Sequels that were better than the first one

[Gendo]

Only talking about part 2s, no later franchise stuff.

The Empire Strikes Back
Back to the Future 2 (That's right, I said it)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Spiderman 2
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Bad Boys 2
Superman 2
Die Hard 2: Die Harder (I went there)
Hot Shots! Part Deux
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan


This is a comprehensive list.

[maz89]

Off the top of my head:

- Before Sunset
- X-Men 2
- Shrek 2

To repeat the ones you listed that I agree with:
- Spiderman 2
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Terminator 2
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The others I haven't seen or I'm not sure of.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

In addition:

Aliens
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Friday the 13th Part 2
Evil Dead 2
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior


Toy Story 2
Rescuers Down Under
Cinderella III (Yep, a straight to DVD mobie better than the original)

[Raxivace]

Severe lack of The Godfather: Part II in this topic.

I'd also add TRON: Legacy.

[Gendo]

Severe lack of The Godfather: Part II in this topic.

I considered it. I need to rewatch them; I've only seen each one once, a while ago. I knew that it could be a contender though.

[Gendo]

Aliens

I considered this one; it was close to making it.

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan

Oops, that should have been there. Added.

[maz89]

Gah, can't believe I forgot Godfather II! And Toy Story 2!

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

Aliens

I considered this one; it was close to making it.

Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan

Oops, that should have been there. Added.

Alien vs Aliens is definitely a controversial one

[Cassius Clay]

Can't think of any, but Terminator 2 is the truest one.

Maybe Bourne Supremacy?

[BruceSmith78]

Severe lack of The Godfather: Part II in this topic.

People always say this, but I liked the first one a lot better than the 2nd.

I'm also not sure T2 beats the original.

Empire is the clearest choice to me.

*edit* Oh, and Winter Soldier is miles better than the first CA. I couldn't even finish the first Captain America movie, but the sequel was cool.

[Derived Absurdity]

I am honestly shocked The Dark Knight hasn't been mentioned yet. I don't even agree that it's better than Batman Begins, but still, 99.9% of the world thinks it is.

[Gendo]

I am honestly shocked The Dark Knight hasn't been mentioned yet. I don't even agree that it's better than Batman Begins, but still, 99.9% of the world thinks it is.

Another one I thought for a while about. I think if I had to choose, I would say I liked it more, but there's valid arguments to be made in favor of Begins.

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I am honestly shocked The Dark Knight hasn't been mentioned yet. I don't even agree that it's better than Batman Begins, but still, 99.9% of the world thinks it is.

Another one I thought for a while about. I think if I had to choose, I would say I liked it more, but there's valid arguments to be made in favor of Begins.

I think we can all admit that without Heath Ledger's turn as The Joker, there would be no argument.

[Gendo]

I'm surprised no one has listed The Two Towers. I definitely prefer Fellowship, but I know a lot of others disagree.

[maz89]

^LOTR has always been like one gigantic 9-hour movie to me. Close to impossible for me to differentiate.

[Raxivace]

I've never really liked any of the LOTR movies, though its been a long time since I last saw them. They have good production values but Tolkien seemed to advocate a disgustingly black and white worldview with that saga (If Jackson's movies are any indication), and looking back that's the last thing anyone actually needed in the wake of 9/11 and the War on Terror when they came out.

[Derived Absurdity]

Tolkien was reactionary as fuck. He was a great writer but his politics were horrible.

[maz89]

I think what's most coincidental is that the name of the second movie (released not long after 9/11 IIRC) was called "The Two Towers". Yikes...

The politics were simplistic and peddled a black-and-white worldview, sure, but the density of the mythological universe, the performances, the age old themes around redemption, fate, hardship, mercy, friendship, sacrifice, et al, and, of course, the cinematography/art direction were the real draw. At least it wasn't as on-the-nose racist or morally bankrupt as something like Birth of a Nation... right?

[Raxivace]

I dunno, BoaN being more overt made it much easier to talk about and confront even in 1915 (Though that obviously wasn't enough to stop the Klan from returning). LotR being more coded and "timeless" and generalized in some ways makes it too easy to project onto- hence people like Rick Santorum using LotR analogies to talk about conflicts in the Middle East or strange pieces like this one from 2002.

This isn't to say Tolkien or Jackson's movies don't have great merits, of course. I just could never get past the parts of them that trouble me.

[maz89]

WTF @ both of those pieces. I guess this is what happens when you take an embellished story of good-vs-evil too literally and believe it could be a reflection of the political complexities of the real world...

[Eva Yojimbo]

I agree with these:

Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Spiderman 2
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Superman 2
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
Godfather: Part II
Evil Dead 2
Bourne Supremacy

I'll add:

Blade 2
Hellboy 2
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Lethal Weapon 2
A Shot in the Dark (> The Pink Panther)

[maz89]

^There was no way Bourne Supremacy was better than Bourne Identity.

It goes like this: Ultimatum > Identity > Supremacy/Legacy

[Eva Yojimbo]

^There was no way Bourne Supremacy was better than Bourne Identity.

It goes like this: Ultimatum > Identity > Supremacy/Legacy

I honestly may have gotten Ultimatum and Supremacy mixed up. All I remember was preferring one of the sequels to the original.

[Boomer]

Probably not the way most people feel but I liked Kill Bill vol 2 more than vol 1.

[Gendo]

Probably not the way most people feel but I liked Kill Bill vol 2 more than vol 1.

Also one I considered for a while. It just wasn't clear enough for me; they both good in their own different ways.

[Cassius Clay]

^There was no way Bourne Supremacy was better than Bourne Identity.

It goes like this: Ultimatum > Identity > Supremacy/Legacy

Ultimatum is really considered the best one? If so, that's quite an achievement because it's highly unusual for the 3rd installment of a franchise to be considered better than the first two.

Supremacy was talked about as having one of the greatest car-chase sequences of all time, so I assume many consider it the best one.