Movie Sequels That Were Better Than The Original

[Lardlad]

I was just talking to my brother about movies that had sequels that ended up being better than the originals. At first I didn't think one existed, but then he came up with a list

Here are the ones he came up with (below)

Agree? Disagree? Any that were left off?? Discuss.


- The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)
- The Godfather part 2 (1974)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Superman 2 (1980)
- Police Academy 2 (1985)
- Aliens (1986)
- Christmas Vacation (1989) – better than Euro VaCa
- Terminator 2 (1991)
- Scary Movie 2 (2001)
- Analyze That (2002)
- Spiderman 2 (2004)
- Meet the Fockers (2004)
- Before Sunset (2004)

[BR329]

Empire Strikes back is my favorite of the original trilogy so that one. Agreed on Terminator 2. Also Lethal Weapon 2 and Bad Boys 2 are way better then the originals.

[DiBiase is Good]

Meet the Fockers better? Don't agree with that.

My choices are
From Russia With Love (ok, a bit of a cheat as it's not actually a sequel as such, same can be said for other Bonds better than the first)
Superman 2
Spiderman 2
Wayne's World 2
X-Men 2
Lethal Weapon 2
The Bourne Supremacy & Ultimatum
Mission Impossible 3 and 4
Batman Returns
Star Trek 2
Just about any of the Harry Potter films are better than the first
Rocky 2

There are others I'm sure I've forgot but those are my picks.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Disagree with Scary Movie 2, Meet the Fockers, Analyze That, Christmas Vacation, and The Godfather Part II. You mentioned The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. You could also include For a Few Dollars More, which was better than A Fistful of Dollars. All three are really good, though Sergio Leone thought of them as three separate movies and not a trilogy.

I agree with Termination 2, Spider-Man 2, Empire Strikes Back, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

I don't have a strong opinion on which is better between Alien and Aliens or between Superman and Superman 2.

I haven't seen Before Sunset or Before Midnight. I haven't seen the Police Academy movies.

Another choice: The Wrath of Khan and The Dark Knight

[Deleted]

Desperado & Road Warrior fo' sho'

[Brother Nero....Wolfe]

Only one that immediately comes to mind is Ace Ventura 2.

Feb 4, 2013 14:12:20 GMT -5 DiBiase is Good said:

Rocky 2

There are others I'm sure I've forgot but those are my picks.

Hmmm I'm not sure if I'd agree with Rocky 2. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the movie, but I don't think it's as good as the first one. I think a lot of the emotional impact Rocky 2 has is reliant on watching the first movie, so I can't really say it's better.

[Push R Truth]

one thing stands out in that list... some of those are all sequels that were not afraid of moving away from what made the original good. They took what was established and then went a different direction.

Examples:

Empire and A New Hope. The differences are just about everything beyond setting.
Aliens was violence and Machismo, with a surrogate mother rising to the challenge VS Alien's unknown horror in cramped quarters
Christmas Vacation was about Hy-jinks at home, not out on the road
T2 was about over the top BOOMS in the happy 90's and not being hunted by a cold machine with little hope for survival in the bleak 80's.

[DiBiase is Good]

I know Rocky 2 doesn't quite have the same emotional punch (no pun intended) as Rocky but for me the second is more of a feel-good film as Rocky actually wins this time. (And yes, I know that in the first film it was about more than just winning a fight). Plus the fight in Rocky 2 is spectacular.

[Deleted]

Only ones I can think of offhand are Batman Returns - and that's a definite just "maybe" for me, given the original's a lot more coherent - and Spider-Man 2. Then again, I can't really think of that many sequels I've seen honestly, or at least ones that are worth mentioning in the same breath as the original. Guess Dark Knight, but I'm that weird person who thinks it's arguably the worst of the three. Still a damn fine movie, though.

Oh, Toy Story 2 and 3. Say both surpass the original, and 3 tops 2.

[Lardlad]

Feb 4, 2013 14:11:24 GMT -5 BR329 said:

Empire Strikes back is my favorite of the original trilogy so that one. Agreed on Terminator 2. Also Lethal Weapon 2 and Bad Boys 2 are way better then the originals.

I thought Lethal Weapon 2 was a very good sequel, especially with the addition of Joe Pesci’s character, but I still think the original Lethal Weapon was the best of the series.

[Bone Daddy]

Terminator, Wayne's World, Austin Powers

[Lardlad]

Feb 4, 2013 14:12:20 GMT -5 DiBiase is Good said:

Meet the Fockers better? Don't agree with that.

My choices are
From Russia With Love (ok, a bit of a cheat as it's not actually a sequel as such, same can be said for other Bonds better than the first)
Superman 2
Spiderman 2
Wayne's World 2
X-Men 2
Lethal Weapon 2
The Bourne Supremacy & Ultimatum
Mission Impossible 3 and 4
Batman Returns
Star Trek 2
Just about any of the Harry Potter films are better than the first
Rocky 2

There are others I'm sure I've forgot but those are my picks.

Meet The Parents made me laugh, but Meet The Fockers had me in stitches! Dustin Hoffman was hilarious as Stiller’s father.

IIRC, the only good thing about Wayne’s World 2 was Chris Farley’s role as a wannabe groupie. Haven’t seen it in a long time though…

I liked Batman Returns better than Batman too. Both Tim Burton, but Returns was much darker and twisted.

Rocky 2 was excellent, but the original, again, was superior I think. I’m also biased because Rocky is in my top 10 of all time.

[Crappler El 0 M]

I think Batman and Batman Returns are about even. I might give a slight edge to Batman.

I think Toy Story 2 is NOT better than Toy Story. I can't quite make up my mind about Toy Story or Toy Story 3. All three are great.

I think Lethal Weapon is better than Lethal Weapon 2, but both are pretty good.

Rocky is the best of the series. Rocky II isn't bad, but the original is by far the best in the series.

Wayne's World is better than Wayne's World II.

I agree that Mission Impossible 4 is the best in the series. I don't have a strong feeling about whether Mission Impossible 3 is better than the first one, but it's better than M:I 2.

I don't have a strong feeling about which of the Bourne movies is the best.

[Lardlad]

Feb 4, 2013 14:13:27 GMT -5 Crappler El 0 M said:

Disagree with Scary Movie 2, Meet the Fockers, Analyze That, Christmas Vacation, and The Godfather Part II. You mentioned The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. You could also include For a Few Dollars More, which was better than A Fistful of Dollars. All three are really good, though Sergio Leone thought of them as three separate movies and not a trilogy.

I agree with Termination 2, Spider-Man 2, Empire Strikes Back, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

I don't have a strong opinion on which is better between Alien and Aliens or between Superman and Superman 2.

I haven't seen Before Sunset or Before Midnight. I haven't seen the Police Academy movies.

Another choice: The Wrath of Khan and The Dark Knight

Christmas Vacation, I thought, was definitely better than European Vacation, but Vacation is still the best of the series. Although as far as Christmas flicks go, CV is one of my all-time favs.

Before Sunrise was the original Richard Linklater film. Both that and Before Sunset are good, but play better if viewed back-to-back.

Not a huge fan of Star Trek in general.

As for the Batman franchise, I liked the 2 Tim Burton entries the best. Dark Knight was very good as a re-vamping of the series, respectively.

[fw91]

Rush Hour 2
Harold and Kumar: Guantanamo Bay

[Lardlad]

Feb 4, 2013 14:19:14 GMT -5 Brother Nero....Wolfe said:

Hmmm I'm not sure if I'd agree with Rocky 2. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the movie, but I don't think it's as good as the first one. I think a lot of the emotional impact Rocky 2 has is reliant on watching the first movie, so I can't really say it's better.

I’ve actually spent 12 hours in a row watching the entire Rocky franchise. Best underdog story ever told…and it took 30 years to complete!

[Some Guy]

Feb 4, 2013 14:04:00 GMT -5 Lardlad said:

I was just talking to my brother about movies that had sequels that ended up being better than the originals. At first I didn't think one existed, but then he came up with a list

Here are the ones he came up with (below)

Agree? Disagree? Any that were left off?? Discuss.


- The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)
- The Godfather part 2 (1974)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Superman 2 (1980)
- Police Academy 2 (1985)
- Aliens (1986)
- Christmas Vacation (1989) – better than Euro VaCa
- Terminator 2 (1991)
- Scary Movie 2 (2001)
- Analyze That (2002)
- Spiderman 2 (2004)
- Meet the Fockers (2004)
- Before Sunset (2004)

-Yes
-I prefer it, so I will go with it as well but I can see both sides
-My favorite movie of all time, so yes
-Yes
-Meh, not really
-It could go either way with Aliens/Alien, depends on how you view the genre
-Eh, regular Vacation is better to me
-I'll give it to T2
-Absolutely not, the first was decent and the second is awful
-HELL no, Analyze That is brutal and This is great
-Yes
-No, Fockers sucks
-I'd say they're about even

I'd throw in Goldfinger/Casino Royale/Skyfall/On Her Majesty's Secret Service for the Bond movies, The Dark Knight, X2: X-Men United, and Hellboy 2.

[mcmahonfan85]

Feb 4, 2013 14:04:00 GMT -5 Lardlad said:

Here are the ones he came up with (below)

Agree? Disagree? Any that were left off?? Discuss.

- The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966): Didn't see
- The Godfather part 2 (1974): Debatable, but i prefer the original
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Yes
- Superman 2 (1980): Yes
- Police Academy 2 (1985): No
- Aliens (1986): Yes
- Christmas Vacation (1989) – better than Euro VaCa: Yes
- Terminator 2 (1991): Yes
- Scary Movie 2 (2001): No
- Analyze That (2002): No
- Spiderman 2 (2004): No
- Meet the Fockers (2004): Hell no
- Before Sunset (2004): Didn't see

[Red Impact]

Really disagree with Aliens. It took what was a cerebral and incredibly suspenseful horror movie and basically turned it into a big dumb action movie. Aliens was a good big dumb action movie, but it didn't nearly have the punch of the first one did because it made the entire threat just cannon fodder.

X-men 2 and Spider-man 2 were better and Evil Dead 3 was better than both of it's predecessors.

[Mozenrath]

Predator 2, says no sane person ever.