SEX AND THE CITY – the prequel – started filming in Manhattan this week. The teenage Carrie Bradshaw is to be played by Annasophia Robb in the ‘The Carrie Diaries’ as it tells the story of Carrie’s adventures making it in the Big Apple in the 1980s.

So are prequels worth it? Do they add to the originals or are they just a cash cow for production studios?

THE EPICS

The Godfather Part II - There has been many a debate about which Godfather movie is the best – but this continuation delves into the early life of Vito Corleone in the 1920s. RottenTomatoes.com – which aggregates critics’ ratings – has given the 1974 movie a 98 per cent on the Tomatometer even though Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it a “a Frankenstein’s monster stitched together from leftover parts”.

(Via YouTube/movieclips)

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace – According to Box Office Mojo this Star Wars prequel was the highest grossing of all the Star Wars prequels. The worldwide gross of the movie was $1,022,008,480 (€765,549,423). Irish actor Liam Neeson finds a young boy in a far off planet and he and Ewan McGregor feels he has the force within him. The New York Times said that George Lucas’s prequel was a “happy surprise”.

(Via YouTube/Clevvermovies)

THE HORRORS

Paranormal Activity 2 and 3 - Both movies are prequels of the first film, telling the story in reverse. Paranormal Activity 2 tells the story of Kristi Rey (sister of Katie from the original), while Paranormal Activity 3 delves deeper into the past of the two sisters, showing just how long this scary entity has been following them around for. Both movies have some ‘jump out of your skin’ moments.

(Via YouTube/Hollywoodstreams)

THE THRILLERS

Red Dragon – This psychological thriller prequel to The Silence of the Lambs was not a disappointing prequel – commercially anyway – pulling in $209,196,298 (€156,701,347) according to Box Office Mojo. A retired FBI agent must track down the serial killer known as ”The Tooth Fairy”. However he needs the help of criminal genius Hannibal Lecter played by Anthony Hopkins.

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THE COMICS

X-Men: First Class – Released in 2011, this prequel, which features one of our own, Michael Fassbender, looks at the beginning of the X-Men saga. This film, based in 1962, looks at the early relationship between Professor X and Magneto. The New Yorker said it “feels like a very cheesy Cold War-era B movie” while Film.com is more positive stating that the film “uses the themes of the previous movies to build an intelligent, fast-paced, and highly entertaining prequel”. Which is it?

(Via YouTube/movingpicturesnet)

Batman Begins - The origins of the Gotham City superhero which also features quite the prequel junkie, Liam Neeson. This time Neeson plays Henry Ducard, who seems like a nice fatherly figure to the young Bruce Wayne at the beginning but soon his true colours shine. Batman Begins had a production budget of $150 million, but according to Box Office Mojo, it worked out to be a lucrative prequel, taking over $372, 710,015 (€279,183,532).

(Via YouTube/movieclips)

STILL TO COME…

The Hobbit - Tolkein’s fantasy novel is considered the prequel to the hugely successful The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit follows the quest of Bilbao Baggins, a Hobbit from the Shire who wants to reclaim a treasure that was stolen from him.  According to IMDB filming of the movie is only finishing up in March and it is set to be released in the US in December 2012.

(Via YouTube/ColliderVideos)

Men in Black 3 - Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back again to stop aliens taking over the world. This time Agent J travels in time to 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history. As it does show the beginnings of the MIB, this movie which comes some fourteen years after the original can be considered a prequel of sorts.

(Via YouTube/SonyPictures)

Any prequels particularly float your boat? Which ones almost put you off an otherwise perfectly good film franchise? Let us know in the comments below.