Sequels have become a sort of taboo in our modern culture. Rather than holding their original purpose – continuing a successful premise with a separate, yet equally delightful plot -they’ve become a way for studios to make money off the sales of the original film. The plot is usually poor, and the audience that is eager to see what happens next to a great cast of characters leaves the theater disappointed.

This past year, we’ve seen plenty of that with the unnecessary “The Whole Ten Yards” and the over-anticipated “Ocean’s 12.”

“Be Cool” does not follow this trend.

Taking a second dive into the life of ex-mobster Chili Palmer (John Travolta), the plot follows his adventure as he makes his way through the ins, outs, twists, turns, guitars and Glocks of the music business.

With an all-star cast consisting of folks like The Rock, Vince Vaughn, Harvey Keitel and Cedric the Entertainer, this sequel provides so much new intrigue to the screen that viewers can easily forget that “Get Shorty” ever existed.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Playing on the movie industry and bringing together an older cast laid out in strange, even unexpected roles, “Get Shorty” didn’t do well in terms of popularity.

Now, with a plot more suited to pop culture and involving major pop icons such as Andre 3000 of Outkast and Christina Milian, this film has more promise to attract an audience of young adults.

However, this film does have a lot of side jokes that have rolled over from the first movie, so it’s definitely recommended, though not essential, that viewers check out “Get Shorty” before seeing this one.

There’s a quip about outfits and limo drivers that can’t be overlooked as an allusion to Palmer’s adversary in the first film, Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo). There are also a few questions answered, like what ever happened to Mr. Lovejoy.

As a theatrical presentation, it also proved to the world that some actors really can act. Who knew that The Rock could mix the tough guy act with a flamboyantly gay persona? Who knew that Milian, who has spent most of her days explaining how to make your man say “oh,” could convince us that she actually works a minimum wage job, just trying to get a few songs written?

Travolta keeps up with his wise-guy mobster persona that he gave us in the original, as well as in “Pulp Fiction.” A nice enough guy, Palmer says nothing more than he has to, if that, and always comes out on top. The rest of the cast tries to keep up with his negotiating and strong-arming as he plays the other characters off each other, making sure that in the end, his way goes.

This film also brings back to the screen one of the most memorable dance scenes in film history, Travolta’s twist with Uma Thurman, who plays the part of Edie Athens, a recording executive of a dying company.

This time the mood is a little more romantic, and there aren’t any five-dollar shakes to prelude the twist-off. However, with a little help from the Black Eyed Peas, we finally get to see an on-screen kiss between the two.

Classically funny and charmingly entertaining, “Be Cool” leaves the audience with the satisfaction that not all sequels suck. Sometimes, they can even overshadow the first, and make for a bigger, better and more memorable movie.

Colin Lacy can be reached at [email protected].