But James Mangold salvaged the series when he decided to go raw and gritty with the R-rated Logan. When does a banking wobble become a crisis? With 2005's Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan delivered his creative take on the caped crusader, and it was a dark and serious take at that. Among them was 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, which saw the original superheroes and their younger counterparts appearing in the same film. A whole 33 years before Mad Max: Fury Road, Mel Gibson returned for just the second movie in the franchise. Action, Mystery, Thriller. - Sequel's IMDb rating: 7.3 A lot of Harry Potter fans agree that the magic got better with this one. Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis. - Sequel to: "The Hunger Games" The sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor significantly ups its predecessor's scale, continuing Cal Kestis' story while expanding the suite of Jedi powers and worlds to explore. Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The films smart social commentary raised the bar for horror films to follow. For the third film in the series, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the Griswolds celebrate Christmas the only way they know how: by causing absolute havoc in every conceivable way. Just like its lead character the franchise had come a long way by the time it concluded. Robert McCall (Washington) is living quietly in Italy where he's "one of us now," says a local. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy give their A-game to an already strong script, as Kirk and Spock establish themselves as a legendary big screen duo. That Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker scene introduces the familial anxiety that will hum throughout the rest of the rest of the Star Wars saga. This is a list of film sequel Al Pacino delivered stunning performances in both films, but the addition of another legendary actor in flashbacks helped elevate the mob movie. But the entire story needs to be stronger to make make a sequel better than the original. Sadly the book's original author Michael Bond passed away just six months before the sequel was released. The movie begins with a new character, Alan Cummings blue-hued Nightcrawler, leaping, disappearing and reappearing in a wondrous attempt to assassinate the president. The movies climax is one of the most exciting final acts youll ever see, with a Mission Impossible-style infiltration performed by Pinocchio and the Three Blind Mice (among others), an American Idol parody to finish, and a giant Gingerbread Man in the midst of it all. A villain can make or break a superhero movie, and Ledgers Oscar-winning turn as the anarchic clown easily bests the ho-hum villain Scarecrow and the inscrutable Bane, not to mention Loki, Thanos and Lex Luthor. Write to Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com. The first Spider-Man movie starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst remains one of best superhero origin stories to hit the big screen: Peter Parkers emotional arc from vengeful high schooler to more mature adult as he battles the Goblin will resonate with anyone grappling with adulthood. - Sequel to: "The Bourne Identity" Still, when the moment arises, Connerys Bond can believably punch a man out cold: The claustrophobic fight scene between Bond and Robert Shaws would-be SPECTRE assassin on a speeding train remains iconic. Fast Five turned the series into a full-fledged franchise that has grossed more than $1.5 billion at the box office. The sequel in Christopher Reeve's Superman era is so great because of Terence Stamp as General Zod. Movies The scene sets the pace for the movie and presages the conflict: how the mutants must band together to fight xenophobiainstead of each other. Infinity War and Endgame were shot back to back and originally called Infinity War - Part 1 and Part 2, so it's a challenge to truly separate themalthough both ranked higher than the original Avengers. Has any movie leveraged the emotional attachment of its audience to the franchise more effectively than Toy Story 3? Adapted from a popular TV series, Brian De Palma's original Mission: Impossible about the adventures of a government spy named Ethan Huntwas as much a noirish thriller as it was an explosive action movie. @jboregan. - Original's IMDb rating: 7.3. Doug Liman directed 2002's The Bourne Identity, which starred Matt Damon as a man who wakes up with amnesia and discovers he's a trained assassin. Waititi's offbeat comedy turned Thor into a fun character and the movie itself is just bonkers with its action and deadpan humor. Director Bryan Singer came out swinging in this sequel thats better than the original. So why make a sequel? . Directed by: Tim Burton. A whole 33 years before Mad Max: Fury Road, Mel Gibson returned for just the second movie in the franchise. Captain America: The First Avenger was a solid origin story that grossed more than $370 million at the worldwide box office. What was intended to be an expansion of the movies universe can often come across as a pointless rehashing of the original. When the mafia turns . As popular as the film was, it's the follow-up, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, that remains the fan favorite to this day. Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of the hit Mario Puzo book "The Godfather" is up there as one of the greatest movies ever made. James Camerons first Terminator film was a gritty, thrilling sci-fi film, made on a relatively low budget. In the process, a range of corrupt practices and societal ills are exposed. The adventure culminates in the third installment, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which has the forces of good and evil squaring off in epic battle complete with mind-blowing CGI effects. The movie not only expands the Nolan franchise, but the comic book movie genre as a whole, and earns its place as one of the best of all time. - Sequel to: "Night of the Living Dead" And it undeniably elevated 007 after his first onscreen appearances in 1963s Dr. No. 15 movie sequels that are better than the originals. However in 2006, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released to heavy fanfare restoring lost footage and providing a much tighter narrative. Bride of Frankenstein is no exception. I praise it.. But "Infinity War" is a memorable punch in the gut. Freelance writer of lists and scripts. - Original's IMDb rating: 7.6. After all, this is a picture that casually stages a nuclear holocaust nightmare halfway through. Seven years after the original, Cameron returns with Arnold Schwarzenegger and a ripped Linda Hamilton to continue the story. This Frankenstein is not scaryjust a mild-mannered monster in need of a friend. While that sequence was eventually cut, a very similar plot device would end up appearing in the third installment. I would guess Godfather II is one of them. The film's plot can best be described as a rescue operation gone wild. Between action scenes, he takes time to linger on a fathers grief over his sons death, a talking trees unlikely friendship with two hobbits and Andy Serkis impressively empathetic motion-capture performance as Gollum. Spider-Man taps Doctor Strange for help after his secret identity becomes exposed. Its follow-up revitalized Captain America as one of Marvels most valuable properties, taking the MCU in a different direction with one of its best movies to date. The film is also perhaps the best live-action analysis of the X-Men as single characters, withthe team struggling with the idea of what it means to be a mutant. But director George Miller truly outdid himself with his latest excursion into a post-apocalyptic world, Fury Road. Beetlejuice. Its a sequel that takes a franchise about talking apes to a darker and more thought-provoking level, and remains arguably the best Planet of the Apes movie ever made. Arnie has probably never been so easy to like or root for as here, as the good Terminator, and he is matched beat for beat by a chilling Robert Patrick as his shape-shifting nemesis the T-1000 and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, one of the very best of Camerons feminist icons. | While Part 1 is essentially build-up to the main event, Deathly Hallows: Part 2 delivers a character-focused conclusion that is equal parts exciting and completely brutal, as Harry and the gang prepare for all-out war against Voldemort. In an early unreleased version of the first film, the Griswolds take a powerful businessman hostage at the end of the movie. You have reached your limit of free articles. Star Trek II wins the most improved award on this list. The movie ups the scale in terms of action, with one of the most famous set pieces Marvel has ever put to film, all while upholding the legacy of the first movie, and even expanding the origin story told in Spider-Man. 108 min On rare occasions, we see the second movie match the first, and even rarer still is the sequel that blows its predecessor out of the water entirely. Menu. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the film is rife with Marvel hero cameos and thereby considered the next best thing to a full-blown Avengers movie. In order to qualify the film had to have at least 5,000 user votes and be in the English language. - Sequel's IMDb rating: 8.8 1986's "Top Gun" is a classic and made Tom Cruise a megastar. In fact, Max himself is at his best in The Road Warrior, which serves as a character study as much as anything else. Thor putting the hammer down! 4 sequels that supersede the original. With directing credits including The Invisible Man and The Old Dark House, Whale was a pioneer of the genre, overseeing movies that still hold up a good 80 years on many of which represent the very peak of horror movies. Fifteen years after the original film debuted, Andy is headed to collegejust like all the boys and girls in the audience who grew up with Woody and Buzz. Where The Winter Soldier succeeds is that its a spy thriller first, and a superhero movie second. Reeves also hones in on Andy Serkis moving performance as Caesar, a benevolent primate who struggles with both inter-ape and ape-human politics. Posted by June 29, 2022 houses for rent in butler school district on 4 sequels that supersede the original June 29, 2022 houses for rent in butler school district on 4 sequels that supersede the original We then listed out the top 30 results going from lowest to highest in terms of user rating. Released four years after 1931s Frankenstein, director James Whale and star Boris Karloff returned with perhaps the greatest of many live-action takes on Mary Shelleys legendary monster. In a franchise that glories in its own inconsistencies, its easy to forget just how good the first two X-Men movies actually are. - Sequel's IMDb rating: 7.8 PG Before Captain America: Civil War there was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the second film in the series. The original was high on octane but relatively tame in terms of elaborate action sequences. Meanwhile because the story itself is being continued and not necessarily regurgitated audiences feel like they're witnessing a new chapter in an ongoing saga as opposed to the same chapter being told with slightly different visuals. At the seven-movie mark in the "Fast and Furious" franchise, it's safe to say these movies aren't about gear heads sipping Coronas anymore. Stamp's performance is so over the top, but perfect for that era's superhero movies. The Dark Knight isnt just the best Batman film. Yet Paul Greengrasss second Jason Bourne sequel was a truly outstanding thriller, refining the formula began in Doug Limans original and then finessed further in The Bourne Supremacy. The X-Men universe has a large cast of characters, and the first movie in the franchise set up their complex relationships and even more complex motivations. He gets one in his mate, who sports one of the most iconic hairdos in Hollywoods history. The sequel borders on surreal, landing as many laughs as scares, as Karloffs eagerness to impress his bride keeps the movie chugging alongnicely.