2010 (the bad sequel)

So I was at the store over the weekend and I noticed that 2010: The Year We make Contact was prominently displayed on Blu-Ray for less than the average standard DVD. I had to wonder what was so bad about this film that it squandered the legacy of Kubrick's great 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)? Lithgow, Scheider and Mirren were in the cast. It was strong as far as that goes. Technology was significantly better in 1984 than it was in 1968. So what was it? And why do so few sequels (regardless of the time between films) match their predecessor?

So I figured let's get some of the good, the bad and down right ugly listed:

The Good
The Empire Strikes Back (actually better than Episode IV)
The Godfather Part 2 (on par with the original easily)
Spiderman 2 & 3
The Dark Knight (giving credos to Bale's Batman Begins)
Scream 2 ( It's not the original by any means but for a horror sequel not bad)


The Bad
The Godfather Part 3 (the decades between 2 and 3 did not help at all)
Star Wars Episode I (sorry folks but Jar Jar Binks sucked donkey dong)
Scream 3


The Ugly
The Matrix Reload (for the love of all that is good and pure, the W Brothers destroyed what could have been the Gen Y Star Wars)
Highlander: The Quickening (The Sickening is more like it)
Species 2 (not even a very naked Natasha Henstridge could make it worth watching)
Batman Forever (only Val Kilmer could make me long for Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne)
Batman and Robin (someone should have been fired for that one)

And the WHY, WHY, WHY???
The Bad News Bears (insert random title here)
Police Academy (3+)
Major League 2
Miss Congeniality 2

What am I missing? What would you defend? Talk to me...