Hope for Love Never Dies?

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of action movies, and in fact, usually I’m over the plot line by the time the first police chase is over, or at least by the time the first explosion has taken place.

I’m not the world’s biggest fan of action movies, and in fact, usually I’m over the plot line by the time the first police chase is over, or at least by the time the first explosion has taken place.

That said, one of my all-time favourite movies is Speed. God knows why – you couldn’t find a more unrealistic storyline – but it’s a fun ride and a great entrance by Sandra Bullock into the world of film.

Sad thing is, the sequel was a bomb. A total and utter flop, it just couldn’t match up to the original and anyone who loved Speed walked out of Speed 2 very disgruntled.

Sequels, as most know, just cannot match the brilliance of the originals.

Perhaps that’s why some of the most iconic movies of all time stand alone with no sequel by their side – they just ruin the good that was created in the first place.

Musical theatre sequels are quite rare, but Australia will experience one in a few months when Love Never Dies, the sequel to the worldwide smash The Phantom Of The Opera, lands in Melbourne.

The show lands in Australia earlier than many expected, and the biggest challenge the show faces will be overcoming the poor reviews in London and the absolute panning the musical is getting from so many.

The reviews, to many, will be somewhat irrelevant, with the real key the marketing techniques used to grab the audiences that made the Phantom franchise so successful.

Still, that won’t necessarily make the musical any good. Word of mouth could be in danger.

But there will be some great Australian talent on stage, and the musical must have at least some legs if it’s being picked up here in Australia.

I guess the biggest question on the Phantom sequel concept is WHY?

Would Andrew Lloyd Webber not have gained more attention with a fresh, original musical?

Very rarely does a sequel make sense.

Phantom is an out-of-date, though still very successful musical. Creating a sequel, though, makes little sense.

Fingers crossed the reports out of London are somewhat inaccurate, and that the Australian production soars. You never know – stranger things have happened!