# Sequels as good as or better than the original film **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882 "2005-04-30T19:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/21 "2005-05-02T00:50:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Army of Darkness (technically Evil Dead 3) is way better than Evil Dead 1 or 2, and 2 is better than 1. Yeah, but I have a hard time calling something a sequel which has absolutely no connection to the other two. For that matter, Evil Dead II wasn’t so much a sequel to the first as a retelling. Others have beat me to my nominations, but _X-Men 2_ was better than the (already pretty good) _X-Men_, and I thought that _Spider-Man 2_ was about on a par with the first one. _Aliens_ and _Alien_ it’s hard to say that either was better than the other: They’re both great, but completely different. _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ had a lot more imagination than the first two, but then, it also was a lot more compressed (inevitable, given the increasing length of the books). So I guess I’d call that a wash. The first two were much the same quality on any given measure. And you ruled out _Khan_, but not other Trek movies, so I’ll just note that any even-numbered Trek (except for Nemesis) is better than any odd-numbered Trek. I imagine that you can call a film in a series a sequel of all those that came before, right? ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/22 "2005-05-02T01:09:22Z")
> [@want2know](#): > > … sequels that matched or surpassed the original. … My personal favorite is 2010. Better plot, better acting, better ending. [Head explodes in disbelief] ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/23 "2005-05-02T01:28:06Z")
This is a topic that has a tremendous amount of significance to me. I really like sequels- even the ones that suck- because I love seeing how writers try to force an idea into another story, and how the story goes the next creative step than it’s predecessor. It’s like, if you sat and thought real hard about what would be done in Jurassic Park 2, you could figure out- hey, they have a bigger budget, so they throw in faster, bigger, scarier, smaller, more elaborate dinos of all type, the body count is bigger, more action scenes; and creatively, at the end, the dino gets loose in a big city! Of _course_ that’s what the writers did- it’s just logical! But the movie sucked, as did JP3, but were entertaining nonetheless. 😃 I did some in-depth ‘research’ (lol) into the subject like 6 months ago. Here are my lists. Brace yourself! ``` **Sequels that Bettered/Equaled Original** ``` The Godfather Part Two The Empire Strikes Back Bride of Frankenstein Babe 2: Pig in the City Dawn of the Dead Aliens Terminator 2: Judgment Day Spiderman 2 The Matrix Reloaded American Pie 2 Evil Dead 2 The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 Hot Shots: Part Deux Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me The Road Warrior: Mad Max 2 X-Men 2 Toy Story 2 Bad Boys 2 Home Alone 2 Look Who’s Talking Too Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan ``` **Sequels that Didn't Suck** ``` Back To the Future Part 2 Terminator 3 The Matrix Revolutions American Wedding Army of Darkness Austin Powers: Goldmember Rambo: First Blood Part Two The French Connection 2 Scream 2 Scream 3 Friday the 13th Part 2 Phantasm 2 Die Hard 2 Die Hard With a Vengeance Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls Shanghai Knights Rush Hour 2 Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle Mission: Impossible 2 Superman 2 2010 Lethal Weapon 2 Wayne’s World 2 Ringu 2 Ringu 0 Halloween: H20 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 2 Fast 2 Furious Blade 2 Blade: Trinity Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life Scary Movie 3 The Bourne Supremacy Ocean’s Twelve The Mummy Returns Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze Red Dragon Lethal Weapon 4 The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps Child’s Play 2 Shrek 2 Addam’s Family Values Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey Father of the Bride Part 2 Naked Gun 2 ½ A Better Tomorrow 2 Hannibal The Chronicles of Riddick Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason Before Sunset Desperado The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Dr. Doolittle 2 Meet the Fockers The Santa Clause 2 Legally Blonde 2 West Craven’s New Nightmare Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2 Bride of Chucky Seed of Chucky Gremlins 2 Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Stuart Little 2 Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams Spy Kids 3D Analyze That Barbershop 2: Back in Business Highlander 2: The Quickening My Girl 2 D2: The Mighty Ducks Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London Police Story 2 Samurai 2 Samurai 3 (Musashi Miyamoto trilogy) Jack Frost 2: Revenge of the Mutant Killer Snowman Pokemon 2 Carnosaur 2 Carnosaur 3 Lone Justice 2 Escape From the Planet of the Apes Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Battle for the Planet of the Apes The Karate Kid 2 The Next Karate Kid Major League 2 Alien Resurrection Alien vs. Predator Once Upon a Time in Mexico Robocop 2 Robocop 3 Porky’s 2 Porky’s 3 Death Wish 2 Batman Returns **Sequels that are Foreign Films, the IMDB has no info on them, but I list them b/c they SOUND like they could be good (that’s just nuts)** Eternal Regret, Part 2 Time and Tide 2 Rights from the Heart Part 2 Shadow Warrior 2 Family 2 Dissolute Wife 2 Polygamy 2: The Final Clash Covert Operations 2: The Search for Justice Human Market 2: Burning Desire Yeong-ja in Her Prime 2 Terrorist 2 The Judas Kiss 2 Prodigal Boxer 2 Sword and 9 Rings, Part 2 Palace of Evil, Part 2 Dead 2: The Skull of Pain Heartless 2 Counter Attack 2 Crossover 2 Scorpion 2 Days of Betrayal 2 Fatal Exposure 2 Wedding Dress of Tears 2 Who is Not Romantic? Part 2 Way of the Dragon 2 Kung Fu Hero 2 Whew! Look, these entries are, well, some of them violate your rules, some of them are just plain wrong by most people’s standards, and I haven’t seen probably 40%- and from reading the list, you’d think I have a bias for crappy modern films. I’ve seen a lot of the good stuff, I just made this list with some kind of a skew, didn’t I? 😃 I mean, how can I call Bad Boys 2 a superior sequel when the original was complete rubbish and it is nothing but eye candy? :rolleyes: But I did a good job of reviewing most of the notable sequels ever made! I went to the IMDB and typed in ‘2’ in the search box. It brought up thousands of entries, almost all sequels. So I looked through many many many pages. I did a pretty good job, and that explains where that last column comes from! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/24 "2005-05-02T01:49:02Z")
I agree with most of the above, and it’s pretty good listing. my contribution \*\*Quatermass 2 \*\* (in the US **Enemy from Space** )is better than **The Quatermass Xperiment** (sic) (In the US **The Creeping Unknown** ). The IMdB says it’s the first film to have that “2” in the title. And the third film, \*\*Quatermass and the Pit \*\* (in the US **Five Million Years to Earth** ) blos both of them away. Unfortunately, the next Quatermass film was a waste of time. I understand the American version, which I’ve seen ( **he Quatermass Conclusion** ) is dreadfully cut down, but I can’t imagine adding anything to make it good. Oh and I have to respectfully disagree with **andrewdt85** about **Terminator 3** , IMHO, it’s a sequel that really _did_ suck. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/25 "2005-05-02T01:52:21Z")
I guess I’m the only one who didn’t think Aliens was better than Alien. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/26 "2005-05-02T02:05:17Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who didn’t think Aliens was better than Alien. Naw… I also liked Alien over Aliens. I thought Aliens was a great movie, but the terror of the first one was great. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/27 "2005-05-02T04:03:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh and I have to respectfully disagree with andrewdt85 about Terminator 3, IMHO, it’s a sequel that really did suck. Personally, I think that _Terminator 3_ was the movie that _Terminator 2_ should have been. _Terminator 2_ was all about the special effects, but the technologies were all too new, and hadn’t yet matured. By the time of 3, they had, so they were integrated more smoothly, and the storyline (I thought) worked better, since there wasn’t as much “Gee, look at all of the shiny fancy special effects!”. Oh, and in **andrewdt85** ’s list, why is there a blank line between _Barbershop 2: Back in Business_ and _My Girl 2_? ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/28 "2005-05-02T07:26:03Z")
> [@mamboman](#): > > Well, I for one don’t agree - but that’s an Australian thing and I am part of that generation fo young australian men for whom _Mad Max_ was a rite of passage, a religious artefact. > > Back to the OP, I think _The Two Jakes_ was better than _Chinatown_. Once again, I’m probably in a club of one :)… > > mm Hey, any move that ends with an earthquake… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/29 "2005-05-02T08:26:23Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > I guess I’m the only one who didn’t think Aliens was better than Alien. It’s really hard to compare the two, as they are of almost completely different genres. While they are both in a science fiction setting, the first one if full-out horror, while the second is an action/war movie with sme horror elements (in fact, I’ve heard _Aliens_ referred to as “James Cameron’s Vietnam movie.” Think about it). ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/30 "2005-05-02T09:04:42Z")
Gotta show up with the ones I disagree on… Back to the Future 2 was by FAR the worst of the series. The first was best. Shrek 2 was substantially worse than the first one. To even mention a Matrix sequel on this thread as potentially better than the original deserves severe torching. And, yes, all of Star Wars after the original have paled behind the first one. I swear, I must be the only one who thinks the Empire Strike Back was the worst of the original trilogy. (And the person claiming Army of Darkness had “absolutely no connection” with Evil Dead 2 is just in denial. It starts off exactly where the previous one ended. Those it is definitely better.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/31 "2005-05-02T21:07:20Z")
End of Evil Dead II: Some guy named Ash gets sucked back in time, kills a demon, and is instantly revered as a hero. Beginning of Army of Darkness: Some guy named Ash gets sucked back in time, where he’s immediately captured, imprisoned, and enslaved. Yeah, they’re both anachronisms, but then, so is the Conneticut yankee. And the character has the same name and is played by the same guy, but I’d be hard-pressed to call that the same character. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882/32 "2005-05-02T23:15:52Z")
> [@Dan Norder](#): > > And, yes, all of Star Wars after the original have paled behind the first one. I swear, I must be the only one who thinks the Empire Strike Back was the worst of the original trilogy. No, you’re not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sequels-as-good-as-or-better-than-the-original-film/301882.md?page=1)