Why would anyone do that?  See the sequel of a movie first?

Well, since you asked, one reason I can think of would be that you promised your best friend to go see a movie, even though you hadn’t seen the first one because honestly you had no interest in the first place, but hey, she’s your best friend so you go see it with her.

… yes, this is exactly what happened to me.  Twice.

The first time this happened was to see Iron Man 2 when it came out.  I told my best friend and another friend I’d go see it with them, despite the fact I had no interest in Marvel films at the time (and really, other than Iron Man and Avengers, I still have no interest in the others).  I went in knowing that I wasn’t one for these type of films, and that it would most likely be a waste of my time, but boy was I wrong!  I loved the film, and Robert Downey Jr., and it wasn’t too long afterward that I saw the first film… and got my mom hooked on them too.

Two summers ago, I let it happen again.  My best friend and I were planning on seeing a movie she was excited for, but she had changed her mind because she wasn’t in the mood for that film that day, and instead we went to see How To Train Your Dragon 2.  Again, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t care for the film that much, but guess what?  I’m in love with the franchise!  I’m even currently watching the Dragons: Race to the Edge series on Netflix that is a spin-off of the movies.  It took me a little longer to see the first movie afterward, but I did eventually see it and subsequently got both movies for Christmas.

From my experience there’s really no harm in seeing the sequel first… I mean, it’s a movie.  It’s not life or death.  But seeing the sequel first can leave you a little confused at first unless you have an awesome best friend who will explain the important points about the first movie during the previews.  Overall, it’s not too much different than when a movie comes out, then years later a prequel is released (Star Wars, Monsters Inc.).  Sure, it’s not the same, but you get my point.

And before I end this, let me say that there was one more time this happened to me, back in 2002 when Spy Kids 2 came out.  I saw that one first because I again, I went to see it with a friend who wanted to see it.  The only difference was that I had wanted to see the first one the year before… I just hadn’t gotten around to watching it before seeing the sequel.

So yes, I have seen sequels first and the only impact it’s made on me is that I’m more partial to the second movie than the first one in a franchise.

I know, I’m weird.