The film sequels I don't want to see

I don't want to see: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning

The pinnacle of form for Tom Cruise's beloved spy series is, for me, Mission: Impossible III. JJ Abrams made his feature film debut and directed with a drive and frenzy that was and is hard to resist and the tragically deceased Philip Seymour Hoffman offered one of the best villains in film history. There was nothing wrong with part four, nor part five. But time has passed. 19 years, to be precise, and with the last Mission: Impossible film it was clear to me that Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg were all too old to play spies. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning seemed to me like a bunch of pensioners wearing fake masks and expensive glasses trying to play highly trained spies. 60-year-olds trying to look 20, or at most 30-years-old. None of it worked for me, which means I'm more than happy to skip the upcoming film The Final Reckoning. Mission: Impossible deserves new blood. Hunt should retire even in the mythology of the films, making way for new talent portrayed by young, athletic, hungry actors in the same way that Sean Connery and Roger Moore made way for new versions of Bond.

I don't want to see: Star Wars: New Jedi Order

There's probably not a single upcoming blockbuster film that I'm looking forward to less than the first (of three) Star Wars films that revolve solely around the character of Rey. Apparently it's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny's James Mangold directing and Daisy Ridley will be returning to the role of Rey. I feel like I'm done with Disney's new Star Wars saga, I don't want to hear about Rey anymore, or Kylo Ren, or Poe, or Finn either. When all is said and done, I consider The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker to be worse films than The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, which I once didn't even think possible. Instead, I'd like to see a film about Kyle Katarn, directed by Leigh Whannell, the guy behind Upgrade and The Invisible Man.

I don't want to see: Avatar: Fire and Ash

No matter how many times I hear and read that James Cameron's sci-fi smash hit was just a "simple Pocahontas copy", Avatar will forever stand as one of the best blockbusters I've seen in cinema. It was epic, grand, simple story-wise but filled with great characters and phenomenal action. The second film, however... This was as thin, flat, and empty as the first was entertaining. Cameron basically just repeated the first film and added water to the equation. This leaves me with absolutely zero desire for the upcoming Fire and Ash. In hindsight, one film would have been enough for me. Instead, I would have liked to see Cameron focus more on a continuation of Strange Days.

I don't want to see: Happy Gilmore 2

I love Happy Gilmore. Let me just make this clear right away. Happy Gilmore is, along with Big Daddy, my favourite Sandler comedy and I've probably seen it over 20 times, all things considered. This basically means that I want more, a good second, a funny third, a fun fourth, a successful fifth. I want and have always wanted more Happy Gilmore. That said, I know for a fact that Netflix's upcoming sequel will not only disappoint me horribly, it will also destroy the legacy of the first film, ruin more than it adds, the same way Prime Video's Coming 2 America did. The streaming giant's comedy productions lack bite, lack originality, and grit. They're usually so formulaic, predictable, and unfunny that I simply don't want to watch Happy Gilmore 2. Sorry.

I don't want to see: Avengers: Doomsday

The Avengers is probably the best ensemble-based action film made since Predator. It's that good. Fantastically well written given that a dozen or so very strong, iconic comic book characters are all given space and done absolute justice, all while being drenched in character, personality, and brilliant action. Avengers: Infinity War is not quite as brilliant but very good and Endgame is a definite pass. That was the end of it. They got rid of Thanos, they saved the universe, and Tony Stark sacrificed himself for humanity. The circle was complete. The most selfish superhero on the planet did the most selfless thing we could dream of. The End. For that very reason and given that Marvel Studios today is downright lousy compared to the greatness there once upon a time was, this makes me not want to see the next Avengers film. I don't want to see the Avengers again with Doctor Hulk, a beloved character decimated to a jumper-clad chinos-wearing simpleton. I don't want to see the Avengers without Iron Man, without the real Captain America, and I don't want to see a film where they use the multiverse thing to resurrect Stark, because Robert Downey Jr. is now too old and shouldn't be playing a superhero ever again. Instead, I would like Marvel to go for the Punisher. Standalone, independent films for ages 18 and up. Dark, hyper-violent, super-stylish, and gritty - right in line with the top Punisher comics.

I don't want to see: The Batman: Part II

Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves' The Batman film stands out (thanks largely to Oscar-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser) as one of the best-looking blockbusters I've ever seen. Incredibly, brutally gorgeous, and drenched in evocatively stunning scenes. However, it wasn't very "Batman" and Pattinson didn't fit at all as the new, skinny Emo-Batman. The film was pancake thin, it was noticeable that 90% of it was shot in the effects studio "The Volume" (powered by Epic's Unreal Engine), and it was clear that Reeves was stuck in the visual rather than in effective storytelling and comic book accurate mythology. That's why Warner Bros. can skip the second film, if I had to choose. Batman should go back to Affleck, if anything. Give me Frank Miller's Batman, again. Even greyer, even more emotionally damaged, even more violent. Give me the film where the Joker kills Robin and Batman indulges in the comic book world's bloodiest vendetta.

I don't want to see: Riddick: Furya

Vin Diesel apparently sees himself as eternally young. The film star who defies time and space, who drives his 2000 horsepower Charger down the Hoover Dam and who walks around in his white tank top even if he is outside at the North Pole. I can appreciate all that and I'm bizarrely looking forward to Fast 11 (although I know it will be rubbish). I am not, however, looking forward to the upcoming Riddick: Furya, in which the soon-to-be 60-year-old Diesel will play an violent, capable, unpredictably dark, super-deadly furious alien with gigantic upper arm muscles. Because it won't work. Riddick was great in Pitch Black (the iconic indie film) but already in the sequel it went off the rails and the character itself should have been buried soon after, if you ask me.