One (Good) Sequel Only - The Rarest of Hollywood Feats

Cafe Society
1

I submit that we can count on one hand the number of films that have only one sequel after which the producers, directors, main actors etc. decide to leave well enough alone and then stop there.

To clarify, I’m talking about a quality film that can stand on its own merit, that didn’t seem to be a lead-in for a sequel or part of a long-running series. Then with the success of that feature, the principals get together for another run and make a follow-up that is as good as the first. And finally, the filmmakers show remarkable restraint and don’t go any further.

To that end I propose that there is only one successful accomplishment with these criteria and that I will wager the following: I will spoiler box my offering and ask that the first ten responders -assuming we can get ten- to not view the contents. I am certain that amongst those 10 respondents, at least 8 will be the same as my spoiler boxed film and if not - I will eat a bug.

My response:

Toy Story 1 and 2

2

I’m sure I’ll think of something eventually, but about your spoiler:

You know Pixar is working on Toy Story 3 right?

3

Was Evan Almighty any good?

4

Bill and Ted.

5

Cube and Hypercube

j/k

6

Uptown Saturday Night and Let’s Do It Again.
Kinda.

7

True Grit, and Rooster Cogburn.

8

Finally, The Freshman and The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

9

Not Hollywood, but Jean de Florette and *Manon of the Spring.
*
I’d also say The Wizard of Oz and *Return to Oz *

*The Maltese Falcon *and The Black Bird

10

The Mummy and Return (Brendan Frasier). Of course, there is a third on the way.

11

The French Connection and The French Connection II.

12

Well it’s been 9 replies with a guesses and all of em have been different…do we get to choose which bug?

13

I’d say the Toy Story movies. I defy anyone to watch the Jessie’s Song sequence and stay dry-eyed.

14

Ummm - Cube Zero. Technically it’s a prequel, but it is a third.

15

I was going to say The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers. But looking at IMDB shows that Lester went back fifteen years later and made The Return of the Musketeers. I hadn’t heard of this before but they added C. Thomas Howell and Kim Cattrall to the original cast so I have strong doubts.

16

The second was not a “sequel” as defined in the OP.

17

Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile. Not classics, exactly, but solid entertainment and roughly equivalent in quality.

18

Another reason the first two might not meet the OP’s criteria is that they were made as a single production and released separately. Not a case where, as the OP stated, “with the success of that feature, the principals get together for another run and make a follow-up that is as good as the first.”

19

Ghostbusters 1 & 2. hey, I like Ghostbusters 2.

20

Why are we spoiler boxing movie titles?