What would life be like without more sequels?

I like a good sequel as much as anyone else (Pirates of the Caribbean 3 for example) and I hate it when a good movie series is flubbed by a bad sequel (just my opinion, but Spiderman 3 didn't cut it, nor did Shrek the third, though, in all honesty, that series collapsed with the second movie).

In each of the examples I just cited, the sequels were spawned from an innovative, original, and excellent film (The first Shrek is an absolute classic). However, it doesn't always work that way.

I think if you're going to make a sequel, do it for a movie that was decent to begin with. Again, just my opinion, but the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was pretty rank. Of course, I never read the book and, considering the possibility that it was, in fact, a faithful adaption, I've resolved never to read it.

Howevever, I have read and loved most of Tolkiens' stuff (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Unfinished tales of Middle Earth) and I also read the first and second chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever (which, obviously, is conceptually drawn from Tolkien, but which distinguishes itself by both its fine writing and its use of an "anti-hero" as the protagonist). Both are stellar works in the "coming great battle against an ancient and unspeakable evil" genre of writing (this theme was also borrowed by the Babylon 5 series, if you recall).

Narnia, Prince Caspian, by the way is due out in May of 2009, coincidentally around the same time as the new Chevy Camaro. So that year won't be a total loss at least.