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Film sequels that surpassed their originals.


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ROTJ is my fave Star Wars film. The final battle is the best thing ever.

In Casino Royale the Bond film continuity was reset so I could say that I liked Skyfall more than the two Bond films before it

To me, Skyfall isn't really a sequel - it's just another film in the Bond franchise. It has zero plot points in common or carried over from Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace. The only Bond films that I think can truly be considered sequels are Quantum Of Solace, From Russia With Love, and Diamonds Are Forever (And it's still a pretty flimsy connection on those last two). If we're calling Skyfall a sequel, than by that logic every Bond film other than Dr. No and Casino Royale is a sequel.

Ehhh... yeah. You're right. Damn.

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The Empire Strikes Back is not a sequel, it is the middle act of a trilogy. I hate it when people call it a sequel because that is just false. Sequels are films that have their own beginning, middle, and end. Everything is wrapped up in a neat little package when the film is over, if it ends on a cliff hanger, than the story is not finished. Empire is the prefect example of this, when the film is finished, the story is not, therefore it should be disquallified from all sequel discussion, same goes for Evil Dead 2, The Two Towers, The Desolation of Smaug, Back to the future 2, etc.

Now that we have disqualified all middle acts of a trilogy, we can have a REAL sequel debate.

I also feel VERY strongly that any truly great sequels have to bring something unique or different to the story. It can't just be the same as the first, just with different characters.

IMO these best TRUE sequels of all time are (I'm not saying they are superior to the originals, but they are stand alone great films).

Aliens

T2

Superman 2

A nightmare on Elm Street 3 the dream warriors

Friday the 13th the final chapter

Halloween 2

Godfather Part 2 (even though it is considered part of The Godfather trilogy, it is only a trilogy because they made 3 films, not because it is a TRUE trilogy.)

Amityville horror 2 The Possesion

Dark Knight (again this film is a sequel even though they made 3 films, it is NOT a true trilogy).

These are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.

Again let me say, 3 films DOES NOT make a trilogy. That is one original and 2 sequels. Godfather, Batman Begins, and many many more ARE NOT trilogies. Star Wars (4,5,6,) Lord of the rings, Back to the future, Evil Dead, etc those are trilogies.

You mean it begins, in medias res (I knew a classical education would come in handy someday)? I do not think that qualifies some as, not being a sequel but I see what you mean.

Edited by DieselDaisy
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Shut the fuck up guys, everyone knows T2 is better than T1.

Both are great, but T1 wins for atmospheric reasons.

Sequels that surpass the original, off the top of my head:

Fast Five

From Russia With Love

Toy Story 2

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Shrek 2

Spider-Man 2

The Dark Knight (but not Rises)

Shout-out to The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which, while being nowhere near as good as the original, is a million times better than the shitheap that followed it in Jurassic Park III, no matter what that hooray for tolerance! Black Sabbath thinks.

Edited by bacardimayne
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I haven't watched Alien or Aliens in the better part of two decades so I can't really comment on those.

As far as T1 vs. T2.....T2 wins....it came out at the height of G N' R....and those memories alone give it the win.

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The Empire Strikes Back is not a sequel, it is the middle act of a trilogy. I hate it when people call it a sequel because that is just false. Sequels are films that have their own beginning, middle, and end. Everything is wrapped up in a neat little package when the film is over, if it ends on a cliff hanger, than the story is not finished. Empire is the prefect example of this, when the film is finished, the story is not, therefore it should be disquallified from all sequel discussion, same goes for Evil Dead 2, The Two Towers, The Desolation of Smaug, Back to the future 2, etc.

Now that we have disqualified all middle acts of a trilogy, we can have a REAL sequel debate.

I also feel VERY strongly that any truly great sequels have to bring something unique or different to the story. It can't just be the same as the first, just with different characters.

IMO these best TRUE sequels of all time are (I'm not saying they are superior to the originals, but they are stand alone great films).

Aliens

T2

Superman 2

A nightmare on Elm Street 3 the dream warriors

Friday the 13th the final chapter

Halloween 2

Godfather Part 2 (even though it is considered part of The Godfather trilogy, it is only a trilogy because they made 3 films, not because it is a TRUE trilogy.)

Amityville horror 2 The Possesion

Dark Knight (again this film is a sequel even though they made 3 films, it is NOT a true trilogy).

These are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.

Again let me say, 3 films DOES NOT make a trilogy. That is one original and 2 sequels. Godfather, Batman Begins, and many many more ARE NOT trilogies. Star Wars (4,5,6,) Lord of the rings, Back to the future, Evil Dead, etc those are trilogies.

You mean it begins, in medias res (I knew a classical education would come in handy someday)? I do not think that qualifies some as, not being a sequel but I see what you mean.

Yes indeed. Do you have anything else to add? Your response interests me.

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Terminator 2 is better than Terminator.

Terminator is a low budget masterpiece. Brilliantly scripted and darker than T2. It’s great how it plays out with tremendous suspense every time. From the grainy, dirty image, to the harsh, metallic industrial score, every last element of 'The Terminator' serves to keep the audience ill at ease and on edge; even the final shot of a pregnant Sarah Connor riding into the sunset features encroaching storm clouds. Also, Arnold's 'Fuck You, Asshole' villainy in the first plays better than his poker-faced nice-cyborg thing in the sequel, not to mention 'I'll be back' wins out over 'Hasta la vista, baby' in a walk.

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All Underworld movies are equally awesome. :tongue2:

The first two are average at best. The Rise of The Lycans is pretty great.

Very underrated movie, imo.

Yes, it's filled with more action. I just happen to love the entire franchise. Those movies never bore me.

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When i first read the thread title i immedietly thought "Terminator 2".

Aliens. I get that Alien is more of a suspense film but i think it's dated. The whole saga would have been more effective if Ripley was fit. Call me shallow, but they'd never make sigourney the lead if it were made today.

KBV2 - leaps and bounds over the first. I was never into grindhouse kung Fu so i found the first one harder to relate too. Sequal had better music, better story and more time to explain the whole plot.

It's been years since I've seen the godfather. I remember the sequal being better

Terminator 2 is better than Terminator.

Terminator is a low budget masterpiece. Brilliantly scripted and darker than T2. Its great how it plays out with tremendous suspense every time. From the grainy, dirty image, to the harsh, metallic industrial score, every last element of 'The Terminator' serves to keep the audience ill at ease and on edge; even the final shot of a pregnant Sarah Connor riding into the sunset features encroaching storm clouds. Also, Arnold's 'Fuck You, Asshole' villainy in the first plays better than his poker-faced nice-cyborg thing in the sequel, not to mention 'I'll be back' wins out over 'Hasta la vista, baby' in a walk.No. Edited by Axl_morris
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KBV2 - leaps and bounds over the first. I was never into grindhouse kung Fu so i found the first one harder to relate too. Sequal had better music, better story and more time to explain the whole plot.

But it is actually Kill Bill 2 that contains all of the Kung Fu stuff; see for example, the character Pai Mei, the actor Gordon Liu and the 'five point palm exploding heart technique' - things straight from the 1970s kung fu genre. Kill Bill 1 basically rips-off Lady Snowblood, a Japanese chanbara live-action Manga. One is more, Japan, whereas Two is more, Hong Kong/China. You could also argue that the presence of Carradine, from the original Kung Fu television series, aligns the second film with the kung fu genre.

Edited by DieselDaisy
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is actually a prequel: it was set during the American Civil War whereas the other two were post-bellum - see for example the grave in A Fistfull of Dollars, 1873. Also, if you notice, Eastwood's 'man with no name' gains his distinctive 'dollars' attire during the course of the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

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Just finished watching the entire X-Men and Wolverine movies over the past few days....and I would say at least 2 of them were better than the first X-Men movie....but that entire franchise's chronology is so out of whack...it's difficult to call most of them "sequels".

Edited by Kasanova King
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