Are big movie sequels getting better?

Has 2014 marked a turning point in the quality of major movie sequels?

And could there be hidden consequences to this?

With good reason too.

Fast forward to now, and weve an utter reverse of that situation.

That ideas are threaded, sometimes perhaps too overtly granted, into the first film.

The examples of follow-ups that havent really pushed things forward?

Ive not seenSin City2, but opinion seems sharply divided, and the box office has not been kind.

I do think, then, theres a positive trend overall in the quality of major movie sequels.

But then studios need sequels more than ever now, and they need lots of them.

I do want to temper all of this with two things.

Firstly, the talk of the box office decline at the start there is limited to North America alone.

Elsewhere, I dont think the numbers are as bad.

Theres something quite heartening about that.

Its a big, hugely entertaining blockbuster movie.

And its made Warner Bros a loss.

However, Id argue that better sequels and interesting one-offs are not mutually exclusive.

The improvement in big films and its been an impressive summer in that regard, Id argue is welcome.

But a broad mix is also vital to keep multiplexes interesting in the summer.