rdfs:comment
| - Sometimes a Sequel is just the same story as the last one (Capcom Sequel Stagnation), or downgraded by being Direct to Video (Starship Troopers II), or a different story set in the same world (The Godfather II, the Star Trek films), or just the next part in an ongoing series (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings books and movies), or even a Dolled-Up Installment (Super Mario Bros. 2). Take an action sequel, which has more explosions and fist/gun/martial arts fights than the previous film. Or a slasher sequel, which has more deaths, in more gory (and less realistic) ways.
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abstract
| - Sometimes a Sequel is just the same story as the last one (Capcom Sequel Stagnation), or downgraded by being Direct to Video (Starship Troopers II), or a different story set in the same world (The Godfather II, the Star Trek films), or just the next part in an ongoing series (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings books and movies), or even a Dolled-Up Installment (Super Mario Bros. 2). This trope, on the other hand, is when a sequel is made to be "bigger and better" than the last film, by taking one or more elements from the first film and expanding upon it. The film makers feel a need to "top themselves" in a sort of way. Take an action sequel, which has more explosions and fist/gun/martial arts fights than the previous film. Or a slasher sequel, which has more deaths, in more gory (and less realistic) ways. How often this works depends on if the expanded element is the one the audience liked. Choose the wrong element(s), and it will be at the expense of the right element(s), and the audience will not be pleased. Wrong elements can often be the toilet humor, sexual situations, Flanderization or meaningless action sequences. However, choose the right element(s), and the sequel may even be considered superior to the first film. Usually these elements involve the human element, expanding on the characters we care about, telling a dramatic (or hilarious) story, and making the action sequences revolve around that. Usually, the result is somewhere in the middle, often debated upon by the fans. To avoid just rehashing examples from Sequelitis, examples here should discuss the expanded element(s) of the sequels. Compare Actionized Sequel, Sequel Difficulty Spike, Send in the Clones, Serial Escalation, Up to Eleven, Sorting Algorithm of Evil, Power Creep. Big Damn Movie is this trope applied to a film adaptation of a serial. Contrast Lensman Arms Race and Plot Leveling (both of which could be seen as symptoms of this trope's presence), Sequel Difficulty Drop (difficulty getting lowered, although that doesn't preclude this trope in other ways). Examples of Sequel Escalation include:
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