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Directed by Michael Pressman, from a screenplay written by Paul Brickman, The Bad New Bears In Breaking Training, a sequel to the previous summer's box-office hit following the adventures of a rascally, little league baseball team, opens to poor reviews. With original director Michael Ritchie and stars Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal declining to reprise their roles, returning players Jackie Earl Haley and pint-sized Chris Barnes, along with new coach William Devane, gamely step up to the plate but the magic is missing. A second sequel, The Bad News Bears Go To Japan, released in 1978 with a script by original writer Bill Lancaster, sends the trilogy out with a wimper. In 2005, a remake of the original with Billy Bob Thornton trying to fill Matthau's shoes fails to revive the franchise.
