# Movie sequels that were better than the original / first?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 20, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281 "2018-07-20T17:17:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/1 "2018-07-20T17:17:23Z")
Inspired by [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=859066). This OP was going to be a response in that thread, but I figured I’d make a fresh thread to discuss without derailing **Kennedy1960** ’s thread.
None of the _Die Hard_ sequels can match the first, but _Vengeance_ comes close, so let’s get that out of the way right off the bat.
_Shrek_ was a wonderful movie in its own right, but _Shrek 2_ was exponentially more fun, while still being totally kid-friendly. _Shrek 2_ is probably the best sequel ever made—or at least, the best sequel I’ve ever seen.
I think _Lethal Weapon 2_ was at least as good as the first one. The ending of the first one was kind of a let-down, and the second one made up for it.
The second _Back to the Future_ sucked but the third one was, again, almost as good as the first.
In the same vein, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ was a great flick. _Temple of Doom_ was average, but _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_ was at least as good as the first one.
_Aliens_ was much better than _Alien_.
Someone in the other thread mentioned that _Terminator 2_ was better than the first. I haven’t seen either one for 20+ years, but I remember _T2_ being the better one.
I am very much not a fan of the _Star Wars_ movies so I have no real opinion on those. I’m also not really sure if they count—_SW_ seems, to me, to be somewhat of a franchise series like _Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings_, and to a lesser extent the _James Bond_ movies.
Any other examples / opinions?
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/2 "2018-07-20T17:36:47Z")
_Toy Story 2_ edges out the original.
---
### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/3 "2018-07-20T17:39:12Z")
From my post in the other thread, _The Road Warrior_ would be a no-argument choice for a better sequel. And _Mad Max: Fury Road_ even better, if you consider it a sequel.
I think that _Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn_ fits the requirements, because it’s a separate story from the first and wasn’t planned as a serial.
And _Toy Story 2_ is often considered better than the first, although I have a tough time picking a favorite between them.
---
### Author:  [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/4 "2018-07-20T17:52:03Z")
For those mentioned so far, I liked Aliens much more than Alien and Terminator 2 much more than Terminator - but I like action movies and don’t like horror movies, and for both of those franchises, the first movie was a horror movie with some action elements, and the sequel was an action movie with some horror elements.
Star Trek II was, imho, easily the best of the whole franchise. I also liked Last Crusade more than Raiders of the Lost Ark, but thought they were both excellent movies.
My contribution:
There was a now-obscure direct-to-video, low budget fantasy series in the 80s, “Deathstalker”. The first “Deathstalker”, as well as “Deathstalker III” and “Deathstalker IV” were grim, humorless, and frankly boring movies - not even “so good it’s bad”. They had terrible acting, terrible scripts, terrible directing, terrible editing - just bad.
“Deathstalker II” however…
Per the DVD commentary, the star (John Terlesky) and the director Jim Wynorski took a look at the crappy script they had been handed and immediately threw it away. They were filming in Spain with next to no budget; they would film scenes during the day, then retire to their cheap hotel at night, get mildly drunk on cheap Spanish wine, and write the shooting script for the next day’s scenes. The result was a masterpiece - for some values of masterpiece. It was a fun romp that poked fun at itself and its predecessor. It’s a bad, super low budget movie that knows its a bad super low budget movie and decides to have some fun with that.
It’s currently streaming on Amazon Prime for anyone who wants to check it out. Fair warning - you really have to have an appreciation for crappy, low budget 80s fantasy movies to get the full effect. If you grew up on them, like I did, Deathstalker II is fantastic. If Deathstalker II is your first exposure to the genre, I suspect it will just come across as a bad movie.
---
### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/5 "2018-07-20T17:54:36Z")
I’ll agree with **Aliens, Road Warrior, and Star Trek II**. I have to admit that I thought the second and later Bond movies (_From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball_ exceeded _Dr. No_ pretty handily.
I don’t know if it’s “better”, because they were profoundly different films, but I know that I _liked_ **Bride of Frankenstein** a lot more than the original \*\* Frankenstein\*\*.
I isagre about _Shrek_ and _Toy Story_ and I’ve gone on record as preferring the original _Terminator_ over the sequel. .
---
### Author:  [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/6 "2018-07-20T17:59:15Z")
How to Train Your Dragon 2 was better than the original, and that’s saying something because the original was fantastic.
Can’t wait for part 3.
---
### Author:  [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/7 "2018-07-20T17:59:42Z")
Going to second or third a few things here:
Toy Story 2
Road Warrior
Star Trek II
Empire Strikes Back
Terminator 2
Aliens
Godfather II
Blade 2
Spider-Man 2
X2
Batman: the Dark Knight
---
### Author:  [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/8 "2018-07-20T18:00:19Z")
It’s close but I think _The Empire Strikes Back_ edges out _A New Hope_.
---
### Author:  [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/9 "2018-07-20T18:06:30Z")
I thought the third Bourne movie, The Bourne Ultimatum, was the best of the first three. It is slightly better than the first, The Bourne Identity, and much better than the second, The Bourne Supremacy.
---
### Author:  [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/10 "2018-07-20T18:51:42Z")
I think _Logan_ was probably the best movie where Hugh Jackman played Wolverine.
I’m not exactly sure if it’s a direct sequel to any of the other Wolverine or X-men movies though. The continuity between all the films is really convoluted.
---
### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/11 "2018-07-20T18:53:38Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#):
>
> It’s close but I think _The Empire Strikes Back_ edges out _A New Hope_.
Well of course it would edge out a movie that doesn’t exist, duh. :rolleyes:
---
### Author:  [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/12 "2018-07-20T18:55:43Z")
I’ve always thought that _The Good, the Bad and the Ugly_ was the best of the Eastwood spaghetti westerns.
---
### Author:  [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/13 "2018-07-20T19:30:37Z")
_Prom Night 2: Hello Mary Lou_ is, IMO, way better than the original with Jamie Lee Curtis; Prom Night 2 has crazy surreal horror sequences that are much more memorable than anything in the first one.
_Wes Craven’s New Nightmare_ is my favorite in the Nightmare on Elm Street series by far. Wes Craven went full meta on this one, prior to launching the Scream franchise. Really good stuff from Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, and Robert Englund in this one.
---
### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/14 "2018-07-20T19:32:15Z")
Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo?
---
### Author:  [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/15 "2018-07-20T19:48:28Z")
I have a few unpopular ones (I suspect):
I like Predator 2 more than the first.
The Two Towers is my favorite Lord of the Rings movie.
I am the only person in the Universe that likes Amazing Spider-Man 2 (yes that one). I liked it so much it raised my opinion of the mediocre first one and as much as I like the MCU reboot I feel little sad we didn’t get to see where that one was going.
And here’s probably a common one I haven’t seen in the thread yet:
X2 is better than X-Men (So is The First Class and Days of Future Past if those count as Sequels).
---
### Author:  [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/16 "2018-07-20T19:48:34Z")
I like Terminator very much, but Terminator 2 is a better movie.
I agree Aliens is much better than Alien. “Nuke 'me from orbit,” is one of my favorite lines. I sometimes use it playing war games.
---
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/17 "2018-07-20T20:13:48Z")
The Devils rejects was much better than house of 1000 corpses.
---
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/18 "2018-07-20T20:22:24Z")
Missed the edit window.
Deadpool 2 was better than Deadpool 1.
I’m not sure which Friday the 13th was the best (I think the death scenes in part 5 were the best), but part 1 wasn’t the best one. Parts 4 and 6 usually come up as among the best in the film series.
---
### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/19 "2018-07-20T20:23:51Z")
_The Chronicles of Riddick_ was much better than _Pitch Black_
---
### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [July 20, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281/20 "2018-07-20T20:27:22Z")
_Evil Dead 2_. Though it’s debatable whether it’s a sequel or a remake. If it’s the latter, then _Army of Darkness_ is still a valid answer.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-sequels-that-were-better-than-the-original-first/818281.md?page=2)