Aug 25, 2008 | by John
The Movie Blog’s Top 20 Sequels Of All Time
Last week a viewer sent in a question for us on “The Movie Blog: Uncut” show asking about sequels that were better than the originals (a very rare thing). That got me to thinking about what I consider to be the greatest sequels ever. After seeing my friend Brad over at RopeOfSilicon do his 10 best sequels list today, I thought I should throw mine up too.
If nothing else, the films on this list are a testament that sequels can be a great thing. Often people (me included sometimes) will moan and complain when they hear about a sequel coming out… saying there’s no creativity left in Hollywood and that they’re all terrible and just cash grabs. Well, I’m glad studios don’t listen to that sort of talk, because if they did, none of the magnificent films on this list would exist.
Remember, all lists are totally subjective and no 2 lists will look exactly alike. Having said that, I now present for your consideration and debate, The Movie Blog’s Top 20 Sequels:
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#1 - LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING The movie holding the record for the most Oscars (11) is still what I consider to be the greatest overall achievement in cinematic history. When you consider all the film making elements of cinematography, acting, art direction, visual effects, music, direction, story, no film in history has brought them all together in a package as nearly perfect as The Return of the King. An incredible ending to only the second trilogy in history to have all three of its films nominated for Best Picture. |
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#2 - THE GODFATHER PART 2 More than just an amazing story, The Godfather Part 2’s real genius was in how director Francis Ford Coppola told the story. Disconnecting the linear timeline and in essence telling two separate stories book ending the time frame of the first Godfather movie. Many will argue (understandably so) that this should be #1, and I can respect that because the film is just so flat out amazing. Still, for me part 1 is still the best of the franchise. One of the best, most tragic and haunting endings to any film in history. (The other trilogy to have all 3 films nominated for best picture) |
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#3 - RETURN OF THE JEDI Like many many many other people out there, I’m a certified Star Wars freak (only of the original trilogy, otherwise Star Wars is dead to me now), but unlike most others, I actually think Return of the Jedi was just a little bit better than Empire. As you can see below, I think both were magnificent, but to me Jedi had something extra that’s hard to define. The Vader/Skywalker battle in the Emperor’s throne room and the music that accompanied it is one of my favorite single scenes in film history. Not to mention the greatest space battle scene in movie history that STILL hasn’t been beat. |
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#4 - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Sweet hotness! I still remember as a little kid seeing Empire for the first time. I thought I was going to wet myself when we saw the Star Destroyer for the first time shooting out the probe droids. I definite darker tone than the others in the franchise made for maybe the best dramatic storytelling in the franchise. And today, with all the M. Night Shamhammers running around it’s hard to appreciate a good “twist” anymore… but man, back in the day Darth Vader telling Luke he was his father was MIND BLOWING! I still remember as a kid wondering how Grover because a Jedi on some swamp world. |
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#5 - INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2 To this day my favorite cop movie of all time is the original Infernal Affairs (which as some people still don’t know is what the 2007 Best Picture winning film “The Departed” is a remake of), and yet Infernal Affairs 2 just might be even better. Filled with twists and revelations, the movie is a prequel to the original with many of the key cast returning and younger versions of some of the original cast filling in the gaps. A completely killer film. |
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#6 - INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE This is actually my favorite film of the entire franchise. One would think it impossible to meet or top the achievements of the Indiana Jones films at that time, and yet somehow Lucas and Spielberg found a way. Brining on Sean Connery to play Indy’s father is probably one of the best celebrity additions to a franchise ever. The chemistry between Ford and Connery was fantastic and carried much of the charm of the film. Funny, exciting and everything else you’ve come to expect an Indiana Jones movie to be (minus the nuclear fridge). |
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#7 - TOY STORY 2 The funniest thing about Toy Story 2 was that it was originally supposed to be a straight to video sequel, and that at some point the execs looked at it again and said “holy crap… this is actually turning out really well. Let’s release it in theaters!”. It’s a damn good thing they did. Not only did the film make nearly $500 million world wide, it is the only wide release film to hold a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes as well. |
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#8 - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS Following the amazing achievement of Fellowship of the Ring (a LOT of people expected that movie to suck) people were bracing themselves for a let down. “The first one was a fluke” I heard more than one person say. Even I thought the franchise had nowhere to go but down. Wow was I wrong! The Battle at Helm’s Deep stands as one of my favorite battle scenes in history as the story of the ring got deeper and better. Many felt this film was robbed of the best picture Oscar… I’m one of them. |
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#9 - ALIENS Where the first Alien film leaned more towards being a Sci-Fi suspense film in many ways, the second burst into a different direction as a balls to the wall action film. The film is just loaded with memorable scenes and fantastic one liners (”Game over man”). It was the first action film I’d ever seen that I could literally say had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The film will hold up forever. |
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#10 - X-MEN 2 The first X-Men movie single handedly resurrected the superhero genre movie after Batman Nipple Lord vs Austrian Ice Ham” nearly single handedly killed it several years earlier. X-Men 2 took it up a notch. Right from the incredible opening scene with Nightcrawler breaking into the White House to the end where we catch our first glimpse of he Phoenix (that only fans of the comic book recognized and freaked out over when the fiery shape came on the screen), X-Men 2 redefined just how good Comic Book movies could be. To this day it’s still my favorite Comic Book movie. |
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#11 - TERMINATOR: JUDGEMENT DAY Who among us didn’t thing the new liquid Terminator was the damn coolest thing we’d ever seen when this movie first came out. But the T-1000 wasn’t just cool visual effects. The cold passionless killer that Robert Patrick gave us was also one of the scariest things my teenage eyes had ever seen. Damn that guy gave me nightmares. The story was excellent, Linda Hamilton just ruled (I still think Cameron is a bloody idiot for cheating on that woman) and seeing the Arnold Terminator as a GOOD guy was fun too. |
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#12 - THE DARK KNIGHT Director Christopher Nolan did what many people thought couldn’t be done… he topped his own Batman Begins with a film broader in scope, deeper in story, more exciting in action all topped off with a classic villain given new incredible life by the single greatest performance ever in the history of comic book movies. The Dark Knight, while not perfect, delivered everything a Batman fan could have hoped for to send them home happy. The movie struck an obivous chord with comic and non comic book fans alike, quickly becoming the second highest grossing film (not counting inflation) in history. |
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#13 - CLERKS 2 To many people Kevin Smith and his films are an acquired taste. To be honest, as much of a fan that I am of Smith, I’m not actually that thrilled with many of his films. Having said that, I honestly think Clerks 2 is one of the sharpest, funniest and yes smartest comedies I’ve seen in a long long time. Smith shows he’s more than just fart and fuck jokes. Clerks 2 has so much heart to it that many people miss. Real issues struggled with by a lot of people entering their mid 30’s, issues of friendship, home, belonging, dreams, all dealt with within the context of Smith’s edgy humor. I unapologetically love this movie |
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#14 - STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KHAN The first Star Trek film just blew chunks of refuse, so to many at the time a follow up film was a bit of a surprise. However, the idea behind the film was nothing short of pure genius. Going back and directly making the movie a sequel to AN INDIVIDUAL EPISODE of the TV show was a move that save the franchise. Ricardo Montalban instantly became one of the greatest villains in movie history reprising the role of Khan. If you didn’t feel the blood rushing through your veins when Khan quotes “To the last, I will grapple with thee. From hell’s heart, I stab at thee. For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee” then you are totally dead inside. |
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#15 - SPIDER-MAN 2 I nearly lost my mind the first time I saw this flick. Just about everything a Comic Book movie should be. Great visual effects, terrific action, loads of wild cheer moments, fun, funny and character who stick surprisingly well with the spirit of their comic book counterparts. Tragically overlooked in this film whenever it’s discussed is the performance of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock who brought that extra dimension to the film that Spider-Man 1 (as good as it was) missed. Such a shame Spider-Man 3 went completely to shit. |
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#16 - ROCKY 2 The original Rocky (which I know most people these days haven’t seen) was a different kind of sports movie. It was more about the character and his story than the sport. Rocky 2 began to float more towards the “action” elements that the franchise would become known for, but at the heart of it was still this terrific character… Rocky Balboa. How this simple guy went from nothing to celebrity status, how it effected himself, the relationships in his life and his dreams. One of the most electrifying ends to a movie ever. |
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#17 - ARMY OF DARKNESS I understand that most people feel that if you’re going to put an “Evil Dead” movie on this list, then Evil Dead 2 should be the one to get the nod. Sorry, but to me Army Of Darkness is the king of the franchise and always will be. Perhaps no film in history has ever been as purely quotable as this cult classic. As a matter of fact, a lot of the most famous quotes in various movies and video games were all direct rips rips from Army Of Darkness. It’s the movie that elevated Bruce Campbell to god status who now dwells in the halls of the immortals. |
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#18 - STAR TREK 4: THE VOYAGE HOME Ok, if I were a movie studio executive back in 1984 and some guy came into my office with an idea for a new Star Trek movie that focused on the crew of the Enterprise going back in time on earth to the 1980’s, looking like hippies and on a mission to save the whales, I would have thrown that dude out of my office and fired him on the spot. I guess sometimes the dumbest sounding ideas can be executed in such a way to make a classic. This movie is just so damn charming and fun. Scotty trying to talk to the 1980’s computer is a classic scene! “Oh, a keybord. How quaint”. |
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#19 - SHREK 2 The first Shrek film was pretty good, but there was something about the sequel that will always give it a special place in my heart. Blatant pop culture reference jokes rarely hit with me, but for some reason they way the material was handled in Shrek 2 had me grinning, giggling and laughing pretty much the whole way through the movie. Puss In Boots was a great addition to the cast of characters and that musical number of “I need a hero” near the end still gets my heart thumping. Like Spider-Man 2 however, it’s a shame the next film was total garbage. |
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#20 - DIE HARD 3 Kind of like the Army of Darkness pick, there will be many out there who will feel that Die Hard 2 deserves the place on this list. However, to performance of Jeremy Irons, the heist plot and the chemistry between Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson pushed this one over the top. Come to think of it, in terms of just the “heist” portion of the film… it may be one of my favorite heist movies ever. The plan was so freaking great! |
So there you have it folks. Like I mentioned at the beginning, all film is subjective and no 2 lists will look exactly alike, so I’m sure that even if you love or hate my list, there are things you agree or disagree with. What would your list look like? Which films would you put on there that I left off? Which ones would you boot off? (just so you know, I amended this list to include Clerks 2 which I originally forgot to add).
104 Comments, Comment or Ping
Rodney
Now you have to do the 25 WORST sequels starting with Highlander 2.
Aug 25th, 2008
Freeman
Doesn’t the first Toy Story have a 100% also?
Aug 25th, 2008
Jason
I think this is the worst sequels list. There are only about 8 films here that deserve to be here.
Aug 25th, 2008
John
Hey Jason,
Well, that’s not very helpful. It’s easy to just drop in and say that… but what would YOUR list look like?
Aug 25th, 2008
Jason
I’m working on it. These things take time and research :)
Aug 25th, 2008
Flyer28
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Aug 25th, 2008
Dragonslayer
I was looking down the list I couldn’t find-oh, THERE’S where The Dark Knight is. Man, for a second there I thought you forgot it.
Aug 25th, 2008
Kuato
The Road Warrior didnt make the list?????? WTF!!!
Aug 25th, 2008
Dragonslayer
Pan’s Labyrinth is sort of a sequel to The Devil’s Backbone. Maybe that could be on there
Aug 25th, 2008
Mozzerino
This is a pretty good list John.
The only two I have a major disagreement with are SHREK 2 and DIE HARD 3. Both not very good in my opinion.
I don’t have time for a list right now as well, but one movie I wanna mention quickly right at the top of my head is BEFORE SUNSET. One of the most romantic films of all time and even better than the first one.
Aug 25th, 2008
William_of_dale
I have to agree with Kuato: take out Voyage Home, and put in Road Warrior
Aug 25th, 2008
Bill Clay
I like your list, John. But I would remove the Lord Of The Rings films, as I don’t consider them sequels for the following reason:
They were shot simultaneously, with the plan that all three would be released in theaters and if, in a worst case scenario, the first one bombed at the box office (as certainly happened with the Rings-wannabe Eragon) then the others would likely have been finished up on the cheap and released direct to DVD — but there was little chance the second and third films would never see the light of day — partly due to the massive Tolkien fan base, but also because money was already invested in the filming of parts of those movies and with no release, there’s no return on that investment.
For what it’s worth, I would term a true sequel as one in which the specific story for a second film was not known at the time of the original’s release and plenty on your list fit that bill. Not knowing where exactly you’re headed with a sequel is the great challenge of making one. Some excellent examples of this, though not necessarily all great films, are Ghostbusters II, Highlander II, the Rocky, Star Trek and Star Wars films, Back to the Future II (though not III which was filmed simultaneously), Airplane 2, Jaws 2 etc. Those to my mind are true sequels, where you can feel the filmmakers taking a stab, giving it a fresh shot, but not continuing on a course clearly mapped out ahead of time.
Aug 25th, 2008
melbye
Great list, even though i don’t agree with some of them. Here is my top 10 without much thought;
1. Goldfinger
2. Casino Royale
3. The Dark Kinght
4. Spider-Man 2
5. The Return of the King
6. The Empire Strikes Back
7. The Godfather Part 2
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
9. X-Men 2
10. Back to the Future Part 3
Aug 25th, 2008
Kevin C
I know its hard to find balance between all the overhype and hate of The Dark Knight, but its probably in my top 3 of sequels.
My list is probably,
1. The Godfather part 2
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Dark Knight
4. Terminator 2
5. Lethal Weapon 2
6. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
7. Back to the Future part 2
8. The Matrix Reloaded (i know, but I love it, guilty pleasure)
9. Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise
10: Superman 2/Superman Returns (pick one, I love em both)
Aug 25th, 2008
Audioout
Rocky Balboa before Rocky 4.
Clerks 2
George A. Romero’s Dawn Of the Dead
Back to the Future 2
Drunken Master 2
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Superman 2
Did you forget any of these or are they just not up to snuff in your opinion?
Aug 25th, 2008
Audioout
Also, I agree with Mozzerino, Before Sunset was fantastic.
Aug 25th, 2008
Dragonslayer
I agree Bill. The Lord of the Rings is really only one film, but it just had to be split into 3 parts so we didn’t sit down for 11 hours
Aug 25th, 2008
Audioout
Well, if Lord of the Rings counts then Kill Bill Vol. 2 counts also…so…
Aug 25th, 2008
Jason
1. The Godfather Part II
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
4. Red
5. Toy Story 2
6. Die Hard 2
7. Before Sunset
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
9. Aliens
10. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
11. The Dark Knight
12. Spider-Man 2
13. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
14. White
15. Return of the Jedi
16. Ocean’s Thirteen
17. Babe 2: Pig in the City
18. Christmas Vacation
19. Letters from Iwo Jima (not sure if this would count)
20. The Muppets Take Manhattan
Aug 25th, 2008
Mikey
DIE HARD 2 WAS A TRAIN WRECK. That was one of the worst movies ever and shouldnt even be considered a Die Hard. I refuse to buy it even when I see it for 3 bucks. Die Hard/Die Hard 3 are two of the best action movies ever. Number 2 is well number 2. HA
Aug 25th, 2008
Shane the War Journalist
I honestly can’t think of any movies that deserved to be on the list more than these. I personally think that animated movies should go lower on the list though. G-rated movies are over-rated in my opinion. I love The Last Crusade, even though nobody else I know does. Speaking of Sean, I suppose you can’t count any of the Bond films, being that none of them are direct sequels.
Aug 25th, 2008
John
Hey Guys,
Regarding Lord of the Rings,
The films were shot sequentially, they weren’t shot interchangably. They are indeed sequels. One was shot, finished and released, then the next, then the next.
Unlike Kill Bill which was shot as one movie, Lord of the Rings was shot was 3 films and shot immediately back to back like Back to the Future 2 and 3, Pirates 2 and 3 and Matrix 2 and 3.
Aug 25th, 2008
Mikey
Clerks 2 is a great one. I think its better then the original. Not really fair since the budget was sooooo much more and america is completely desensitized at this point and they could get away with a shit ton more. “Hey little porch monkey….Its okay. Im taking it back”
Aug 25th, 2008
Jason
What about Die Hard 2 was a train wreck? And I would still count Kill Bill. Is that DVD release ever going to come out with those films together?
Aug 25th, 2008
John
GAAAA!!!! I can’t believe I forgot about Clerks 2!!!!!
Aug 25th, 2008
Mikey
Everything about die hard two was terrible. Barely and action and the action that was in it looked complete fake (the scene where they slit the soldiers throat comes to mind). The plot was rediculous. and the ending? Please gasoline plus snow does not equal a blown up plane and a lit up runway. Hippy kaya
Aug 25th, 2008
George
Actually john the LOTR films were not shot seperately. A majority of all three films were shot in one long main shoot.
On the dvd making of’s there are interviews where the actors and film makers all talk about how one of the most challenging things was that one day you would would be shooting a scene from the first film and then the next day you would be filming stuff from the third film
They did have pick ups each year to get stuff they may have missed on that initial shoot but the films were not shot in order individually.
On the dvd they show you clearly that cate blanchett only came out once so they shot all her stuff while she was here. The stuff at the every end of film three and the stuff in fellowship. So they shot what they needed to shoot at the time.
Its all there on the dvds.
Aug 25th, 2008
Andrew James
Fantasia 2000
Airplane 2
Color of Money
Dawn of the Dead
Christmas Vacation
Desperado
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Aug 25th, 2008
George
But I do agree with you that they are sequels.
Your list i spot on though. I agree with all of your sequels pretty much. The only slight difference I would have would be that I don’t like die hard three. Too silly for me but other than that spot on list.
Oh and off topic but I am glad you guys are doing so many more podcast now! Best show around every day!!! I love it. Keep them coming.
Oh and one last thing - didn’t you hint that you might have some news coming up in relation to movie making??
any more news?
Aug 25th, 2008
entertainmenttodayandbeyond
Good topic- I must think like Audio out as I also would put
Rocky Balboa- A perfect book end to the original.
George Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD- He took a great concept and blew it out of the water. A great film.
Superman 2- Great story, totally absorbing!
Lethal Weapon 2- a perfect buddy cop action film.
Glad you had Aliens- perhaps the best sequel ever made.
Escape from the Planet of the Apes- Great sci-fi
Personally Im just not a Lord of the Rings fan. Peter Jackson to me is a completely hollow storyteller.
Aug 25th, 2008
Phil Gee
Well there is Clerks 2 John; we must give props to Clerks 2. You’ve mentioned the great ones but if I had a top 20 list i’d probably throw that in too (and Star Trek 6 over 4, and the two Bourne sequels).
Aug 25th, 2008
Phil Gee
Ah, I see you’ve noticed;)
Aug 25th, 2008
George
What do you mean by completely hollow storyteller?
I understand if you don’t like his films but I am just curious as to what you mean by that?
Aug 25th, 2008
Jay E
John,
Actually the Lord of the Rings was shot concurrently and not sequentially. Scenes for RotK were shot at the same time as FotR and so on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal_photography_of_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy
Principal photography for all 3 films were finished before the first film was released, although they went back and added more to the following two films after the success of the first.
As for sequels that I would add:
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Casino Royale (if it can be considered a sequel)
Either “Bourne” movie
Before Sunset
The Lost World (not superior to original, but one of my favorites)
Blade 2
and possibly a Harry Potter movie, although I’ve never considered them sequels even though they are no different than LotR or James Bond books.
Aug 25th, 2008
George
What wound up getting bumped for clerks 2? what was your original number 20??
Aug 25th, 2008
Jason
I think the LOTR movies should still be considered sequels, regardless of when they were actually shot.
That being said, the only sequel list they should be on is the one with the most bloated, unnecessary, waste-of-time, terrible sequels on it.
Aug 25th, 2008
EricD
I like your list except for two things. I never heard of INFERNAL AFFAIRS, 1 or 2, and LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING is a piece of dog shit that actively gives syphilitic donkeys tongue enemas.
1) It starts with that abortion scene with Sméagol finding the ring. The whole thing plays like a bad Saturday Night Live sketch.
2) That horrible, horrible, hug a hobbit, never ending goodbye scene.
3) Aragorns arrival with the undead at Minas Tirith. I understand giving the director poetic license to make a cool story so this wasn’t as bad as the others.
4-10) And the most unforgivable of all, leaving out The Scouring of the Shire, which the whole point of the books in the first place. And Jackson’s lame ass excuse about not having time is bullshit. Cut that stupid ass opening and shave off 30 minutes of Gandalf looking longingly at hobbits.
Aug 25th, 2008
entertainmenttodayandbeyond
Sure George- When speaking about Lord of the Rings -When I say hollow- For me there just not involving. Its a purely visual experience and again for me, there’s just not enough of a compelling story for me to get sucked into. Yes it’s good filmaking, but from a pure storytelling point of view there not compelling. Again at least for me. King Kong had the same problem. Visual greatness yes. Was I sucked into the characters and story- NO. For me PeterJackson just isn’t in the league of Chris Nolan, James Cameron, Sam Rami and as handful of other terrific mainstream movie makers! He’s all style and litle substance! His movies are way to long and not involving enough to sustain there length. Just My opinion!
Aug 25th, 2008
EricD
Rocky IV was the one that got bumped for Clerks 2. Which I doubt any thinking person will argue with.
Aug 25th, 2008
TJ
hey John good list. I agree with all of them pretty much. I might change some of the order’s but a very cool list to put up.
Ummmm…. one thing, use spell check please, when putting up an article. I usually could care less but just about every paragraph has a mistake. I only bring it up because it did hurt my enjoyment of reading it a bit when i was like “huh? what? oh I see” you know. Not a big deal but just check before you hit publish if you could.]
Again awesome list
Aug 25th, 2008
Jason Stanley
I never thought Die Hard 2 was any good so I’m actually glad the third one is on here rather than that one! Spiderman 2 and X-Men 2 are certainly some superb choices in the superhero department but what about Superman 2?? Absolutely loved that flick!!
And Clerks 2? I’m not so sure to be honest, it had NONE of the character of the first film and seemed like it was just TRYING to offend.
Aug 25th, 2008
Jacob
I would argue that visuals have everything to do with storytelling since they absorb you emotionally, at least if you count visuals as having to do with style, which is important. In terms of actual character development Peter Jackson is not exactly subtle. He makes it known when Frodo is being subverted by the ring. But he has the books to back him and use as a spine, so at the very least it’s a fun trilogy and really easy to fall in love with.
Aug 25th, 2008
Steven C.
What the fuck is wrong with you ERICD, John is right, The Lord of the Rings the Return of the King is one of the best movies ever.
Aug 25th, 2008
shadopup
Gotta agree with some of the other folks, LOTR shouldn’t be considered sequels. The three separate books were not self contained stories and neither were the movies regardless of how they were filmed timewise.
I liked Back to the Future 2 & 3. Drunken Master 1 was great but the exponential improvement of Drunken Master 2 over the first is really amazing (because it was made like 15 years after the first one or something like that).
Other than that it’s a very good list.
Aug 25th, 2008
EricD
Hi Steven C.
We’d have to start a whole new blog to cover all the things wrong with me. But I still say Return of the King is dog shit. Dog shit with corn.
Aug 25th, 2008
George
Did you like fellowship and two towers ericd?
Aug 25th, 2008
Darren J Seeley
It is an excellent list, cannot disagree with it too much. I would only put Empire Strikes Back over Return Of The Jedi; also instead of Return Of The King I’d wish Two Towers in its stead. But there’s two films that I feel are missing.
One is The Color Of Money (1986).
The other is Silence Of The Lambs
I could understand why some people might not see either as “a sequel”, but since Paul Newman continued his character from The Hustler in the Scorcese picture, to me, that’s equal to a sequel.
As for Lambs, the novel itself was a sequel to the author’s “Red Dragon”. “Red Dragon” was filmed as “Manhunter” (also from 1986) with the role of Hannibal Lector recast. So in my view, it *is* a sequel.
Either one should knock off Clerks 2.
John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow II gets an honorable mention from me.
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@Melbye
Casino Royale isn’t a sequel.
Aug 25th, 2008
EricD
Hi George,
Yes I liked The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers very much. At first I had a hard time with the expanded role of Arwen but I could understand the need. Same thing with cutting out Tom Bombadil. Neither movie was perfect but I loved both and think they are wonderful.
Aug 25th, 2008
George
I was just wondering.
I have seen it many times where people say “I hate the lord of the rings trilogy. all three of them suck” and it always puzzles me as to why you would see all three if you hated the first one. They are not the shortest films so thats a big commitment to make to a series of films you are fairly certain to dislike.
But you really hate return of the king huh. Fair enough.
Aug 25th, 2008
bloodsteam
I agree with entertainmenttodayandbeyond on the Peter Jackson issue. I loved the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, and King Kong; but for better or for worse, they’re not nearly as engaging or character-oriented as many other movies today by people like Nolan, Cameron, etc.
Also, I did not think that Return of the King was the best in the series. Maybe I wasn’t looking at it objectively, but it seemed more predictable and even less complex in terms of story than the last two(the first of which I really liked).
Lastly: what the heck is Shrek 2 doing on this list? The first Shrek was actually pretty original, which makes the rehash that is Shrek 2 all the more worse. The Controlling Ideas were virtually the same, and even all the giggly jokes couldn’t shake the feeling that the story is even more meaningless than the first.
And I hate endings where all the characters spontaneously begin singing and dancing. It’s totally beyond unoriginal and uncreative.
Aug 25th, 2008
handle
Fail! All of the Lord of the Rings are bloated pieces of poo. The rest is alright tho I’ve never been a Star Wars or Star Trek fan. Glad you chose Die Hard 3 rather than 2. 3 was my favorite of them all (well I never saw 4). Aliens and Terminator 2 should be number one and two tho! You couldn’t want more from a sequel!
Aug 25th, 2008
Mike Mai
good to see IA2 up there
Aug 25th, 2008
George
Thats one of the biggest crimes of the prequels - if you are new to star wars and decided to watch them all and do so in numerical order from episode 1 through episode V1 the twist in empire is completely ruined.
Aug 25th, 2008
John Whiteaker
I agree with Darren about The Color Of Money and The Silence of the Lambs if that is considered a sequel.
I think there is should be a list of favorite PREQUELS. I realize a list of LEAST favorite prequels would be easy for most but I’d like to see people’s favs.
Aug 25th, 2008
joonavar
No Ghostbusters 2???!!!! Shame Shame….
Aug 25th, 2008
George
whats happening with the podcast by the way?
Aug 25th, 2008
Matt
Return of the Jedi’s your favorite Star Wars sequel yet you hate the prequels? That seems a little silly to me, considering it commits all of the same sins as the prequels. Revenge of the Sith is better in almost every way.
Aug 25th, 2008
Brenda
Honestly, I’d have to go with Infernal Affairs 3 over IA2, as good as it was. I’m being deliberately vague, because I don’t want to spoil anyone, but the slow internal destruction of the main character in IA3 is just breathtaking to watch.
I love everything else about the list, though, especially Aliens and the LOTR films. As much as I adore Ridley Scott’s movies, I’ve always felt that Aliens had the stronger story.
Aug 25th, 2008
nogods4herby
Good List, However…
You talk about great villians and there is no mention of Superman II. GENERAL ZOD RULES.
Also I like Return of the Jedi, However I hate those soul sucking merchandise dickshit EWOKS.
I always comfort myself knowing that a space station the size of a small moon exploding within the orbit of Endor had to have shifted the planet off its axis thus destroying those cutsie shit fuzzballs forever.
Aug 26th, 2008
EricD
I totally agree nogods4herby. what makes it worse is I’ve been told many times that the ewoks were originally intended to be wookies.
Aug 26th, 2008
Beej
Where is the love for Short Circuit 2.
Los Locos kick your ass
Los Locos kick your face
Los Locos kick your balls into outer space
Aug 26th, 2008
JAY
@ Mikey
100% with you buddy on DH2. Worst of the franchise.
I’m glad John acknowledged DH3 on his list…just made.
My DH rankings..DH1; DH3;DH4.
Good to see Lethal Weapon 2 mentioned from commenters.
Aug 26th, 2008
Balcony Fool
“Before Sunset.”
One of the most unexpected and moving sequels I’ve ever seen.
Aug 26th, 2008
CaptainChaos
What? No Cannonball Run 2?
Aug 26th, 2008
George
DH3 is terrible. as is 2 and 4. There is only one that need be counted.
Lethal Weapon 2 - great.
Lethal Weapon 3-4 - abominations.
Aug 26th, 2008
John Whiteaker
Anyone think Desparado was a great sequel to El Mariachi?
Also, wouldn’t Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom technically be a prequel since it happened before the events in Raiders?
Aug 26th, 2008
DirkAnger23
“Well a doudle dumbass on you!”,……………..”Oh. . . . .joy”,………..”I know this ship like the back of my hand”. Just the fact that Star Trek 4 made it on to this list warms my heart. Easily one of the funniest, most far-fetched, sci-fi movies I’ve ever seen.
Aug 26th, 2008
Erisi
I would have put Mad Max 2:The Road Warrior somewhere in that list, it’s a perfect sequel that expanded and made better everything that was good about the first one.
Aug 26th, 2008
Mike White
Can’t agree with you at all on Return of the Jedi. If the death of the Boba Fett wasn’t enough, Ewoks were terrible… just terrible.
Actually, I think most of your choices are pretty assy. Evil Dead 3 is my least favorite, Indy Jones 3 is overrated. Just lots of bad choices. Please try again.
Aug 26th, 2008
Mike White
I agree with some of the things on this list. Culling it down, I’d go with:
* Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
* Aliens
* The Empire Strikes Back
These are okay but not sure if they’re the “Top of all time”:
* Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
* Rocky 2
* X-Men 2
* Spiderman 2
Movies that should have been on the list:
* The Road Warrior
* The Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn
* The Silence of the Lambs
* Sanjuro
* Lone Wolf & Cub 2
* Drunken Master 2
* The Bride of Frankenstein
* For a Few Dollars More
* Mr. Vampire 2
* Cannonball Run II
* Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Aug 26th, 2008
Bert Boot
I would have ‘Pirates of the Carribean, Dead mans chest’ in there too.
Oh, and ‘Good, the Bad and the Ugly’.
Aug 29th, 2008
Reed
I think this list should be cut at 12. Die Hard 3? Horrendous.
My top ten:
The Godfather, Part II
The Silencs of the Lambs (should count IMO)
Empire/Jedi (counting ‘em as one)
Lord of the Rings (counting ‘em as one)
Terminator 2
The Two Jakes (I really dig it, sue me)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (you count LOTR, you can count this)
Toy Story 2
Aliens
A Few Dollars More
Aug 29th, 2008
bret
The Dark Night should’ve been number one. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen.
Aug 29th, 2008
MorgulQ
Star Wars Ep3 should totally be on this list, way better than 2 and scoring just ahead of 1 despite the lack of Liam Neeson.
Aug 30th, 2008
moviegoer2008
My favorites (not best, just favorites):
1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. The Dark Knight
3. Terminator 2
4. Revenge of the Sith
5. Rocky IV
6. The Last Crusade
7. Freddy vs Jason
8. Robocop 2
9. Batman Returns
10. Star Trek IV
11. Return of the Jedi
12. Hot Shots 2
13. Naked Gun 3
14. Jaws 2
15. Hannibal
16. Godfather 2
17. Die Hard 4
For what its worth, HATED The Return of the King…did it ever end? I stop the movie where they are stranded on the lava rock. Shrek 2 also sucked.
Aug 31st, 2008
Cinevip
A great movie sequel is Les Bronzes Font Du Ski (French Fried Vacation II) which is a great comedy ! It’s french ! And funny !
Sep 1st, 2008
Cerebral's Pal Z
How do you not have Terminator 2 higher? That deserves to be far higher up. Also Godfather 2 is better than Return of the King. The Dark Knight should also be higher up on the list. That movie made its predecessor look like a joke and Batman Begins is a pretty good movie.
Sep 1st, 2008
ericksonx
For me the dark night should at the top this is really great movie. But what i’m waiting for is the Original- X-men story of Wolverine… excited to watch it this coming 2009…
Sep 4th, 2008
Doug
(Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)Manon des source should be on the list. Classic French Movie.
Sep 5th, 2008
Commenter
For God’s sake, you guys put the average and unfunny ARMY OF DARKNESS here and not the hilarious EVIL DEAD 2???? A top 10 from me…
1. THE DARK KNIGHT
2. THE GODFATHER: PART II
3. STAR WARS: EPISODE V-THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
4, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
5. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
6. ALIENS
7. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
8. INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
9. STAR WARS: EPISODE VI-RETURN OF THE JEDI
10. THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
Maybe you should think better before putting number 5 the nor-good-nor-bad-either sequel of INFERNAL AFFAIRS…
Sep 6th, 2008
movies to see
I agree with “INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE” and I’m surprised with “ARMY OF DARKNESS”. Both great!
Sep 7th, 2008
David Lopan
I’m actually surprised Dawn of the Dead didn’t make that list. And shall we put for a first mention when this website makes a worst sequels list that we put The Exorcist 2: The Heretic in there? Possibly in the top 3?
Sep 9th, 2008
Commenter
DAWN OF THE DEAD is not exactly a sequel to Romero’s previously zombie epics, but part of some kind of a trilogy.
The worst sequel EVER was SON OF THE MASK.
Sep 11th, 2008
Blindmonkey
This is clearly the opinion of one person. First off you put Return of The King as #1, I will not argue this even though I am not a LOTR fan and I am more of a Star Wars fan but you really did not give enough credit to marquee films.
First off…The Dark Knight…#12??? The second highest grossing domestic movie of all time, oscar worthy performances, and an epic masterpiece and you dare put it at a double digit number…shame on you.
Second…you call yourself a Star Wars fan and you rate ROTJ above Empire? Empire introduces us to Yoda, reveals Vader as Luke’s father, Cloud City, Hoth, introduces Boba Fett, Han Solo Carbonite…come on. ROTJ was great but less drama…Empire was clearly the climax.
Third…forget a few on the list? Maybe Superman 2, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Ghostbusters 2?
Sep 11th, 2008
Varikelo
My comments on…
The LOTR films…. Personally I think The Two Towers is a much better film that ROTK.
Return of the Jedi…. I have always enjoy it, despite the ewoks… Obviously must of us watched this movie for the first time as kids and I’m so sure nobody was complaining about at that time….
Dark Knight was great, but I also wont rank it as numer 1 on the list….
Sep 11th, 2008
Rob
Before Sunset.
Sep 12th, 2008
kevin
you all forgetting about Lethal Weapon 2 , this is one of the best action movies out of the 1987s.
Sep 14th, 2008
p waldrop
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/e4i13a66/petition.html
a sequel anyone can support?!!
Sep 14th, 2008
Fool On The Hill
You forgot about Titanic 2, Starship Troopers 2, Wild Girls 2, Hot Shots 2, Basic Instinct 2, Saw 2, Police Academy 2 and many others that are truely incredible movies like these … lol
Sep 15th, 2008
Rob
If you do a “worst” list, please add Jaws the Revenge.
Sep 16th, 2008
travis
Okay. It seems that every time I come on here people are, rightfully so, giving one another their opinons. Some act smart, some are smart, some don’t know what the hell they’re talking about, some do. But if one thing bugs me more than any other, and you can tell me to get off of here, it’s that there is always a debate on the LOTR trilogy. I personally found the third one overlong, sometimes boring but still well-made. I thought the second one was the best and it would probably be in my top twenty as would many of these. But, this may sound ridiculous, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 was a perfect match-up to the first one. Creative story-telling, good effects for it’s time and a witty script full of interesting characters. Think it over.
Sep 19th, 2008
Kimberly
SPIDER-MAN 2 is one of the few movies I’ve ever rated as a perfect 10/10, and thank goodness somebody besides me thinks Alfred Molina RULES in this movie. Willem Dafoe wishes he were half as good in the first movie as Molina is in this one. (Though, on the DVD, there’s a short joke scene where Raimi is setting up the fusion generator scene for rehearsal and tells Molina that he brought in someone to show Molina how the scene should be played. The camera pans to see Willem Dafoe in the welder’s goggles, with the guys manipulating the arms behind him, hamming up Molina’s lines in the scene. Everybody on set, especially Molina, is just cracking up and stumbling around laughing.)
Sep 21st, 2008
mark andrew godden
(Type your comment here. Make sure you’ve read the commenting rules before doing so)
yeah ! Spider- man 2 was alright … put Rocky 2 on the list
and the Empire strikes back.. !.
Sep 21st, 2008
mark andrew godden
(
moviegoer2008 said jaws 2 was on his favorite list …..
are you sure man ?
Sep 21st, 2008
mark andrew godden
moviegoer2008 said jaws 2 was on his favorite list …..
are you sure man ?
Sep 21st, 2008
mark andrew godden
movie goer2008 said jaws 2 was on his favorite list …..
are you sure man ?
Sep 21st, 2008
Sketch
No Ghostbusters 2? Really guys??
Sep 23rd, 2008
flapjack
Dude, I’m a HUGE Star Wars fan and even I think that ROTJ has no place on this list. Just 1 word for you…ewoks. Nufs said.
Sep 23rd, 2008
Commenter
SPIDERMAN 2 was an exciting, marvelous action film, even better than the fist one, but trust me, there are a lot better sequels than this. If it was a top 20, I would have put it in.
Sep 23rd, 2008
guy incognito
it’s unfortunate Spider-Man 2 was (and probably will be) always just recognized as “the best comic movie” (well, at least until The Dark Knight) instead of “awesome movie” (result: only Academy Award nominations in Sound and in VisualFX).
Sep 23rd, 2008
Commenter
Personally, I would not recomment it as Best Picure nod. It’s really good, not excellent though. I would love to see THE DARK KNIGHT as an academy winner.
Sep 24th, 2008
shawn
NEWS FLASH !! Ghostbusters 2 wasn’t that great and defininately not better than the first
Sep 24th, 2008
Commenter
Why you aren’t answering me (because I’m an asshole, lol)?
Sep 26th, 2008
kwhite
just check out Jamie Fox’s new movie “The Sololist” see trailer at zoogatv. net . this is certainly going to be Oscar buzz for sure. also starting Robert Downey, Jr.
Sep 27th, 2008
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