Best Sequels?

[Dave2112]

I was thinking, and wondering how you guys felt about movie sequels. Usually, somebody in a suit sees a film make his company tons of money and decides that a mindless sequel will do the same. This usually is not the case.

So, what do you think were actually superior sequels? Not just good or ok, but sequels that managed to surpass thier original. And, I'm leaving out the second parts of pre-conceived trilogies or series. So, we can leave out The Empire Strikes Back, The Two Towers and films of this ilk that were planned from the start.

Here's my short list:

Lethal Weapon 2 - Funnier, more action and with better developed characters. The inclusion of Joe Pesci's character could have backfired, but really worked. The adversaries were more evil and a lot stronger. Easily the best in that series.

Jaws 2 - Not really sure why, but I liked this one better than the original. They somehow managed to make "there's another shark?" believable. Roy Schieder brought a still-haunted presence to the Brody character.

The Godfather 2 - Yes, it was based on a book which was planned, but the movie almost wasn't made out of fear that it couldn't repeat the original success. For every reason concievable, this was a superior film, being (as far as I know, but correct me if I'm wrong) the only sequel to win an Academy Award.

Spiderman 2 - Moreso than even the first (which did this very well), we see Peter Parker as the truly torn individual that he is. Probably the most "human" of the superhero films. The badguy's motivation was also a lot more clearly defined and almost sympathetic.

Any thoughts for others?

 

[General Zod]

Austin Powers 2 was way funnier to me than the first one

 

[steph]

I liked Lethal Weapon 2. And Godfather 2 as well but part 3 sucked gigantic monkey ass, sorry.
Usually I don't like sequels. It's like they're trying to hard to make money off a good thing.
XOXO

 

[nerobob]

Toy Story 2

Die hard with a vengeance

Terminator 2

 

[David.s]

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was really good. Didn't care much for the Temple of Doom mind.

Also, both the Naked Gun sequels were improvements and like a zillion James Bond films if they count too.

 

[isabeau]

all the Die Hard sequels matched the first one..imo..

"Little Foxes" starring Bette David was rather a prequel to the movie, "Another Part of the Forest"...both were excellent movies..written by Lilian Hellman..anything with Bette is fantastic..

"Godfather Part two" was indeed just as good as the first..and although based more on the book, some things were left out..or added..there was no Hyman Roth in the book..and the violence was much worse in the book..

 

[Illtcklu]

Star Wars

Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi.

Best sequels. too bad about the prequels though, although I did like Revenge Of The Sith.

 

[german]

- Empire strikes back
- Return of the Jedi
- Jaws 3 (I thought the whole story idea was good; still dont like going to aquariums but it was poorly done)
- Godfather 2
- Godfather 3

Kust

 

[Amnesiac]

The Bourne Supremacy
The story is almost non-existant and the plot is ridiculous, but the sequel to The Bourne Identity is faster, tighter, and a hell of a lot more exciting than the original. The handheld camera, smash zooms, shutter effects, and even Matt Damon's darker Bourne are worth the price of admission, even though there's less ass-kickery in it than the first. The car chase alone is on par with Bullitt.

The Devil's Rejects
Also like Supremacy this film has almost nothing in the way of story, but everything else makes up for it in spades. House of 1,000 Corpses was an honest-to-God psychedelic '60s horror carnival made by a man who knows his roots, but it was disappointing overall and even a little shoddy looking in parts. Devil's Rejects is a bona fide psychotic road trip back to the '70s--unlike other '70s remakes like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, etc.--that pulls absolutely no punches and has no mercy for the victims. I think it's the only American horror movie in at LEAST 10 years that has the balls to do what horror movies set out to do: traumatize the viewer. And fuck Hannibal Lecter or Henry, (Bill Moseley's) Otis B. Driftwood is the most terrifying and authentic psychopath I've ever seen on film, and he's completely unforgettable.

X2
Even though I'm overall disappointed with the X-Men franchise (Halle Barry as Storm? Anna Paquin as Rogue? WTF?!), the original got the clunky introductions out of the way so the sequel could go for broke with an all-out race-against-time adventure that has more emotional and social investments than the predecessor. The fights are better, the lighting isn't as garish, and the actors are a hell of a lot more comfortable in their skins this time around and feel more natural. Unlike the first two I mentioned, this one has a better story than the original.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Universally praised as the best ST movie yet made. The original was toying with new costumes, new effects, and a way to introduce what was then a niche show to the world. But by now, the kinks were worked out, and the first of a 3-movie storyline started off at it's peak. It even managed to bring back a minor, yet memorable bad guy from the original show and make him an unforgettable Shakespeare-epic villain thanks to a marevelous scenery chewing Ricardo Montalban. It also has the largest and most powerful emotional center of any Star Trek film, and the ending captures the pure essence and fundamentals of tragedy.

The Empire Strikes Back
I dunno if this counts since it's part of a trilogy (yes that's right trilogy, the "new" trilogy isn't real to me), but damned if I'm not gonna give it a try. By handing over the reins to a new director and the writing to two new writers, this could have tanked with the lack of the outright Kurosawa-influenced space adventure of the original, but it worked...too well, actually eclipsing the original in quality (even if it took a couple years). It might seem like a two-hour soap opera in space, but this is the movie that got us to know the characters we can't live without inside-and-out, and raised the dramatic stakes so high that the final installment couldn't cover the check. No matter how many times you see it, those final moments each character has together at the end, especially Luke and Vader are as sharp and strong as when we saw them the first time. It showed that SF didn't need lasers and sword fights to overwhelm the viewer...but it put them in anyway just in case.

Mad Max 2/ The Road Warrior
Even Terminator 2's legendary reputation can't shake the strength of the greatest sequel ever made. Several years after getting revenge on outland bikers in post-apocalyptic Australia, mean mad Max scavenges the abandoned desert highways in his rusting, souped up V8 Interceptor living day-to-day until he comes across an old fuel depot occupied by helpless civilized people fighting off a biker scourge led by the battle-scarred Lord Humungus, and he has to choose between survival and his (barely remaining) humanity. The film is held together by steroids, adrenaline, and testosterone and Mel Gibson is 100% don't-give-a-fuck-mean-motor-scooter. Although it's been imitated thousands of times, none have been able to match the intensity, pace, or pure velocity of this one.

And I hate to say something so horrifically direct Dave (because I respect a fellow evildoer like you), but maybe the medication is playing wth your brain...Jaws 1 is the greatest, has always been the greatest and will always BE the greatest shark/ocean adventure/hydrophobia-inducing movie of all time. I would rather watch Jaws 3 back-to-back 3 times than watch that miserable Jaws 2 once again. You wanna know why Roy Schieder is so intense in that movie? Because making Jaws 2 was the only way Universal would releasing him from the contract he had with them at the time...and he wasn't looking forward to going through again what he'd been through on the first Jaws, which is considered one of the most difficult shoots in film history. So he was pissed about his contract and pissed about the film he didn't want to make again. Also, Murray Hamilton's wife was deathly ill at the time, and he was so worried over it, that you can see his gloom in the ashen face of the mayor every scene he's in.

Sorry, but as someone who's seen the original at least 300 times, I just HAD to say it.

 

[ChosenofMystra]

The Godfather Part 2
The Empire Strikes Back
Mad Max 2
The Evil Dead 2 (sue me I liked it better than the first 😀 )

....honestly that's all I can think of at the moment. I'm not really a "sequel" kind of gent.

 

[Deadsea7777]

I was thinking, and wondering how you guys felt about movie sequels. Usually, somebody in a suit sees a film make his company tons of money and decides that a mindless sequel will do the same. This usually is not the case.

So, what do you think were actually superior sequels? Not just good or ok, but sequels that managed to surpass thier original. And, I'm leaving out the second parts of pre-conceived trilogies or series. So, we can leave out The Empire Strikes Back, The Two Towers and films of this ilk that were planned from the start.

Here's my short list:

Lethal Weapon 2 - Funnier, more action and with better developed characters. The inclusion of Joe Pesci's character could have backfired, but really worked. The adversaries were more evil and a lot stronger. Easily the best in that series.

Jaws 2 - Not really sure why, but I liked this one better than the original. They somehow managed to make "there's another shark?" believable. Roy Schieder brought a still-haunted presence to the Brody character.

The Godfather 2 - Yes, it was based on a book which was planned, but the movie almost wasn't made out of fear that it couldn't repeat the original success. For every reason concievable, this was a superior film, being (as far as I know, but correct me if I'm wrong) the only sequel to win an Academy Award.

Spiderman 2 - Moreso than even the first (which did this very well), we see Peter Parker as the truly torn individual that he is. Probably the most "human" of the superhero films. The badguy's motivation was also a lot more clearly defined and almost sympathetic.

Any thoughts for others?

Aliens, or Alien II, never knew the real name, and Terminator II are the best sequels ever they make the miracle of been better than the original.

However for those who like romanticism, there is no better movie as sequel than "Before Sunset", is the best love movie ever. I have no words to say how good it is, and I generally have tons of words.

 

[Dave2112]

There have been three mentioned I could easily add to my list. Terminator 2, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan and Aliens.

I don't agree on the Die Hard sequels, I thought the original was a classic action film (one that I still watch over and over), but thought the sequels were extremely lame. But, that's just me.

I didn't mention X2, even though I liked it better, because I did consider it more of a pre-conceived part of a trilogy.

 

[Ticklerguy4u]

I liked Matrix Reloaded then I did the Matrix because Neo and come into his abilities and you got to see Trinity and Morpheus in action as well...I enjoy watching the martial arts part with all the cool moves. It is also the reason I liked it also better than Matrix Revolution too. In Revolutions it had more to do with Zion then it did with being in the Matrix.

 

[slacker2114]

Hellraiser II and most especially III were great sequels that I'd add to most mentioned above.

 

[TicklishLurker]

Star Trek: The Wrath Of Kahn, much better then Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Clerks 2

Um, that's all I can think of.

 

[cloudgazer2k]

i enjoyed Ghostbusters 2. the way it was put together...plus the tunnel of slime underneath all of new york that was charged with negative energy was an awesome play.

D&D: Wrath of the Dragon God was waaayyyy better than the first D&D farce...mostly cuz there was a storyline, some really good plots behind the characters, and it was made with the old and new play rules in mind.

 

[TklDuo-Drew]

I'd have to go with the original greatest sequel ever....

"The Bride of Frankenstein". The acting was better, it had a truly evil villian in Dr. Pretorious, lots more action, and some actual comedy thrown in.
Plus the Monster talks in this one.


Drew

 

[Cave In]

Empire Strikes Back, Definatly one of the best examples of a sequel being superior to the original, some have said Return of the Jedi, but i dunno ewoks got on my nerves....

Terminator 2: Hell yea its a fantastic film way superior to the original

Spiderman 2: Was better mainly i think because of a better storyline and was different from your normal superhero movies as it went into the downsides of being a hero etc etc...

other superior sequels would be. X2, Aliens,Scream 2 🙄 and The Gadfather part 2

 

[Iwant2Btickled]

I have to agree on the Bourne Supremacy.. that rocked..but Matt Damon rocks anyway.

my favorite is Underworld 2.. MUCH MUCH hotter and better than the first one.

Pirates of the Caribean 2 was ok.. not as good as the first I didn't think.

All the Indiana Jones movies were awesome.. but Harrison Ford was my first true love, so I guess I'm partial.

I think once they got to Halloween 4, and Friday the 13th 4, they should've stopped... how many times can you kill a dude before he's really dead?

 

[chicago]

Scary Movie 2 and 3 were like totally frick'n awesome.

Just like American Pie 2 and American Wedding.

Like, fer shur.

 

[ChosenofMystra]

Scary Movie 2 and 3 were like totally frick'n awesome.

Just like American Pie 2 and American Wedding.

Like, fer shur.

I really hope you're joking about the Scary Movie films

But yeah I completely forgot about Terminator 2, quite a good sequel.

 

[chicago]

I really hope you're joking about the Scary Movie films

No way. I love those movies! Same thing with Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood, Dumb and Dumberer, and Legally Blonde 2.

 

[TklDuo-Drew]

Oh yeah.......almost forgot:


"Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle". This one was funnier and really more stupid(intentionally) than the first.


Drew

 

[Fire_Sprite]

...Dumb and Dumberer...

Blasphemy!

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Blargh. That crippling disappointment when someone names my number one before me...

The Matrix Revolutions. It wasn't better than The Matrix. But it beats Reloaded, which came before it.

Hannibal. I thought it was better than Silence of the Lambs. Namely because Lector strikes me as a much creepier and potentially destructive person the Buffalo ever was.

Thats all I got, most have been named in this thread already.

 

[Cave In]

No way. I love those movies! Same thing with....Dumb and Dumberer....

I'm with you on the scary movies but dumb and dumberer is just rubbish lol