NationStates Jolt Archive

The question can be interpreted in two ways. The first, what is the best sequel to a movie, meaning what movie is as good or better than the original. The second is which movie, which is also a sequel, is the best movie.

For instance, The Godfather II, Aliens, and Terminator II: Judgment Day all stand on their own as a great movies (as do many of these films), but are not necessarily leaps and bounds better than the first films, while Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and The Road Warrior are far and away much better movies than the originals.

There are many more sequels than spaces allowed on the poll, so I apologize if your favorite isn't there. Others that should have been on the list:

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Bourne Supremacy
X-2: X-Men United
Toy Story II
Spider Man 2
Star Trek: First Contact
Batman Begins

The question can be interpreted in two ways. The first, what is the best sequel to a movie, meaning what movie is as good or better than the original.

In this case, my vote would have to go to X-Men 2...too bad they had to ruin it with the third installment.

The second is which movie, which is also a sequel, is the best movie.

In this instance, my bias for zombies and against mob related films, would lend my vote to the original Dawn of the Dead.

...I also wouldn't include LOTR or Harry Potter on the list, since the "sequels" were pre-planned. The rest of the sequels on the poll might have been in the planning stages (such as Star Wars), but would never have been made had the original not been successful. With LOTR and HP, the films were going to be made regardless of the success of the first.

Also, Temple of Doom would be the first Indiana Jones sequel, not The Last Crusade. The Chamber of Secrets would be the first Harry Potter "sequel", not The Prisoner of Azkaban.

I had a tough time deciding between LOTR and Star Wars, but I went for Two Towers in the end. Mainly because I still bear grudges at George Lucas for the whole force thing.
"Oooooh the force am teh uberest. I kill big scawy man with magical light sword rather than force push him down convinent hole now."

Hellraiser II

The question can be interpreted in two ways. The first, what is the best sequel to a movie, meaning what movie is as good or better than the original. The second is which movie, which is also a sequel, is the best movie.

For instance, The Godfather II, Aliens, and Terminator II: Judgment Day all stand on their own as a great movies (as do many of these films), but are not necessarily leaps and bounds better than the first films, while Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and The Road Warrior are far and away much better movies than the originals.

There are many more sequels than spaces allowed on the poll, so I apologize if your favorite isn't there. Others that should have been on the list:

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Bourne Supremacy
X-2: X-Men United
Toy Story II
Spider Man 2
Star Trek: First Contact
Batman Begins

Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

Of the ones on the list Aliens, Road Warrior, and T-2 were all good.

Well, SW5 was a vast improvement of SW4, still I think that The Last Crusade recovered even better from the low attained by Temple of Doom, so IndyIII for the win.

btw I don't think that LotR:T^3 can bee seen as a sequel of LotR:FotR; it's just the second part of the same movie.

As for Leone's Dollar trilogy, I think that there are no sequels as the carachters change

The man with no name: Clint Eastwood's "Joe" (in the original also), then "Manco" (Il Monco), then "Blondie" (Il Biondo)
The villain: Gian Maria Volontè's "Ramon Rojo" and "El Indio", then Lee van Cleef's "Angel Eyes" (Sentenza)

The Lord of the Rings movies could indeed be seen as all part of the same movie, but you could make the same argument for The Godfather II, which picks up with the very scene where The Godfather left off. Same could be said for Star Wars.

terminator 2

the original was a bit crappy, the sequel was worth seeing.

the empire strikes back is my #2 choice since its the best star wars movie and wouldnt have been made if the first one had bombed.

which is why the lord of the rings isnt on my list. they arent true sequels.

where the FU*K is Ghostbusters II :mad:

I always loved the seamingly seamless continuation from Halloween 1 to Halloween 2...A young hot Jaimie Lee Curtis doesn't hurt much either...

where the FU*K is Ghostbusters II :mad:

ghostbusters 2 sucked

Well, SW5 was a vast improvement of SW4

Which is saying a lot, because SW4 (better known as the original Star Wars) is outstanding even still.

I just noticed that, other than The Godfather, all the choices I provided are either science fiction or fantasy. Perhaps those genres better lend themselves to continuing stories, or perhaps their audiences are more willing pay to see what happens next. Or it might be my own bias.

I liked the original Alien better than Aliens, but the sequel was terrific, as well. The first was more of a horror film, whereas the sequel was a non-stop roller coaster ride. Everything that came after was crap (into which category I put Terminator III and the recent Star Wars additions).

Still, for me The Godfather part II is one of the best American movies ever made, although it is hard to top the original, which I think is even better.