The new action film sequel Crank: High Voltage is being advertised with the tagline “He was dead…But he got better.” Aside from sort of ruining the ending to the first Crank for those of us who haven’t seen it, this copy from the posters has been receiving a lot of attention for how ridiculous it sounds. Fans of the original have to disagree with the tagline, because they know Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) was not dead; in fact it is clear from the final scene that he miraculously survived that fall from the helicopter. Meanwhile, people less familiar with the movie simply find the idea of a dead character being resurrected for the benefit of a sequel to be laughably unacceptable, as if such an idea is unheard of in Hollywood.

But even if Chelios had been officially declared dead at the end of Crank, the sequel certainly wouldn’t be the first to revive a main character for a follow-up. Obviously horror films do it all the time, and it’s not exactly uncommon in sci-fi, fantasy, action and comic book genres, either. Even while ignoring the invincibility convention of contemporary slasher films, we were able to select six sequels in which a deceased (or presumed deceased) character returns.

Warning: Spoilers may be found after the jump.
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If the rumors (or are they predictions?) are true that Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones dies at the end of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time George Lucas completed a franchise by killing off a returning character. But would it actually mean the end of the series?

While there has been additional speculation that Shia LaBeouf could continue the franchise as Indy Jr., there is now the possibility that Ford would actually return for a fifth film, if asked. In an interview in USA Today, the actor says he’d consider it, as long as it doesn’t take another 20 years. So, no death for Indy, then?

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I have about 800 ideas for books that I’ll probably never write; one of them is acollection of case studies of films that initially flopped, only to be reclaimed as classics. In the same vein, via GreenCine Daily comes news of the Ambitious Failure blogathon. Beginning today and running through Sunday the 24th, the blogathon was initiated by William Speruzzi, who writes:

Pushing the limits of budget, creativity and patience can all be a bust in the end but that is in the eye of the beholder. Can hindsight work in a film\’s favor? Was the criticism deserved or misguided? What makes a film that aspires to reach beyond the boundaries of entertainment go down in flames? Who gets to determine its demise? What is an ambitious failure? That\’s what we\’re here to find out.

There are four entries up already, each approaching the concept of failure from a different angle. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 50 percent are so far concerned with films by Francis Ford Coppola: Ed Copeland takes on The Cotton Club (”Having not seen The Cotton Club in more than 20 years (and remembering it fondly), I suspected that it might fit the bill for an “ambitious failure.” Boy, was I right.”), while Speruzzi looks at Apocalypse Now (”The media was caught up in the great American malady of predicting failure before it actual happens, if not actually rooting for it.”). Paul Hackett’s entry is basically an industrial analysis of Phillip Noyce’s The Quiet American, citing Miramax’s reluctance to promote the film in the wake of 9/11 as the root of its failure. And while Alien 3 might have failed with audiences (and in the mind of director David Fincher), Ray DeRousse is ready to reclaim the sequel for its “powerful message, powerfully delivered.”

To contribute to the blogathon, check out the guidelines here. I think I’m going to do an entry on It’s Always Fair Weather, Stanley Donen’s super-dark sort-of sequel to On the Town.