Sequels that Rival the Original (or not so much)

[Ryan]

I was thinking the other day about how many movies end up having sequels and more often than not, the sequel is not near as good as the original film. However, in some instances, the sequel can rival or eclipse its older sibling and can stand on its own.

I was wondering what other people thought of this notion and if you have some examples of this.



AS GOOD AS OR BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL

I think a very obvious choice is "The Empire Strikes Back." I like it even better than the original Star Wars.

I also think that Gremlins 2 was just as good as Gremlins 1.

Ghostbusters 2 was pretty decent. I don't think its better than the original, but it's just as good.

Superman II is by far my favorite of the Superman movies
(the one with the three people from space who dress in black - I am Zod.)

And Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn is my favorite from the original Star Trek movies. I mean, Ricardo Montalban was just bad-ass.








SEQUELS THAT AREN'T NEAR AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL

Waynes World 1 > Waynes World 2

Tremors 1 > Tremors 2 > Tremors 3

Spider-Man 1 > Spider-Man 2









Just looking at this list, it might seem that I don't watch anything beyond sci-fi, super-hero, or cheesy comedy. But rest assured, I do have a more diverse selection of movies that I have seen, but when I started thinking about "sequels" I obviously ventured into the more commercial, (and possibly) less artistic area of movies. ;D

[Deleted]

I agree with Tremors. Part 1 was excellent.. the rest were pretty bad..

Ok, here are a few of my opinions

As Good, or Better[/u]

Rob Zombie’s Halloween 1 and 2. Both were great!
The Hills Have Eyes 1 and 2. I kinda liked 2 better.
AVP and AVPR… I liked AVPR a bit better.
The Last Don.. I dug the 2nd one better.
Hostel. Both were great. 2nd was better.
Underworld - I think they were all great.
Both of the Rest Stop movies were great.


Not as good as the Original

House of 1000 Corpes was lame. The Devil’s Rejects was awesome!
Predator 1 was the best out of all of the Predator movies.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure… First one was great. Not so much for the 2nd.
Wrong Turn 1 & 2 were pretty good. 3 was lame.
Saw I - VI … This movie series gradually got worse as it went on.
Godfather 1 & 2 were brilliant. Godfather 3... Meh..
Donnie Brasco was a great movie. What the fuck happened to the 2nd one? Puff Daddy as a Don? Lame.
The Cell was ok. The Cell 2 was horrible.
The Grudge 1 was great. 2 was a bit better. 3 was not nearly as good as the others.
Vacancy was good. The prequel wasn’t as good.
The Messengers 1 & 2... 2 was not nearly as good as the original.

Movie Series that were like a rollercoaster[/u]

Friday the 13th
Halloween original series
Texas Chainsaw Massacre.. I think they all kinda sucked. The remake was great.

I have tons more… I’ll modify a bit later.

[melonhead1784]

As Good or Better Than the Original:

The Dark Knight even though Batman Begins was excellent too.
Terminator 2 much better than the 1st.
Ghostbusters 2 was as good as 1.
Aliens is the best in the series!
Meet the Fockers gives the 1st a run for its money



Not as Good as the Original:

Die Hard 2: Die Harder
Caddyshack 2 does not even come close.
Rocky 2 the rematch just didn't cut it for me.
Lost Boys 2 doesn't touch the classic first film.
Jeepers Creepers 2. The original was definitely the best.

Roller Coaster Series:

#1 Friday the 13th
#2 Saw
#3 Halloween
#4 Nightmare on Elm Street (actually this series went down on 2 up on 3 and crap for the rest)
#5 Rocky

[Deleted]

I watched Smokin' Aces yesterday... and Smokin' Aces - Part 2 today.

Even though the 1st Smokin' Aces had a better cast... I think Part 2 was the better film.