Best Sequels Ever Made

When a movie is very successful financially, it makes a certain kind of sense to capitalize on that success.  By capitalize, I mean make a follow-up film that supposedly retains the best elements of the original while trying to do something new.  The main issue with sequels is that more often than not, they just don’t live up to the legacy of the previous film.  With movies like Superman III and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, it’s very difficult to take the idea of a sequel to a respected film seriously.  Granted, the ones I just mentioned are third entries into a franchise, so they have an even harder time being successful or even being good.  That’s not always the case, as there are a good number of sequels that stand out among their peers.  This article is going to be about the best movie sequels that I have seen.  Some of these movies are going to be fairly recent, like in the past few years, and some that are not so recent.  This list is also not going to be in any particular order, so let’s get this show on the road, eh?

Wolf Creek 2

When the original Wolf Creek was released back in 2005, it garnered mixed reviews with most being fairly positive.  It was praised for being an incredible intense movie with one of the most interesting villains ever seen: Mick Tayler played by John Jarratt.  Others lambasted the film for being slow and needlessly mean-spirited.  Personally, I loved it.  It was like Texas Chainsaw Massacre set in the Australian Outback.  While it was inspired by actual events, it still had its own identity as a solid thriller.  9 years later, we got a sequel.  Instead of being a slow-burner that gets under your skin, Wolf Creek 2 kicks things into full gear.  Right from the get-go we are introduced to Mick Taylor, and it’s not long before things go crazy.  What we have is a high-octane slasher film that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  This is why the film is so much fun.  John Jarratt’s performance is nothing short of brilliant.  At times he’s pretty funny and charming, but then he changes into a total lunatic.  The film doesn’t pull any punches in terms of the red stuff, but it’s not as dead serious as the first film.  This is one of the rare occasions that a sequel outdoes the original film.  For horror movie buffs, I definitely recommend this one.  Will there be a third film?  It’s hard to say at this point.  As it stands, though, Wolf Creek 2 is another great effort by Australian director Greg Mclean.

X2: X-Men United

When Bryan Singer released the original X-Men film back in 2000, it was a surprise hit.  It had a fantastic cast of characters with unique powers.  Patrick Stewart played Professor Charles Xavier, while Ian McKellan played his friend/enemy Magneto.  But the real big surprise of the movie was Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine.  While I feel the film suffered from being an origin story of sorts, it was Hugh Jackman that helped make the movie what it was.  It was so good, that Fox Studios wanted another.  Bryan Singer was brought back as well as most of the original cast members.  Now that the characters are established, Singer had room to explore the characters, particularly Wolverine.  Wolverine’s always been my favorite of the X-Men, and Jackman’s performance is astounding.  He really gets to dig into the role in this sequel which was one of the best action movies of the year back in 2002.  As far as sequels go, X2 is pretty hard to top.  It gets everything right.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

When James Cameron released The Terminator back in 1984, it became a cultural phenomenon.  It also catapulted Arnold Schwarzenegger into superstar status.  It was a great sci-fi movie with great characters and a great story.  James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger would re-team for a new Terminator film in 1991.  The result is a sequel that more than does justice to its predecessor.  The story in T2 takes on a different direction as the titular Terminator is there not to destroy but to protect young John Connor, played by newcomer Edward Furlong.  While the film has been criticized for essentially turning the Terminator into a babysitter, I feel it’s a better option than having Sarah Connor being a direct target again.  Terminator 2 revolutionized visual effects, thanks to a new Terminator: The unstoppable T-1000.  Played by Robert Patrick, the T-1000 was every bit as intimidating as Arnold’s original character.  Almost even more so, because the T-1000 was liquid metal and could disguise itself as anyone.  While the original Terminator film is still the best of the bunch, Judgment Day is nearly as good.  Great action, visuals, characters and a terrific story help make Terminator 2: Judgment Day one of the best science fiction movies of the last 25 years.

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Now, here is a movie that tops the original in every way.  Don’t get me wrong, the original Mad Max is a fantastic movie that gave the world Mel Gibson, but it was The Road Warrior that really gave the world Mad Max.  The original film didn’t really give us a good glimpse of the post-apocalyptic world that Mad Max was a part of.  Mad Max was an astound film which gave us awesome chase sequences and stunts, but it was the follow-up film that took things to a whole different level.  Mad Max 2 is about as action-packed as you can get.  The chases in this film are absolutely crazy.  The last 30 minutes of the film is a sustained car chase sequence.  It was one of the most memorable action sequences I’ve ever seen, and nobody has been able to top it.  Mel Gibson is simply fantastic as Max.   The Road Warrior is easily the best Mad Max film.  We’ve got a new film coming out this year starring Tom Hardy: Mad Max: Fury Road.  It looks great, but The Road Warrior is going to be hard to beat as far as sequels go.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Okay, who didn’t see this one coming?  Raise your hands.  You knew I had to put a Star Wars movie on this list.  The Empire Strikes Back is more than just a sequel to one of the most influential movies ever made, it’s also one of the best movies EVER.  While some would argue that the original Star Wars is the better film, I think that The Empire Strikes Back tops it in every way.  It takes a much darker tone with the Rebellion facing the full might of the Empire.  This movie has it all:  Action, betrayal, romance and a twist that most people had no idea was coming.  The story is very compelling and emotional at its core.  With the talents of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams, The Empire Strikes Back is what many consider to be the greatest sequel of all time.  It’s kind of hard to argue with that assessment.  It’s definitely the best film in the series, I think.

Superman II

In 1978, Superman: The Movie was released to audiences world-wide and is considered by many, including myself to be the quintessential comic-book movie.  It was an extraordinary film that made us feel like we were flying like Superman.  Nobody had ever attempted a Superman film of this scope before, and Richard Donner knocked it out of the park.  It had amazing characters: Lex Luthor, Perry White, Lois Lane and the man himself: Superman.  This is the movie that defined Christopher Reeve’s career.  He was a newcomer, but ended up becoming a household name overnight.  His performance as Kal-El a.k.a Superman is iconic and nobody else has done it the way he has.  No one ever will, either.  Superman: The Movie also gave us a glance at who would become the main villains of the second film.  General Zod, Non and Ursa as well as Lex Luthor, would give Superman his greatest challenge yet.  Of the three supervillains, Zod steals the show.  Terrence Stamp is simply astounding as Krypton’s former military commander.  Superman II was the movie that really gave Superman a chance to show what he was made of, and he didn’t disappoint.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Peter Jackson has a talent for creating epic movies.  The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is quite possibly one of the most successful movie trilogies ever made.  The first entry, The Fellowship of the Ring was simply astounding with great action, characters and a story that took us on an incredible adventure to the fictional Middle-Earth.  While there have been attempts at making The Lord of the Rings into movies, the only one who was truly successful was Peter Jackson.  Nobody else took it seriously enough or had the talent.  The Fellowship introduced us to Aragorn, Frodo, Sam, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf, and set the stage for what would become one of the most epic movies trilogies ever made.  The Two Towers took things further and like Star Wars it was a much darker film.  We get to see Frodo begin to struggle with the One Ring as it slowly corrupts him.  The Lord of the Rings is an apocalyptic tale to be sure, but The Two Towers really gives it a more personal touch.  The Battle of Helm’s Deep was nothing short of amazing, but it’s really the interactions between Frodo, Sam and Gollum that steal the show, I think.  The Return of the King was the biggest of the bunch, but I feel The Two Towers was more about Frodo and Sam’s journey.  The whole series is absolutely amazing.

Aliens

In 1979, the world was exposed to a new kind of terror: Alien.  Directed by Ridley Scott, Alien was an extraordinarily frightening tale of survival against a creature that was as intelligent as it was lethal.  While the themes of rape and sexual domination were fairly evident, it was the atmosphere that really gave the film its sense of dread.  It was claustrophobic, dark and quiet.  Alien was one of the greatest science-fiction films of the 70s and it gave us a new heroine in Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver.  It was such a success that Fox Studios would revisit the franchise with James Cameron’s Aliens.  Not wanting to try and one-up Ridley Scott’s film, Cameron took the franchise into the action film direction.  Strangely enough, by doing that, Cameron almost one-upped the original film.  While Aliens still retained a sense of claustrophobia, it was more of a combat film.  Marines with amazing firepower were brought in to deal with the xenomorph menace, only to find themselves outnumbered.  Ripley also evolved as a character as she basically adopts an orphaned girl named Newt.  The Special Edition of the film revealed that Ripley was a mother herself, and after 57 years in hypersleep, she discovered that her daughter had passed away, so Newt basically filled that gap in her life and give Ripley a renewed sense of purpose.  It certainly helps that Sigourney Weaver is backed up with some serious acting talent including Michael Beihn, Bill Paxton, and Lance Henrikson.  The result was a movie that not only paid respect to the original, but also made its own mark.  Sigourney Weaver was also nominated for the Oscar’s Best Actress award.

There we have it: The most memorable sequels that I have ever seen.  Some of these might not necessarily be surprising.  A lot of folks out there have similar lists, so it’s probably nothing new.  There are a great many sequels out there that are absolutely fantastic.  So, I’m going to make a list below of the ones that didn’t really make my top 9:

Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Jackie Chan’s Police Story 2
Hellbound: Hellraiser II
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Back To The Future 2
Guyver 2: Dark Hero
Once Upon A Time in China 2
Rambo: First Blood, Part 2
Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear
Blade II

 

 

 

 

 

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