Last week a viewer sent in a question for us on “The Movie Blog: Uncut” show asking about sequels that were better than the originals (a very rare thing). That got me to thinking about what I consider to be the greatest sequels ever. After seeing my friend Brad over at RopeOfSilicon do his 10 best sequels list today, I thought I should throw mine up too.
If nothing else, the films on this list are a testament that sequels can be a great thing. Often people (me included sometimes) will moan and complain when they hear about a sequel coming out… saying there’s no creativity left in Hollywood and that they’re all terrible and just cash grabs. Well, I’m glad studios don’t listen to that sort of talk, because if they did, none of the magnificent films on this list would exist.
Remember, all lists are totally subjective and no 2 lists will look exactly alike. Having said that, I now present for your consideration and debate, The Movie Blog’s Top 20 Sequels:
#1 – LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING The movie holding the record for the most Oscars (11) is still what I consider to be the greatest overall achievement in cinematic history. When you consider all the film making elements of cinematography, acting, art direction, visual effects, music, direction, story, no film in history has brought them all together in a package as nearly perfect as The Return of the King. An incredible ending to only the second trilogy in history to have all three of its films nominated for Best Picture. |
#2 – THE GODFATHER PART 2 More than just an amazing story, The Godfather Part 2’s real genius was in how director Francis Ford Coppola told the story. Disconnecting the linear timeline and in essence telling two separate stories book ending the time frame of the first Godfather movie. Many will argue (understandably so) that this should be #1, and I can respect that because the film is just so flat out amazing. Still, for me part 1 is still the best of the franchise. One of the best, most tragic and haunting endings to any film in history. (The other trilogy to have all 3 films nominated for best picture) |
#3 – RETURN OF THE JEDI Like many many many other people out there, I’m a certified Star Wars freak (only of the original trilogy, otherwise Star Wars is dead to me now), but unlike most others, I actually think Return of the Jedi was just a little bit better than Empire. As you can see below, I think both were magnificent, but to me Jedi had something extra that’s hard to define. The Vader/Skywalker battle in the Emperor’s throne room and the music that accompanied it is one of my favorite single scenes in film history. Not to mention the greatest space battle scene in movie history that STILL hasn’t been beat. |
#4 – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Sweet hotness! I still remember as a little kid seeing Empire for the first time. I thought I was going to wet myself when we saw the Star Destroyer for the first time shooting out the probe droids. I definite darker tone than the others in the franchise made for maybe the best dramatic storytelling in the franchise. And today, with all the M. Night Shamhammers running around it’s hard to appreciate a good “twist” anymore… but man, back in the day Darth Vader telling Luke he was his father was MIND BLOWING! I still remember as a kid wondering how Grover because a Jedi on some swamp world. |
#5 – INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2 To this day my favorite cop movie of all time is the original Infernal Affairs (which as some people still don’t know is what the 2007 Best Picture winning film “The Departed” is a remake of), and yet Infernal Affairs 2 just might be even better. Filled with twists and revelations, the movie is a prequel to the original with many of the key cast returning and younger versions of some of the original cast filling in the gaps. A completely killer film. |
#6 – INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE This is actually my favorite film of the entire franchise. One would think it impossible to meet or top the achievements of the Indiana Jones films at that time, and yet somehow Lucas and Spielberg found a way. Brining on Sean Connery to play Indy’s father is probably one of the best celebrity additions to a franchise ever. The chemistry between Ford and Connery was fantastic and carried much of the charm of the film. Funny, exciting and everything else you’ve come to expect an Indiana Jones movie to be (minus the nuclear fridge). |
#7 – TOY STORY 2 The funniest thing about Toy Story 2 was that it was originally supposed to be a straight to video sequel, and that at some point the execs looked at it again and said “holy crap… this is actually turning out really well. Let’s release it in theaters!”. It’s a damn good thing they did. Not only did the film make nearly $500 million world wide, it is the only wide release film to hold a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes as well. |
#8 – THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS Following the amazing achievement of Fellowship of the Ring (a LOT of people expected that movie to suck) people were bracing themselves for a let down. “The first one was a fluke” I heard more than one person say. Even I thought the franchise had nowhere to go but down. Wow was I wrong! The Battle at Helm’s Deep stands as one of my favorite battle scenes in history as the story of the ring got deeper and better. Many felt this film was robbed of the best picture Oscar… I’m one of them. |
#9 – ALIENS Where the first Alien film leaned more towards being a Sci-Fi suspense film in many ways, the second burst into a different direction as a balls to the wall action film. The film is just loaded with memorable scenes and fantastic one liners (“Game over man”). It was the first action film I’d ever seen that I could literally say had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The film will hold up forever. |
#10 – X-MEN 2 The first X-Men movie single handedly resurrected the superhero genre movie after Batman Nipple Lord vs Austrian Ice Ham” nearly single handedly killed it several years earlier. X-Men 2 took it up a notch. Right from the incredible opening scene with Nightcrawler breaking into the White House to the end where we catch our first glimpse of he Phoenix (that only fans of the comic book recognized and freaked out over when the fiery shape came on the screen), X-Men 2 redefined just how good Comic Book movies could be. To this day it’s still my favorite Comic Book movie. |
#11 – TERMINATOR: JUDGEMENT DAY Who among us didn’t thing the new liquid Terminator was the damn coolest thing we’d ever seen when this movie first came out. But the T-1000 wasn’t just cool visual effects. The cold passionless killer that Robert Patrick gave us was also one of the scariest things my teenage eyes had ever seen. Damn that guy gave me nightmares. The story was excellent, Linda Hamilton just ruled (I still think Cameron is a bloody idiot for cheating on that woman) and seeing the Arnold Terminator as a GOOD guy was fun too. |
#12 – THE DARK KNIGHT Director Christopher Nolan did what many people thought couldn’t be done… he topped his own Batman Begins with a film broader in scope, deeper in story, more exciting in action all topped off with a classic villain given new incredible life by the single greatest performance ever in the history of comic book movies. The Dark Knight, while not perfect, delivered everything a Batman fan could have hoped for to send them home happy. The movie struck an obivous chord with comic and non comic book fans alike, quickly becoming the second highest grossing film (not counting inflation) in history. |
#13 – CLERKS 2 To many people Kevin Smith and his films are an acquired taste. To be honest, as much of a fan that I am of Smith, I’m not actually that thrilled with many of his films. Having said that, I honestly think Clerks 2 is one of the sharpest, funniest and yes smartest comedies I’ve seen in a long long time. Smith shows he’s more than just fart and fuck jokes. Clerks 2 has so much heart to it that many people miss. Real issues struggled with by a lot of people entering their mid 30’s, issues of friendship, home, belonging, dreams, all dealt with within the context of Smith’s edgy humor. I unapologetically love this movie |
#14 – STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KHAN The first Star Trek film just blew chunks of refuse, so to many at the time a follow up film was a bit of a surprise. However, the idea behind the film was nothing short of pure genius. Going back and directly making the movie a sequel to AN INDIVIDUAL EPISODE of the TV show was a move that save the franchise. Ricardo Montalban instantly became one of the greatest villains in movie history reprising the role of Khan. If you didn’t feel the blood rushing through your veins when Khan quotes “To the last, I will grapple with thee. From hell’s heart, I stab at thee. For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee” then you are totally dead inside. |
#15 – SPIDER-MAN 2 I nearly lost my mind the first time I saw this flick. Just about everything a Comic Book movie should be. Great visual effects, terrific action, loads of wild cheer moments, fun, funny and character who stick surprisingly well with the spirit of their comic book counterparts. Tragically overlooked in this film whenever it’s discussed is the performance of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock who brought that extra dimension to the film that Spider-Man 1 (as good as it was) missed. Such a shame Spider-Man 3 went completely to shit. |
#16 – ROCKY 2 The original Rocky (which I know most people these days haven’t seen) was a different kind of sports movie. It was more about the character and his story than the sport. Rocky 2 began to float more towards the “action” elements that the franchise would become known for, but at the heart of it was still this terrific character… Rocky Balboa. How this simple guy went from nothing to celebrity status, how it effected himself, the relationships in his life and his dreams. One of the most electrifying ends to a movie ever. |
#17 – ARMY OF DARKNESS I understand that most people feel that if you’re going to put an “Evil Dead” movie on this list, then Evil Dead 2 should be the one to get the nod. Sorry, but to me Army Of Darkness is the king of the franchise and always will be. Perhaps no film in history has ever been as purely quotable as this cult classic. As a matter of fact, a lot of the most famous quotes in various movies and video games were all direct rips rips from Army Of Darkness. It’s the movie that elevated Bruce Campbell to god status who now dwells in the halls of the immortals. |
#18 – STAR TREK 4: THE VOYAGE HOME Ok, if I were a movie studio executive back in 1984 and some guy came into my office with an idea for a new Star Trek movie that focused on the crew of the Enterprise going back in time on earth to the 1980’s, looking like hippies and on a mission to save the whales, I would have thrown that dude out of my office and fired him on the spot. I guess sometimes the dumbest sounding ideas can be executed in such a way to make a classic. This movie is just so damn charming and fun. Scotty trying to talk to the 1980’s computer is a classic scene! “Oh, a keybord. How quaint”. |
#19 – SHREK 2 The first Shrek film was pretty good, but there was something about the sequel that will always give it a special place in my heart. Blatant pop culture reference jokes rarely hit with me, but for some reason they way the material was handled in Shrek 2 had me grinning, giggling and laughing pretty much the whole way through the movie. Puss In Boots was a great addition to the cast of characters and that musical number of “I need a hero” near the end still gets my heart thumping. Like Spider-Man 2 however, it’s a shame the next film was total garbage. |
#20 – DIE HARD 3 Kind of like the Army of Darkness pick, there will be many out there who will feel that Die Hard 2 deserves the place on this list. However, to performance of Jeremy Irons, the heist plot and the chemistry between Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson pushed this one over the top. Come to think of it, in terms of just the “heist” portion of the film… it may be one of my favorite heist movies ever. The plan was so freaking great! |
So there you have it folks. Like I mentioned at the beginning, all film is subjective and no 2 lists will look exactly alike, so I’m sure that even if you love or hate my list, there are things you agree or disagree with. What would your list look like? Which films would you put on there that I left off? Which ones would you boot off? (just so you know, I amended this list to include Clerks 2 which I originally forgot to add).
Amongst all , I liked Godfather. Really entertaining movie!
LOL @ Pedro “Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions” I tend to agree with this even though I didn’t think Reloaded was horrible. Halfway through the movie it did turn into xbox though, lol.
I thought I would weigh in on some of the worst sequels ever made. I did a quick scan and I didn’t see anyone mentioning star wars 1-3. Any movie with jar jar binks automatically makes at least top ten worst ever. Here is some others that make my top all time worst list:
The Next Karate Kid
Teen Wolf Too
Oceans Twelve
Dumb and Dumberer
And of course the all time worst for me Godfather III. I have seen this mentioned a few times in some comments. I still have not seen this movie all the way through. Fall asleep every time, lol. Anyway, there are many other ones but I just wanted to give a few I haven’t seen mentioned. Thanks.
Mike
Those were some interesting picks. First off, Die Hard 2 is crap. It’s only watchable because the first one was so good that the audience has a bit of an emotional tie to John McClain. Three was good & 4 was pretty good as well but none really hold a candle to the original. Here’s a quick few of my fave sequels…
Best Sequel of all time: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s the best installment of one of, if not THE, greatest movie trilogy ever made. These movies changed movies. Luke finding out that Vader IS his father is probably my all-time favorite movie scene.
Terminator 2
Toy Story 2 was good but not near as good as the first. Toy Story 3 however was pretty damn close & easily good enough to stand on it’s own.
The Dark Knight. Worth mentioning for Heath Ledger’s performance alone, though it is so much more than that.
Ok, nobody be to rough with me over this but…
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban. The first two were just watchable if you have kids. All of the sequels since have been decent. # 3 in the series is actually quite a good movie. It’s visually interesting, the acting is greatly improved over the first 2 & it has Gary Oldman. This was the movie where the series started to get dark.
Okay, that’s all for now.
The Snapper was brilliant, follow up to the commitments.
Poor sequel: Chronicle of riddick, such a waste.
Great Sequel: American pie 2
Poor Sequel: Robocop 2.
Poor sequel: Tremors 2
Poor sequel: MIB 2
Great sequel: Star trek 1st contact
Poor sequel: Godfather 3
Movies that deserve a sequel: The Big Lebowski, Let the right one in (but they ll mangle it)
It’s Aliens everytime!!!!
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Godfather 2
3. Dark Knight
4. Toy Story 2
5. Aliens
6. Terminator 2
7. Spider Man 2
8. Kill Bill Vol.2
9. Shrek 2
10. Indiana Jones
11. Lord of the Rings Two Towers
12. X2
13. Clerks 2
This does not account for movies made further in a series, or prequels (ex. LOTR return of the king) only movies following up the first in a series.
*Batman Series I consider to be re-started, Batman Begins is the origin story and completely apart from Past Batman movies. Its as if they wanted to start fresh.
Rated on a combination of things, movie quality, improvement, ability to be seen alone within a series of films, story, wow factor etc.
I can’t think of a list right off the top of my head, but my personal alltime favorite sequel is (Grumpier Old Men).
Worst Sequels:
Force 10 From Navarone
Lethal Weapon 2, 3, 4, etc…
Superman 3 and 4
Alien Vs Predator (ok kind of a prequel but…)
AvP: Requiem
City Slickers 2
Transporter 2
Star Trek Insurrection and Nemesis
Jewel of The Nile
Kill Bill 2 (seriously not as good as KB1)
Wanted: The Sundance Woman (Sequel to Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid)
The French Conncetion II
Mission Impossible 2, 3, 4 (yadda yadda yadda)
The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 (nowhere near as good as the original)
JAWS 2, 3, and 4
Poltergeist 2, 3 (yadda yadda yadda)
Conan The Destroyer
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions
Robocop 2
Starship Troopers 2 and 3
————
Anyone want to start a list of “Worst Remakes” ??
I think almost everything on the list is right, EXCEPT for Lord of the Rings because I believe that they are like one movie even though they were shot one at a time.
I think that the original Die Hard was way better than Die Hard 3.
Shrek I don’t really care about.
For X-Men I think that they were all pretty equal.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dooms was my favorite.
And Toy Story I don’t really give a crap about.
But you guys are forgeting The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. (Even though Angels and Demons was written first as a book) I thought Angels of Demons was way better. Their were a alot of subplots that just made the movie interesting and the ending was what I would not have expected for a type of movie like that.
Best sequels you’re missing include:
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Superman II
Dawn of the Dead (Romero’s original version)
Airplane 2
Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Incredible Hulk (well, it was an i,provement on the Ang Lee version!)
Good Will Hunting II: Hunting Season (he he he!)
Good Will Hunting II – or “How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Math”.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best sets of movies ever, but people tend to forget many of the great movies from the 30’s and 40’s.
There were some great comedies like “Arsenic and Old Lace”, and great adventures like “Captain Blood” and “The Adventures of Robin Hood”.
Sequels only seemed to be done for lower budget matinee style movies, but I think if sequels had been made to the great movies back then, they could have dominated the list.
Just cause a movie is one of the highest grossing ever doesn’t mean its a great movie. Jeez by that logic titanic is better than the Dark Knight lol..Box office numbers means one thing, profit. Dark Knight good movie, great sequel but give us a break please..
How is The Dark Knight only number 12. It should be up there with The Godfather Part II and LOTR: Return of the King. The Dark Knight is the second highest grossing movie of all time behind Titanic. Also, anyone whose a Batman fan or even likes Batman would agree that it’s the best of any of them. It’s also the first film in history in which an actor (the late great Heath Ledger R.I.P) has won an oscar for a performance based on a comic book.
Its tough to make one all encompasing list and feel a little behind the eightball making a comment on a thread that is over a year old but hey its an interesting subject.
I will say that im not a LOFR fan so wont find any on here. Didn’t mind them but no top movie list for me.
In no particluar order
T2
Aliens
Back to the future 2
Empire Strikes Back
Scream 2
The Colour of Money
Desperado
Dark Knight
Batman Returns
The French Connection 2 (love popeye)
Godfather Part 2
Toy Story 2
Gremlins 2
Rocky 2
Star Trek First Contact
and lame as it is (these are the ones you can rip into)
Dirty Dozen: The next misson
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (i have seen it too many times to not include LOL)
Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey
I would also like to add that I enjoyed Spidey 2,Mission Impossible 2, Matrix 2 and Transporter 2.Some movies like Blade went on to have sequels but the original just had that freshness to it
1.Dark Knight
2.Aliens
3.The Chronicles of Riddick
4.Charlie’s Angels 2
5.Bad Boys 2
6.Austin Powers 2
7.X-Men 2
8.In my opinion I think franchises like Lethal Weapon,Pirates,Indiana Jones got better with each movie
this list is almost perfect. the dark knight die hard with a vengaence and rocky 2 should have been higher. and wat is this with toy story?
How on EARTH did you leave off Back to the future II? Its got the future, the past, and and alternate 1985! It gives us a little bit of the old and a fun look at what could be…such a great sequel.
My favorite sequels:
1) The Godfather Part II
2) Once Upon a Time in Mexico
3) The Dark Knight
4) Oceans 13 (12 blew big time)
5) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
6) Return of the King
7) Return of the Jedi
8) Two Towers
9) Aliens
10)The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
11)Rocky II
12)Rocky III
13)Lethal Weapon 2
14)Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (I know, it’s sad to think I like this movie.)
15)Army of Darkness
16)Spider-Man 2
17)Saw II
18)Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
19)Men in Black II
20)The Empire Strikes Back
1. Terminator 2
2. Aliens
3. Dark Knight
4. The Thing (could be considered a sequel)
5. X-Mas Vacation
6. Godfather 2
7.
I think that a good indicator of the top 10 sequels is if they actually improve upon OR are even better than a previous one. If that’s true, these would make the list for a lot of us: (Not necessarily in this order): (Also, consider the fact that the bigger the film was a hit, the harder it is to follow it up with a satisfying sequel)
T2, Aliens, Silence of the Lambs, Empire Strikes Back, LOTR 3, Bourne Supremacy, Dark Knight, the new Star Trek (I’d call it a sequel!), Superman 2 (for its time), Toy Story 2 (maybe)…
I agree 95% with this list. Die Hard 3 was an abortion. Return of the Jedi is questionable also — midgets in teddy bear costumes ruined that for me.
I think Kahn should be much higher up in the list. Great story of hate, revenge, and loss that is easy to understand and follow even if you are not a trek fan.
Good choice for Jedi over Empire, totally agree there.
X-Men 2 should be closer to the end of the list instead of being #10.
And Terminator 2 has to be in the top 8.
The rest of the list is solid.
Add Punisher: War Zone to the growing list of movie sequels that truly were not necessary.
This is definitely an interesting list and honestly, I don’t think I could narrow down all the sequels to make my own!
I may have Bad Boys 2 on my list somewhere though… damn, I’m stuck!
Some of you have great choices! Here are mine.
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II (Yes, it’s that good!!)
The Dark Knight
Goldfinger
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Aliens
Rocky II
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Saw II
If there were a list for WORST sequels ever made then I think that THE MUMMY RETURNS and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND should be on there, purely for fucking two good franchises in the ass.
Oh, and AMERICAN PIE: THE WEDDING.
*shudders*
Has everyone forgotten about ALIENS!!! Man that movie kicked some serious alien but!!
I would also like to add Starship Troopers 2 – sequel was better than the first.
Empire Strikes Back should be top of the list
LOTR both movies.
Does Pulp Fiction count as a sequel to Reservior Dogs? If it does put Pulp Fiction on the list.
yea referring bac 2 spider man 2. three words alone that can describe the movie by it’s self, KICK ASS MOVIE. THIS MOVIE WAS so good. the visual effects, the color , the action . eveything was great. i rate this movie like of the scale a 10 like a big freaking 10. this movie rocks and to tell you the truth i dont even like spider- man like that honestly but it kept my attention throughtout the whole movie.
this list stinks except for Shreak, you should have Scream 2 on there
Where the hell is Leonard Part 6?
Oh, wait a minute…
Hey Someone,
So according to your logic… you’re saying Titanic is a much better movie than The Dark Knight right?
Since when does box office say anything about the quality of a movie?
OKAY the Dark Knight is better than spiderman 2 and X-men 2. It has Higher ratings critically and has a MUCH higher box office count. The Dark Knight is the Highest grossing super hero movie ever(fact). The Dark Knight should definately be higher on the list man.
What about the second Back To The Future movie? Beverly Hills Cop 2 was pretty good too. American Pie 2 and Shrek 2 wasn’t so bad nor was Austin Powers 2. In this economy, comedy is in. I guess the top anything changes with the times.
How can you put Lord of the Rings in front of Godfather part II. That is ridiculous, Godfather II is a classic and the Lord of the Rings return of the King was 30 minutes too long.
Maybe they should have just ended the movie with Rudy and Elijah make out.
Man this list is not good at all The Dark Knight should be higher up on this list. Here is my top 10list
1. The Godfather Part II
2. Lord of the Rings 3
3. The Dark Knight
4. Terminator 2
5. Aliens
6. Dawn of the Dead
7. Two Towers
8. Empire strikes back
9. Spiderman 2
10. X2
Now why did you put Spiderman 2 and X2 ahead of the Dark Knight come on man they’re good movies but not that good. THE DARK KNIGHT IS THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER(so far gonna be hard to beat).
Aliens 2
correct
LOTR sucks, too much fantasy and effects, that’s why it never got an oscar for Best Actor/Actress, there’s no acting, it’s for children, it should be in a garbage can.
Wow i didn’t really think that anyone approved of the X-men sequel, why was it good?
And John, you still have to do the worst sex scenes ever list. I asked that question a few weeks ago and you said it would make a great list.
Just sayin;)
I cry at the end of T2. Every single time, I fucking cry.
i agree…………… all LOTR sequel belongs here…amin ;-)
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Top 10:
1. Aliens
2. Godfather Part 2
3. Terminator 2
4. Empire Strikes Back
5. Before Sunset
6. Mad Max 2
7. Temple of Doom
8. The two towers
9. Back to the future 2
10. Bad boys 2 (for fun)
The Neverending Story 2
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1. The Godfather 2
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Rocky 2
definitely the top 3
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Your synopsis of Army of Darkness was perfect. Awesome that you included it.
“first you want to kill me…..now you want to kiss me…..blow…..”
Jeez, what about Pyjama Party Slaughter 2???
Jaws 2 – not bad?
Kill Bill 2 was better than 1!!!!!!
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Where’s Bride of Frankenstein?!?!?
I like your list, but i think that some famous movies are fogotten…like scareface, men in black, return in the future, blade runner, matrix…
just check out Jamie Fox’s new movie “The Sololist” see trailer at zoogatv. net . this is certainly going to be Oscar buzz for sure. also starting Robert Downey, Jr.
Why you aren’t answering me (because I’m an asshole, lol)?
NEWS FLASH !! Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t that great and defininately not better than the first
Personally, I would not recomment it as Best Picure nod. It’s really good, not excellent though. I would love to see THE DARK KNIGHT as an academy winner.
it’s unfortunate Spider-Man 2 was (and probably will be) always just recognized as “the best comic movie” (well, at least until The Dark Knight) instead of “awesome movie” (result: only Academy Award nominations in Sound and in VisualFX).
SPIDERMAN 2 was an exciting, marvelous action film, even better than the fist one, but trust me, there are a lot better sequels than this. If it was a top 20, I would have put it in.
Dude, I’m a HUGE Star Wars fan and even I think that ROTJ has no place on this list. Just 1 word for you…ewoks. Nufs said.
No Ghostbusters 2? Really guys??
movie goer2008 said jaws 2 was on his favorite list …..
are you sure man ?
moviegoer2008 said jaws 2 was on his favorite list …..
are you sure man ?
(
moviegoer2008 said jaws 2 was on his favorite list …..
are you sure man ?
(Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)
yeah ! Spider- man 2 was alright … put Rocky 2 on the list
and the Empire strikes back.. !.
SPIDER-MAN 2 is one of the few movies I’ve ever rated as a perfect 10/10, and thank goodness somebody besides me thinks Alfred Molina RULES in this movie. Willem Dafoe wishes he were half as good in the first movie as Molina is in this one. (Though, on the DVD, there’s a short joke scene where Raimi is setting up the fusion generator scene for rehearsal and tells Molina that he brought in someone to show Molina how the scene should be played. The camera pans to see Willem Dafoe in the welder’s goggles, with the guys manipulating the arms behind him, hamming up Molina’s lines in the scene. Everybody on set, especially Molina, is just cracking up and stumbling around laughing.)
Okay. It seems that every time I come on here people are, rightfully so, giving one another their opinons. Some act smart, some are smart, some don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, some do. But if one thing bugs me more than any other, and you can tell me to get off of here, it’s that there is always a debate on the LOTR trilogy. I personally found the third one overlong, sometimes boring but still well-made. I thought the second one was the best and it would probably be in my top twenty as would many of these. But, this may sound ridiculous, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 was a perfect match-up to the first one. Creative story-telling, good effects for it’s time and a witty script full of interesting characters. Think it over.
If you do a “worst” list, please add Jaws the Revenge.
You forgot about Titanic 2, Starship Troopers 2, Wild Girls 2, Hot Shots 2, Basic Instinct 2, Saw 2, Police Academy 2 and many others that are truely incredible movies like these … lol
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/e4i13a66/petition.html
a sequel anyone can support?!!
you all forgetting about Lethal Weapon 2 , this is one of the best action movies out of the 1987s.
Before Sunset.
My comments on…
The LOTR films…. Personally I think The Two Towers is a much better film that ROTK.
Return of the Jedi…. I have always enjoy it, despite the ewoks… Obviously must of us watched this movie for the first time as kids and I’m so sure nobody was complaining about at that time….
Dark Knight was great, but I also wont rank it as numer 1 on the list….
This is clearly the opinion of one person. First off you put Return of The King as #1, I will not argue this even though I am not a LOTR fan and I am more of a Star Wars fan but you really did not give enough credit to marquee films.
First off…The Dark Knight…#12??? The second highest grossing domestic movie of all time, oscar worthy performances, and an epic masterpiece and you dare put it at a double digit number…shame on you.
Second…you call yourself a Star Wars fan and you rate ROTJ above Empire? Empire introduces us to Yoda, reveals Vader as Luke’s father, Cloud City, Hoth, introduces Boba Fett, Han Solo Carbonite…come on. ROTJ was great but less drama…Empire was clearly the climax.
Third…forget a few on the list? Maybe Superman 2, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Ghostbusters 2?
DAWN OF THE DEAD is not exactly a sequel to Romero’s previously zombie epics, but part of some kind of a trilogy.
The worst sequel EVER was SON OF THE MASK.
I’m actually surprised Dawn of the Dead didn’t make that list. And shall we put for a first mention when this website makes a worst sequels list that we put The Exorcist 2: The Heretic in there? Possibly in the top 3?
I agree with “INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE” and I’m surprised with “ARMY OF DARKNESS”. Both great!
For God’s sake, you guys put the average and unfunny ARMY OF DARKNESS here and not the hilarious EVIL DEAD 2???? A top 10 from me…
1. THE DARK KNIGHT
2. THE GODFATHER: PART II
3. STAR WARS: EPISODE V-THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
4, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
5. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
6. ALIENS
7. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
8. INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
9. STAR WARS: EPISODE VI-RETURN OF THE JEDI
10. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Maybe you should think better before putting number 5 the nor-good-nor-bad-either sequel of INFERNAL AFFAIRS…
(Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)Manon des source should be on the list. Classic French Movie.
For me the dark night should at the top this is really great movie. But what i’m waiting for is the Original- X-men story of Wolverine… excited to watch it this coming 2009…
How do you not have Terminator 2 higher? That deserves to be far higher up. Also Godfather 2 is better than Return of the King. The Dark Knight should also be higher up on the list. That movie made its predecessor look like a joke and Batman Begins is a pretty good movie.
A great movie sequel is Les Bronzes Font Du Ski (French Fried Vacation II) which is a great comedy ! It’s french ! And funny !
My favorites (not best, just favorites):
1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. The Dark Knight
3. Terminator 2
4. Revenge of the Sith
5. Rocky IV
6. The Last Crusade
7. Freddy vs Jason
8. Robocop 2
9. Batman Returns
10. Star Trek IV
11. Return of the Jedi
12. Hot Shots 2
13. Naked Gun 3
14. Jaws 2
15. Hannibal
16. Godfather 2
17. Die Hard 4
For what its worth, HATED The Return of the King…did it ever end? I stop the movie where they are stranded on the lava rock. Shrek 2 also sucked.
Star Wars Ep3 should totally be on this list, way better than 2 and scoring just ahead of 1 despite the lack of Liam Neeson.
The Dark Night should’ve been number one. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
I think this list should be cut at 12. Die Hard 3? Horrendous.
My top ten:
The Godfather, Part II
The Silencs of the Lambs (should count IMO)
Empire/Jedi (counting ’em as one)
Lord of the Rings (counting ’em as one)
Terminator 2
The Two Jakes (I really dig it, sue me)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (you count LOTR, you can count this)
Toy Story 2
Aliens
A Few Dollars More
I would have ‘Pirates of the Carribean, Dead mans chest’ in there too.
Oh, and ‘Good, the Bad and the Ugly’.
I agree with some of the things on this list. Culling it down, I’d go with:
* Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
* Aliens
* The Empire Strikes Back
These are okay but not sure if they’re the “Top of all time”:
* Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
* Rocky 2
* X-Men 2
* Spiderman 2
Movies that should have been on the list:
* The Road Warrior
* The Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
* The Silence of the Lambs
* Sanjuro
* Lone Wolf & Cub 2
* Drunken Master 2
* The Bride of Frankenstein
* For a Few Dollars More
* Mr. Vampire 2
* Cannonball Run II
* Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Can’t agree with you at all on Return of the Jedi. If the death of the Boba Fett wasn’t enough, Ewoks were terrible… just terrible.
Actually, I think most of your choices are pretty assy. Evil Dead 3 is my least favorite, Indy Jones 3 is overrated. Just lots of bad choices. Please try again.
I would have put Mad Max 2:The Road Warrior somewhere in that list, it’s a perfect sequel that expanded and made better everything that was good about the first one.
“Well a doudle dumbass on you!”,……………..”Oh. . . . .joy”,………..”I know this ship like the back of my hand”. Just the fact that Star Trek 4 made it on to this list warms my heart. Easily one of the funniest, most far-fetched, sci-fi movies I’ve ever seen.
Anyone think Desparado was a great sequel to El Mariachi?
Also, wouldn’t Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom technically be a prequel since it happened before the events in Raiders?
DH3 is terrible. as is 2 and 4. There is only one that need be counted.
Lethal Weapon 2 – great.
Lethal Weapon 3-4 – abominations.
What? No Cannonball Run 2?
“Before Sunset.”
One of the most unexpected and moving sequels I’ve ever seen.
@ Mikey
100% with you buddy on DH2. Worst of the franchise.
I’m glad John acknowledged DH3 on his list…just made.
My DH rankings..DH1; DH3;DH4.
Good to see Lethal Weapon 2 mentioned from commenters.
Where is the love for Short Circuit 2.
Los Locos kick your ass
Los Locos kick your face
Los Locos kick your balls into outer space
I totally agree nogods4herby. what makes it worse is I’ve been told many times that the ewoks were originally intended to be wookies.
Good List, However…
You talk about great villians and there is no mention of Superman II. GENERAL ZOD RULES.
Also I like Return of the Jedi, However I hate those soul sucking merchandise dickshit EWOKS.
I always comfort myself knowing that a space station the size of a small moon exploding within the orbit of Endor had to have shifted the planet off its axis thus destroying those cutsie shit fuzzballs forever.
Honestly, I’d have to go with Infernal Affairs 3 over IA2, as good as it was. I’m being deliberately vague, because I don’t want to spoil anyone, but the slow internal destruction of the main character in IA3 is just breathtaking to watch.
I love everything else about the list, though, especially Aliens and the LOTR films. As much as I adore Ridley Scott’s movies, I’ve always felt that Aliens had the stronger story.
Return of the Jedi’s your favorite Star Wars sequel yet you hate the prequels? That seems a little silly to me, considering it commits all of the same sins as the prequels. Revenge of the Sith is better in almost every way.
whats happening with the podcast by the way?
No Ghostbusters 2???!!!! Shame Shame….
I agree with Darren about The Color Of Money and The Silence of the Lambs if that is considered a sequel.
I think there is should be a list of favorite PREQUELS. I realize a list of LEAST favorite prequels would be easy for most but I’d like to see people’s favs.
The Silence Of The Lambs is a sequel. Manhunter later remade as Red Dragon came first.
Thats one of the biggest crimes of the prequels – if you are new to star wars and decided to watch them all and do so in numerical order from episode 1 through episode V1 the twist in empire is completely ruined.
good to see IA2 up there
Fail! All of the Lord of the Rings are bloated pieces of poo. The rest is alright tho I’ve never been a Star Wars or Star Trek fan. Glad you chose Die Hard 3 rather than 2. 3 was my favorite of them all (well I never saw 4). Aliens and Terminator 2 should be number one and two tho! You couldn’t want more from a sequel!
I agree with entertainmenttodayandbeyond on the Peter Jackson issue. I loved the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, and King Kong; but for better or for worse, they’re not nearly as engaging or character-oriented as many other movies today by people like Nolan, Cameron, etc.
Also, I did not think that Return of the King was the best in the series. Maybe I wasn’t looking at it objectively, but it seemed more predictable and even less complex in terms of story than the last two(the first of which I really liked).
Lastly: what the heck is Shrek 2 doing on this list? The first Shrek was actually pretty original, which makes the rehash that is Shrek 2 all the more worse. The Controlling Ideas were virtually the same, and even all the giggly jokes couldn’t shake the feeling that the story is even more meaningless than the first.
And I hate endings where all the characters spontaneously begin singing and dancing. It’s totally beyond unoriginal and uncreative.
I was just wondering.
I have seen it many times where people say “I hate the lord of the rings trilogy. all three of them suck” and it always puzzles me as to why you would see all three if you hated the first one. They are not the shortest films so thats a big commitment to make to a series of films you are fairly certain to dislike.
But you really hate return of the king huh. Fair enough.
Hi George,
Yes I liked The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers very much. At first I had a hard time with the expanded role of Arwen but I could understand the need. Same thing with cutting out Tom Bombadil. Neither movie was perfect but I loved both and think they are wonderful.
It is an excellent list, cannot disagree with it too much. I would only put Empire Strikes Back over Return Of The Jedi; also instead of Return Of The King I’d wish Two Towers in its stead. But there’s two films that I feel are missing.
One is The Color Of Money (1986).
The other is Silence Of The Lambs
I could understand why some people might not see either as “a sequel”, but since Paul Newman continued his character from The Hustler in the Scorcese picture, to me, that’s equal to a sequel.
As for Lambs, the novel itself was a sequel to the author’s “Red Dragon”. “Red Dragon” was filmed as “Manhunter” (also from 1986) with the role of Hannibal Lector recast. So in my view, it *is* a sequel.
Either one should knock off Clerks 2.
John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow II gets an honorable mention from me.
********
@Melbye
Casino Royale isn’t a sequel.
Did you like fellowship and two towers ericd?
Hi Steven C.
We’d have to start a whole new blog to cover all the things wrong with me. But I still say Return of the King is dog shit. Dog shit with corn.
Gotta agree with some of the other folks, LOTR shouldn’t be considered sequels. The three separate books were not self contained stories and neither were the movies regardless of how they were filmed timewise.
I liked Back to the Future 2 & 3. Drunken Master 1 was great but the exponential improvement of Drunken Master 2 over the first is really amazing (because it was made like 15 years after the first one or something like that).
Other than that it’s a very good list.
What the fuck is wrong with you ERICD, John is right, The Lord of the Rings the Return of the King is one of the best movies ever.
I would argue that visuals have everything to do with storytelling since they absorb you emotionally, at least if you count visuals as having to do with style, which is important. In terms of actual character development Peter Jackson is not exactly subtle. He makes it known when Frodo is being subverted by the ring. But he has the books to back him and use as a spine, so at the very least it’s a fun trilogy and really easy to fall in love with.
I never thought Die Hard 2 was any good so I’m actually glad the third one is on here rather than that one! Spiderman 2 and X-Men 2 are certainly some superb choices in the superhero department but what about Superman 2?? Absolutely loved that flick!!
And Clerks 2? I’m not so sure to be honest, it had NONE of the character of the first film and seemed like it was just TRYING to offend.
hey John good list. I agree with all of them pretty much. I might change some of the order’s but a very cool list to put up.
Ummmm…. one thing, use spell check please, when putting up an article. I usually could care less but just about every paragraph has a mistake. I only bring it up because it did hurt my enjoyment of reading it a bit when i was like “huh? what? oh I see” you know. Not a big deal but just check before you hit publish if you could.]
Again awesome list
Rocky IV was the one that got bumped for Clerks 2. Which I doubt any thinking person will argue with.
Sure George- When speaking about Lord of the Rings -When I say hollow- For me there just not involving. Its a purely visual experience and again for me, there’s just not enough of a compelling story for me to get sucked into. Yes it’s good filmaking, but from a pure storytelling point of view there not compelling. Again at least for me. King Kong had the same problem. Visual greatness yes. Was I sucked into the characters and story- NO. For me PeterJackson just isn’t in the league of Chris Nolan, James Cameron, Sam Rami and as handful of other terrific mainstream movie makers! He’s all style and litle substance! His movies are way to long and not involving enough to sustain there length. Just My opinion!
I like your list except for two things. I never heard of INFERNAL AFFAIRS, 1 or 2, and LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING is a piece of dog shit that actively gives syphilitic donkeys tongue enemas.
1) It starts with that abortion scene with Sméagol finding the ring. The whole thing plays like a bad Saturday Night Live sketch.
2) That horrible, horrible, hug a hobbit, never ending goodbye scene.
3) Aragorns arrival with the undead at Minas Tirith. I understand giving the director poetic license to make a cool story so this wasn’t as bad as the others.
4-10) And the most unforgivable of all, leaving out The Scouring of the Shire, which the whole point of the books in the first place. And Jackson’s lame ass excuse about not having time is bullshit. Cut that stupid ass opening and shave off 30 minutes of Gandalf looking longingly at hobbits.
I think the LOTR movies should still be considered sequels, regardless of when they were actually shot.
That being said, the only sequel list they should be on is the one with the most bloated, unnecessary, waste-of-time, terrible sequels on it.
What wound up getting bumped for clerks 2? what was your original number 20??
John,
Actually the Lord of the Rings was shot concurrently and not sequentially. Scenes for RotK were shot at the same time as FotR and so on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_photography_of_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy
Principal photography for all 3 films were finished before the first film was released, although they went back and added more to the following two films after the success of the first.
As for sequels that I would add:
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Casino Royale (if it can be considered a sequel)
Either “Bourne” movie
Before Sunset
The Lost World (not superior to original, but one of my favorites)
Blade 2
and possibly a Harry Potter movie, although I’ve never considered them sequels even though they are no different than LotR or James Bond books.
What do you mean by completely hollow storyteller?
I understand if you don’t like his films but I am just curious as to what you mean by that?
Ah, I see you’ve noticed;)
Well there is Clerks 2 John; we must give props to Clerks 2. You’ve mentioned the great ones but if I had a top 20 list i’d probably throw that in too (and Star Trek 6 over 4, and the two Bourne sequels).
Good topic- I must think like Audio out as I also would put
Rocky Balboa- A perfect book end to the original.
George Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD- He took a great concept and blew it out of the water. A great film.
Superman 2- Great story, totally absorbing!
Lethal Weapon 2- a perfect buddy cop action film.
Glad you had Aliens- perhaps the best sequel ever made.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes- Great sci-fi
Personally Im just not a Lord of the Rings fan. Peter Jackson to me is a completely hollow storyteller.
But I do agree with you that they are sequels.
Your list i spot on though. I agree with all of your sequels pretty much. The only slight difference I would have would be that I don’t like die hard three. Too silly for me but other than that spot on list.
Oh and off topic but I am glad you guys are doing so many more podcast now! Best show around every day!!! I love it. Keep them coming.
Oh and one last thing – didn’t you hint that you might have some news coming up in relation to movie making??
any more news?
Fantasia 2000
Airplane 2
Color of Money
Dawn of the Dead
Christmas Vacation
Desperado
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Actually john the LOTR films were not shot seperately. A majority of all three films were shot in one long main shoot.
On the dvd making of’s there are interviews where the actors and film makers all talk about how one of the most challenging things was that one day you would would be shooting a scene from the first film and then the next day you would be filming stuff from the third film
They did have pick ups each year to get stuff they may have missed on that initial shoot but the films were not shot in order individually.
On the dvd they show you clearly that cate blanchett only came out once so they shot all her stuff while she was here. The stuff at the every end of film three and the stuff in fellowship. So they shot what they needed to shoot at the time.
Its all there on the dvds.
Everything about die hard two was terrible. Barely and action and the action that was in it looked complete fake (the scene where they slit the soldiers throat comes to mind). The plot was rediculous. and the ending? Please gasoline plus snow does not equal a blown up plane and a lit up runway. Hippy kaya
GAAAA!!!! I can’t believe I forgot about Clerks 2!!!!!
What about Die Hard 2 was a train wreck? And I would still count Kill Bill. Is that DVD release ever going to come out with those films together?
Clerks 2 is a great one. I think its better then the original. Not really fair since the budget was sooooo much more and america is completely desensitized at this point and they could get away with a shit ton more. “Hey little porch monkey….Its okay. Im taking it back”
Hey Guys,
Regarding Lord of the Rings,
The films were shot sequentially, they weren’t shot interchangably. They are indeed sequels. One was shot, finished and released, then the next, then the next.
Unlike Kill Bill which was shot as one movie, Lord of the Rings was shot was 3 films and shot immediately back to back like Back to the Future 2 and 3, Pirates 2 and 3 and Matrix 2 and 3.
They are NOT sequels, John.
The films were all a continuation of the SAME story, there was no new chapter or anything. They HAD to divide the film into three parts one, because that’s how the books are structured and two, coz to put that whole story into one film would mean a 9 or 10 hour film.
It’s not like the Harry Potter series where each new movie is actually a different chapter and a different year in their lives.
So no, the LOTR trilogy isn’t a series of sequels. It’s one recorded journey.
But exactly like the Harry Potter chapters, each of the LOTR movies is a book broken up into 3 separate stories that make up the longer story.
Thats called a Trilogy, and each of the continued parts ARE sequels as they are in SEQUENCE.
The books are broken into many, many chapters. It’s just more convenient to pack the books into three separate books, thereby forcing them into a trilogy. That’s not how the stories were written. It was just one long, epic journey that was divided into three chapters: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, with several sub-chapters making up the whole story.
So no, The Two Towers and the Return of the King aren’t sequels, they’re a continuation of the Fellowship with slightly different focii (but in NO way are they different stories).
And seriously, a sequel is a “consequence” or a “result of” a previous episode. Being in sequence doesn’t necessarily make it a sequel. For example, Casino Royale as a story is supposed to take place way before the Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton and Roger Moore versions (not sure if it’s before the Connery version, though). But it comes AFTER Die Another Day, so, going by what you say, it should be a sequel. Which isn’t true.
Same could be said about Harry Potter, but you refuse to acknowledge it.
There are three books, each made into films. A following film is a sequel no matter what your opinion on the overall story is. Harry Potter has an overall theme and story that weaves through all seven books, but is still in 7 installments with separate side adventures.
Each of the LOTR films contains side adventures each with its own purpose. Contained stories that follow along as one larger story. The conflict at Helms Deep is a separate adventure than The Fellowship as is Frodo’s infiltration of Mt Doom. All part of a bigger story presented from the very beginning as three books. Tolkien did not release one book in three parts, he told an epic story with many subplots that took three books to play out, but each book has its own stage of the adventure.
Its like saying Star Wars is not in sequels because despite its side adventures and subplots, the rise of the Rebellion and their eventual victory over Endor was the whole story.
Your perception of the singular story is not exclusive of the many adventures and side stories found in Lord of the Rings.
Three Books, three movies. After the first – regardless of content – is a sequel.
The keywords being “did not RELEASE” one whole book.
It was intended to be one tale. The publishers decided to split them up.
I get what you’re saying about side-adventures and everything, but that’s like saying Pulp Fiction is a series of sequels, what with all the side stories.
What mattered/matters in the LOTR films is the one journey to destroy the ring and no matter what, THAT remains the focus of the whole book and of the films.
The dictionary states:
se·quel –noun
1. a literary work, movie, etc., that is complete in itself but continues the narrative of a preceding work.
2. an event or circumstance following something; subsequent course of affairs.
3. a result, consequence, or inference.
The first and most common use of the word refers to sequential stories. Regardless of how you feel about the Lord of the Rings story, the second and third installments are by definition sequels.
You can have an opinion about how the story is presented, but its NOT one book. Never was. No matter what he INTENDED, it still isn’t.
And subsequently the movies are also not one movie, even if it does tell one overall story, it is three separate installments with many aspects to each book.
I honestly can’t think of any movies that deserved to be on the list more than these. I personally think that animated movies should go lower on the list though. G-rated movies are over-rated in my opinion. I love The Last Crusade, even though nobody else I know does. Speaking of Sean, I suppose you can’t count any of the Bond films, being that none of them are direct sequels.
Actually Shane, most people underrate g-movies, which is a shame. And I would disagree with rating animated movies under live action.
DIE HARD 2 WAS A TRAIN WRECK. That was one of the worst movies ever and shouldnt even be considered a Die Hard. I refuse to buy it even when I see it for 3 bucks. Die Hard/Die Hard 3 are two of the best action movies ever. Number 2 is well number 2. HA
1. The Godfather Part II
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
4. Red
5. Toy Story 2
6. Die Hard 2
7. Before Sunset
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
9. Aliens
10. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
11. The Dark Knight
12. Spider-Man 2
13. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
14. White
15. Return of the Jedi
16. Ocean’s Thirteen
17. Babe 2: Pig in the City
18. Christmas Vacation
19. Letters from Iwo Jima (not sure if this would count)
20. The Muppets Take Manhattan
Well, if Lord of the Rings counts then Kill Bill Vol. 2 counts also…so…
I agree Bill. The Lord of the Rings is really only one film, but it just had to be split into 3 parts so we didn’t sit down for 11 hours
Also, I agree with Mozzerino, Before Sunset was fantastic.
Rocky Balboa before Rocky 4.
Clerks 2
George A. Romero’s Dawn Of the Dead
Back to the Future 2
Drunken Master 2
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Superman 2
Did you forget any of these or are they just not up to snuff in your opinion?
I know its hard to find balance between all the overhype and hate of The Dark Knight, but its probably in my top 3 of sequels.
My list is probably,
1. The Godfather part 2
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Dark Knight
4. Terminator 2
5. Lethal Weapon 2
6. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
7. Back to the Future part 2
8. The Matrix Reloaded (i know, but I love it, guilty pleasure)
9. Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise
10: Superman 2/Superman Returns (pick one, I love em both)
crap, just lost all credibility… ill try anyhow. you have the best list on here. i can’t believe the number of times i’ve seen xmen two above terminator two and dark knight! what the heck?!?!?
Great list, even though i don’t agree with some of them. Here is my top 10 without much thought;
1. Goldfinger
2. Casino Royale
3. The Dark Kinght
4. Spider-Man 2
5. The Return of the King
6. The Empire Strikes Back
7. The Godfather Part 2
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
9. X-Men 2
10. Back to the Future Part 3
I like your list, John. But I would remove the Lord Of The Rings films, as I don’t consider them sequels for the following reason:
They were shot simultaneously, with the plan that all three would be released in theaters and if, in a worst case scenario, the first one bombed at the box office (as certainly happened with the Rings-wannabe Eragon) then the others would likely have been finished up on the cheap and released direct to DVD — but there was little chance the second and third films would never see the light of day — partly due to the massive Tolkien fan base, but also because money was already invested in the filming of parts of those movies and with no release, there’s no return on that investment.
For what it’s worth, I would term a true sequel as one in which the specific story for a second film was not known at the time of the original’s release and plenty on your list fit that bill. Not knowing where exactly you’re headed with a sequel is the great challenge of making one. Some excellent examples of this, though not necessarily all great films, are Ghostbusters II, Highlander II, the Rocky, Star Trek and Star Wars films, Back to the Future II (though not III which was filmed simultaneously), Airplane 2, Jaws 2 etc. Those to my mind are true sequels, where you can feel the filmmakers taking a stab, giving it a fresh shot, but not continuing on a course clearly mapped out ahead of time.
I have to agree with Kuato: take out Voyage Home, and put in Road Warrior
This is a pretty good list John.
The only two I have a major disagreement with are SHREK 2 and DIE HARD 3. Both not very good in my opinion.
I don’t have time for a list right now as well, but one movie I wanna mention quickly right at the top of my head is BEFORE SUNSET. One of the most romantic films of all time and even better than the first one.
Pan’s Labyrinth is sort of a sequel to The Devil’s Backbone. Maybe that could be on there
The Road Warrior didnt make the list?????? WTF!!!
I was looking down the list I couldn’t find-oh, THERE’S where The Dark Knight is. Man, for a second there I thought you forgot it.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
I’m working on it. These things take time and research :)
Hey Jason,
Well, that’s not very helpful. It’s easy to just drop in and say that… but what would YOUR list look like?
I think this is the worst sequels list. There are only about 8 films here that deserve to be here.
Doesn’t the first Toy Story have a 100% also?
Now you have to do the 25 WORST sequels starting with Highlander 2.
6 worst sequals would definetly start with
Highlander 2 – there ‘could’ only be one
Police Academy 1 to 339 where good but 340 was crap
Rocky Balboa – should have let his son fight
John Rambo – what did you say Sly.. Say again
Superman 4 – Richard Prior computer wiz..Get REal
Star Trek 5 – where they meet GOD..LOL
Wasn’t Richard Pryor in Superman 3, not 4? I think Superman four was with the dude born from a peice of superman’s hair.
You are correct. It was 3.
One of the comments said, Rocky Balbao as one of the worst sequels. It was to redeem the lost character of Rocky V which was a bad sequel. Rocky Balbao if seen as sequel to Rocky V, it was much better.
THought that was Superman 3 not 4?i’m sure 4 was quest for peace where he goes and takes all the nukes puts them in a net or something and swings them into the the sun after…. that was the wrost superman sequal!!!
I agree rocky should have let the son fight, but then agian it would have been like starwars story abit like father like son deal…
New rambo was fine, showed him going home at the end hopefully meaning no more rambo’s…
As for highlander 2..Wasnt that one the prequal? if so that was fine, but the sequal one yes that was just bad…
Startrek 5 wasnt God it was an alien pretraying to be God….
Police academy 1 was fine, it was the rest of them that where bad….
There are for wrose sequels then those 6
Startrek 2 and 4 are the best sequels of that…
all three mad max movies where great…
Lord of the ring sequels where just boring and the same as the first one….
Universal soilder 2 was in my mind one of the wrost sequels….
What about batman 2, 3 and 4 they all where hell of a joke…
christen bale batmans rock….
Night of the living dead 2 just blows….
Revange of the nerds 2 and 3 it was no need to ruin the first one with crapy sequels….
Amityville 3 and 4 just blew…..
Jaw’s 3 and any others just blew come on now….
Ghostbusters 2 was inbetween so so…
Freddy and Jason sequels where crap…
Resident evil sequels are also crap….
Bourne sequels well just blew too…
Airport or airplane whatever it was called…. all 4 or 5 how many they made wherent bad but they just had the same theme going and it gets boring…
Jarasic park 2 and 3 blew they should have left it at one….
Pyshco 2 and 3 where crap……
I mean there are movies that can or should get away with sequels or prequels
I alway’s thought they could do a jamaji sequel showing him inside the game…
i know im missing more crappy sequels just cant think of them atm :P
What i’am missing i know im missing some…
I hated The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. My favorite sequels ever are:
1. The Godfather Part II
2. Aliens
3. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
4. Toy Story 2
5. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
6. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
7. The Dark Knight
8. Evil Dead II
9. Mad Max 2
10. The Silence Of The Lambs
11. The Bourne Supremecy
12. Internal Affairs II
14. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
15. The Bourne Ultimatum
16. X-Men 2
17. Star War Episode VI: The Return Of The Jedi
18. Spiderman 2
19. Monty Pytons Life Of Brian (Not sure if this qulifies as being a sequel)
20. Rocky 2
20.
Don’t forget Back to the Future II. That was a movie that took it to the next level.
Oh Rodney how right you are about Highlander 2. The first one is one of my favorite movies and its great, but they completely shit the bed on the second. It made NO sense (although the directors cut helped a bit). It was so bad!!!