prequels, it won’t be last.

Jim Carrey
Ace Ventura, Jr.
Predecessor: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls ($108.3 million)
The Bottom Line: Hasn’t history taught us so far that no one wants to see a sequel to a Jim Carrey farce that doesn’t star Carrey? Son of the Mask didn’t inherit Carrey's audience. Neither will an Ace Ventura that features the pet detective’s offspring trying his hand at the family business. Stupid pet trick, anyone?

Eddie Murphy stars as Charlie, an out-of-work advertising executive who decides to open up a child-care facility in "Daddy Day Care"
Beverly Hills Cop IV
Predecessor: Beverly Hills Cop III ($42.6 million)
The Bottom Line: If Eddie Murphy can say no to Daddy Day Camp and Dr. Dolittle 3, why not Beverly Hills Cop IV? Maybe he feels he has some unfinished business with Axel Foley. Most likely, though, Murphy wants to prove himself again as an action-comedy hero. And cash a big paycheck. So much for using his Dreamgirls Oscar nomination to better himself.

Bill Murray
Ghostbusters III
Predecessor: Ghostbusters II ($112.4 million)
The Bottom Line: Time to gas up the Ectomobile. The proton-packing parapsychologists will finally make their grand return, albeit in animated (and, doubtlessly, ageless) form. Even Bill Murray—who reportedly lost interest in a live-action version of Ghostbusters III—will lend his voice to this CGI sequel. But it could be all in vain if it’s just as cheesy and juvenile as The Real Ghostbusters.

Director, Writer and Producer of "Lord of the Rings" Peter Jackson
The Hobbit
Predecessor: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($377 million)
The Bottom Line: No one other than Peter Jackson should direct this two-part Lord of the Rings prequel. Not even Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi, who’s rumored to be in the running following Jackson's spat with New Line over Rings’ profits. If the two parties can resolve their differences—anything’s possible when there’s billions to be made—The Hobbit would make the journey back to Middle-earth all the more imperative.

Steven Spielberg directed and produced "Catch Me If You Can."
Jurassic IV
Predecessor: Jurassic Park III ($181.1 million)
The Bottom Line: Maybe a return visit to Jurassic Park would prove thrilling if Steven Spielberg directed, but that task remains with Jurassic Park III’s workman-like Joe Johnston. Even so, there’s only so much that can happen on—and off—Isla Nublar that hasn’t already happened. So if this is another carbon copy of Jurassic Park, the franchise deserves to go the way of the dinosaur.

Mel Gibson
Mad Max IV
Predecessor: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome ($36.2 million)
The Bottom Line: Mel Gibson came this close in 2003 to returning as Mad Max, but Fury Road stalled before shooting began. With Gibson now declaring himself too old for the role, director George Miller might move forward without him. Sorry, but there is only one road warrior—in reel and real life—and that’s Mad Mel. “We don’t need another hero,” Tina Turner once sung. Amen to that.

Brendan Fraser
The Mummy 3
Predecessor: The Mummy Returns ($202 million)
The Bottom Line: It’s understandable why Brendan Fraser’s willing to again face the undead. He’s got nothing else going on. But Rachel Weisz? This would be a humiliating step back after winning an Oscar. Surely the decision to hire Rob Cohen—of The Fast and the Furious and xXx infamy—should make her realize that this new Mummy won’t have her best interests at heart.

Sylvester Stallone
Rambo IV: Pearl of the Cobra
Predecessor: Rambo III ($53.7 million)
The Bottom Line: Rocky Balboa proved that the 60-year-old Sylvester Stallone can still put up a fight against a man half his age. But we all harbor a soft spot for that lovable lug. Not so for that monosyllabic, muscle-bound onetime symbol of U.S. military aggression. Stallone should have revived his one-man killing machine immediately after 9/11. With the Iraq war now highly unpopular, Rambo is as much an anachronism today as he was in the waning days of the 1980s.

Producer/director J.J. Abrams: Winner of Best Television Series-Drama Lost
Star Trek XI
Predecessor: Star Trek: Nemesis ($43.2 million)
The Bottom Line: If Star Trek could survive William Shatner’s Final Frontier, it can survive Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s disastrous final mission. Going back to the future to chronicle Kirk and Spook’s Starfleet Academy years should make the franchise accessible to anyone who isn’t fluent in Klingon. But handing the keys to the “Enterprise” to J.J. Abrams is a mistake after he turned Mission: Impossible III into a $150 million episode of Alias.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California and Maria Shriver
Terminator IV
Predecessor: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines ($150.3 million)
The Bottom Line: “I’ll be back,” Arnold Schwarzenegger warned in The Terminator. And he kept his word—for two sequels. But the Governator’s too busy now these days to save the world again. Even if Arnie was in need of a lube job in T3, he’s still probably twice the cyborg of any would-be Terminators. Without Schwarzenegger and director James Cameron directing, it’s time to say “Hasta la vista, baby!” to the Terminator.

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