Name a movie sequel that was better than the original

[Va Lefty]

Been a shitty week and it's not even Wed. yet so just trying to lighten the mood.
I'll start with an easy one:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

[Dennis Donovan]

1. GF2

[Va Lefty]

4. Yes powerhouse preformences by DeNiro, Pachino and Shire

[yallerdawg]

2. "Aliens."

Went from a haunted castle movie to an epic film!

[Va Lefty]

6. Good choice

[Eliot Rosewater]

10. The original was "Alien"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/

and clearly the best of all of them, IMO

When one takes into account the year this was made and the sounds, special effects, etc.

I saw it at a 70 mm theater I think it was called back then. Made me physically uncomfortable it was so realistic.

Unfair to compare it to something made several years later, and even when you do, it stands out, IMO.

There was nothing like "Alien" at the time, nothing.

[yallerdawg]

22. How can one alien be better than a mess of them?

"Alien" is just a slasher movie, and the heroine survives ( see "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" ).

"Aliens" is "The Heroine Strikes Back" on steroids!

[exboyfil]

53. Alien and Aliens fills the unique niche

of being two different genre films in the same continuity. Both of them qualify as top 10 in their respective genre as far as I am concerned. Aliens is a more complex film and more enjoyable to watch over and over. Alien still has that visceral feel of a great horror movie (alas such movies are not as effective when rewatched).

[Snackshack]

36. Agreed.

The theatrical version was great... but the directors cut was awesome. Cannot believe the sentries in the hallways got cut.

Terminator 2 was also much better than the original.

Empire Strikes Back is another one.

[Laffy Kat]

46. Absolutely. That was going to be mine! nt

[LonePirate]

3. Terminator 2, Ice Age 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier

[Va Lefty]

5. Definitely T2

Have not seen the other 2

[thegoose]

7. Addams Family Values

First one was meh but "Addams Family Values" was hilarious.

[thegoose]

8. Now if you want one that was way funnier than the original

John Boorman's classic trainwreck, "Exorcist II: The Heretic." Wrongheaded from beginning to end but a scream.

http://www.weirdmovievillage.net/2009/10/

[Va Lefty]

12. Totally forgot about Adams Family Values! So many great lines

[Pachamama]

51. Simplest Line: "Eat Me"....Best line from Wednesday played by Christina Ricci:

Wednesday Addams: "You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans, and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the road sides, you will play golf, and enjoy hot hors d’oeuvres. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts. The gods of my tribe have spoken. They have said, “Do not trust the Pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller.”

"And for all these reasons I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground."



My vote is for this movie....I loved also the actress Joan Cusack as Uncle Festers love interest....

[exboyfil]

54. Looking for a reboot with Christina Ricci

as Morticia. It has to happen.

[FSogol]

9. "The Road Warrior" was better than "Mad Max" n/t

[Va Lefty]

14. Oh yes, "2 men enter. 1 man leaves!

[cos dem]

30. That was Beyond Thunderdome, wasn't it?

BT is actually my favorite of the series.

[TexasBushwhacker]

41. No. Road Warrior just had Mel Gibson

The thing that was weird in Mad Max was that they dubbed an American actor's voice over Mel Gibson's dialogue.

[Mike Nelson]

11. The...

...Empire Strikes Back

[Siwsan]

13. The Empire Strikes Back

I loved Star Wars, too - just thought the sequel had better action. The Return of the Jedi was good, until the muppets showed up.

As for the "prequels", I barely managed to slog through them. Way too much CGI, for my taste.

[Va Lefty]

15. Agreed. By the time I saw Star Wars it was no way going to live up to the hype

[Siwsan]

19. I went to a Golden Globes screening of the Attack of the Clones - yawn

My brother, who is a big fan of George Lucas, worked at the Fox movie studio and got us tickets. I was surrounded by a massive throng of Star Wars geeks. They were a hilarious to listen to as they dissected the film, in whispers. Actually more entertaining than the movie.

[onlyadream]

16. The Gods Must be Crazy 2

I don't know if it was just me, but I saw the first one many times, and it was a hoot. The second one had me on the floor tho.

[Va Lefty]

20. Forgot about that one. Very funny!

[Lochloosa]

17. The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Best of the three.

[Va Lefty]

23. Loved Eastwood's "spaghetti westerns" never considered it a sequel but one of my favorites

[bagelsforbreakfast]

34. Don't know about that - ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST has a

kick-ass opening.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

61. Sometimes I think that's the best movie ever made. I love the opening. NT

[cemaphonic]

45. For that matter, For a Few Dollars More is much better than Fistful of Dollars.

[Paladin]

18. "Godfather 2," Toy Story 3" (nt)

[mucifer]

21. Superman 2 was better than Superman

[Va Lefty]

24. Hell yes good choice!

[LisaM]

25. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Assuming the third movie in the franchise can be considered a sequel, I'd go with that. It's the one I re-watch.

[Va Lefty]

26. A Christmas classic!

[tymorial]

28. A friggen men.

[bagelsforbreakfast]

27. Besides those mentioned, Indy Jones3 with Connery, the last Iron Man...

Also a number of foreign movies like Police Story 2 & 3 (Jackie Chan) and Hong Kong Triad series.

[Va Lefty]

32. Yes on Indy and Police Story never Jackie Chan except with Cris Tucker

[bagelsforbreakfast]

33. You mean you don't like Jackie Chan? n/m

[Va Lefty]

37. No just never saw those flicks

[tymorial]

29. History of the world part 2

The first one was so bad no one remembers it.

[pdxflyboy]

31. Return of the Pink Panther

[Va Lefty]

35. Sellers was great and Blake Edwards was spot on

[mahatmakanejeeves]

38. "The Manchurian Candidate"

I have no complaints about the first one (1962, John Frankenheimer, Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury), but the remake (2004, Jonathan Demme, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Jon Voight) is waaaaaay more paranoid.

Watch both. See what you think. I have both on DVD.

[Va Lefty]

39. I'll have to check it out

[Mendocino]

40. Citizen Kane II

Roast beef on rye with mustard.

[Major Nikon]

42. Airplane!

Although perhaps a remake more than a sequel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Hour!_(1957_film)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

67. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

One of the best Sci Fi movies ever made.

[moose65]

43. The greatest sequel of all time...

And the best of the Universal horror films: Bride of Frankenstein! What a hoot!

[NotASurfer]

44. What are the odds on Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money being funnier than the original?

If it gets made? Thing Mel Brooks has one more comedy left in him?

[oberliner]

58. Doubtful

Not that I don't love Mel Brooks, but I think that particular ship has sailed.

[lame54]

47. Road Warrior

[DFW]

48. Lethal Weapon 2

"Diplomatic immunity!"

"Just been revoked!"

[denbot]

49. Evil Dead 2

A close call because the first was pretty cool, and the third Army of Darkness was also pretty awesome.

[oberliner]

50. Manhunter 2 (AKA Silence of the Lambs)

Does that count?

[exboyfil]

56. Probably not

It is a reboot with no continuity shared with the first movie. Even the spelling of Lecter's name is different in Manhunter.

Both Lambs and Manhunter are enjoyable to watch and Manhunter is better than Red Dragon, but Red Dragon is truer to the source material.

Weird that two actors in the original CSI both appeared in Hannibal properties as investigators. William Peterson as Graham and Laurence Fishburne as Crawford in the television series.

[oberliner]

57. Fair enough

I figured that might be a bit of a stretch.

Maybe I'll go with Gremlins 2 instead.

[exboyfil]

59. I need to see that

Never saw it originally, but the clips I have seen look great.

[oberliner]

60. At the time I thought it was hilarious

Not sure if it still holds up though.

[Orrex]

63. I find Manhunter very close to unwatchable

And I saw it before I read or saw Silence of the Lambs.

Hated Petersen as the lead, really disliked the portrayal of Lecktor, and I think that Dennis Farina was wildly miscast. The whole thing seems like an ABC movie of the week, made in a hurry and on a shoestring budget.


I preferred absolutely everything about Red Dragon.

[exboyfil]

64. We can agree to disagree

I thought Ed Norton didn't work in Red Dragon, but I will go back and watch it again based upon your opinion. Also maybe a reread of Red Dragon is in order.

It is interesting about your opinion of Petersen. It seems that the actor playing Will Graham in the television show Hannibal (Hugh Dancy) borrowed heavily from that portrayal. They even look somewhat alike.

The Lekter in Manhunter (Brian Cox) I thought was not as good as Hopkins, but I did like him. Even though Fienes is good in anything, I thought Tom Noohan did a good job as Dollarhyde.

[Orrex]

65. I'm actually interested to see the TV series

We don't have cable, so I'll have to wait for some other way to see it. Probably won't be buying the CBS streaming service, though. When I eventually see it, I'll watch for the Petersen echoes that you note.

Loves me some Mads, though!

I also really, really like Brian Cox, but not in this role. He has such a magnificent screen presence, though it didn't quite work for me here. Hannibal seemed too, I don't know, casual. Can't quite describe it. And of course Anthony Hopkins is iconic.


Given your comments, maybe I should give Manhunter another look, too!

[exboyfil]

66. If you have Hi Speed internet

Reserve a week and see if Amazon Prime is running an intro special. All three seasons are available. So binge away. It is weird, and the 1st half of season 3 is unwatchable. The second half of season 3 takes up the Red Dragon story line.

I am saddened that they did not lead with Red Dragon in the 3rd season, it might still be on the air otherwise.

I am kind of hoping that Mads gets connected with the Silence/Starling television project. Hannibal did not have the rights to that story. It is currently in development hell to the best of my knowledge.

Local libraries sometimes get entire series as well on DVD. I watched Battlestar Gallatica that way.

[Orrex]

68. Oh! We have Amazon Prime. Thanks for the tip!

I just assumed that it wouldn't be available there, but it'll definitely be on the list!

[Orrex]

70. Watched episode 1. Mads Mikkelson is always a treat

I have to be honest and say that I'm suspicious of stories that use Asperger's or autism as a lazy way to give characters de facto super powers of insight or wisdom, so I'm not sure how I feel about Will Graham being introduced that way--even if Lecter sort of tweaked it a little.

Still, it's engaging enough. We'll see where it goes!

[tblue37]

52. Terminator II. nt

[exboyfil]

55. The Dark Knight

still Batman Begins was a very good start.

Spider-Man 2

X-Men 2

Batman Returns (but the original is very close in quality)

Some already listed:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - This is probably the best recovery for a sequel. The first movie was nearly unwatchable.

Road Warrior - Far superior to the first and third movies

Alien and Aliens are unique as being two of the best movies in their respective genres

Terminator 2 is a better movie, but Terminator given its budget is an incredible movie as well

Empire Strikes Back is marginally better than A New Hope

My pick for best improvement is tied between Wrath of Khan and Road Warrior. Mad Max is nothing special, but Road Warrior was seminal. Third would be Terminator 2.

[aka-chmeee]

62. 2010 nt

[Stuart G]

69. Not exactly a sequel, Beauty and the Beast. 2017 vs 1991

1991 version of animated, a very good film in my opinion,

2017 version live action. 2017 somewhat better, but totally different forms of presentation.
...Very hard to compare...latest version appears to have far more effort , but who knows?

Box Office.......1991, .....145 million
Box Office .....2017.......505 million

given inflation in 26 years...actually very similar at the box office.