Film sequels that were better than the first

[Bluntman1138]

Empire and Star Trek 2, are the best examples.

My next would be Austin Powers 3: Goldmember. That movie was funnier than the other 2 put together.

 

[octafish]

I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!

Yes II is better.

 

[Diminished Capacity]

Transporter 2, in my opinion.

I've seen them all in order, but 2 was my favorite.

 

[Mr Thin]

Also, I may attract a lot of flack for this, but I felt that each Matrix film was better than the one before. Believe it or not, I think they improved with each one. Plus, I actually like all the philosophical 'bullshit' that make them up, so yeah...

My favourite is probably the second one. But I love both sequels at least as much as the original. And the mech fight in the 3rd one was AWESOME.

OT: Let me try and pick something less obvious... I think the Pirates of the Caribbean movies just keep getting better. I thought the series improved steadily as it went on (though I haven't seen the fourth).

Also Babe: Pig in the City was frigging awesome, screw anyone who says otherwise.

AND Rocky Balboa. Yes, Rocky V sucked, but Balboa was on par with, if not better than, most of the others in the series.

 

[emeraldrafael]

Its gone done on a list that (at the time I saw it) only included five movies. And one of them was Star wars ep V, and another was the second LotR movies.

However, my personal opinion I think six was the best SW movie, so for me, that would be my pic.

 

[Leemaster777]

Oh, I know, I've always said that Shrek 2 is better than...

For me it's Shrek 2. I loved Shrek 2 so more than Shrek 1.
And Jennifer Saunders' cover of Holding out for a Hero was my favorite bit of the film.

...crap, ninja'd by the OP. Okay, other than that:

Jackass 2
The Dark Knight
Iron Man 2
Clerks 2

 

[AngelicSven]

Blade Trinity, Blade 1 and 2 really sucked IMO, haha there's a pun in there somewhere.

 

[Henkie36]

Well, yes the Dark knight is the obvious one, but I have to say I did enjoy Fast Five way more then the rest of the Fast and the Furious franchise. You can argue that it's a prequel to Tokyo Drift, but a sequl to the rest. Resident Evil, all three sequels were better then the first, because they were more self aware, and had better stunts due to a bigger budget. Same can be said for Mission Impossible III. And Bad Boys II. And a lot more which I am not gonna name here, because I don't have an afternoon free.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

OT: Let me try and pick something less obvious... I think the Pirates of the Caribbean movies just keep getting better. I thought the series improved steadily as it went on (though I haven't seen the fourth).

AND Rocky Balboa. Yes, Rocky V sucked, but Balboa was on par with, if not better than, most of the others in the series.

I agree on POTC, Dead Man's Chest is best.

Weird that, Rocky IV is my favorite..

 

[Mr Thin]

Weird that, Rocky IV is my favorite..

It's mine too. Balboa is my second favourite. Considering that makes it (in my books) better than 4 out of the 5 movies that came before it, I'd say it qualifies as an entry for this thread.

 

[mexicola]

It was already mentioned but Godfather 2. Which is a great feat considering the first one is already considered one of the best movies in history.

As for the third... 90's never existed.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Weird that, Rocky IV is my favorite..

It's mine too. Balboa is my second favourite. Considering that makes it (in my books) better than 4 out of the 5 movies that came before it, I'd say it qualifies as an entry for this thread.

Balboa was ok I guess, but I didn't like it as much as the others..

Oh and best montage
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

 

[Dastardly]

What are some film sequels that you thought were better than the first one?

For me it's Shrek 2. I loved Shrek 2 so more than Shrek 1.
And Jennifer Saunders' cover of Holding out for a Hero was my favorite bit of the film.

...

Oh and Terminator 2 and Empire Strikes Back.

The Matrix: Reloaded

Yep, I liked the second better. The first movie's dialogue was painfully crammed with clichés, as if someone was stringing together isolated quotes or fortune cookies. Morpheus was over-acted, as well, which made the artificial dialogue feel even more stilted.

Then the second movie comes along and reveals that the whole "The One" ordeal was supposed to be the ridiculously-cliché song and dance that people instinctively want to believe. It was a ploy to manipulate the Anomaly into returning to the Source. The Architect orchestrated all of this to appeal directly to that "we need a hero" feeling in the downtrodden residents of Zion, and in doing so he redeemed the first movie.

 

[minuialear]

I actually the first Spiderman better than the other films; William Dafoe as GG was epic, and I thought Tobey pulled off brilliant-but-awkward Parker a lot better in that movie than in the others (where the nerd factor mostly got lost and the angst/emo factor kept increasing until...well, you know).

I think outside of that series, though, most comic franchises have been getting better with each installment/remake; the last Hulk was an improvement (not saying much, but...), First Class was better than most if not all the previous X-Men films, TDK was better than all its predecessors, the Superman film wasn't great but was better than the attempt before it, and Iron Man 2 was also better than the first, IMO.

I think the comic adaptation crowd, as a whole, is just learning how to translate comic material to the big screen better (i.e., you don't have to cater it to violence-loving preteen boys in order to make it a success). It'd be awesome if this trend continues.

 

[Count Igor]

Troll 2

That's like the peak of film history. It's bloody terrifying!
And the actors were great.

 

[i love headcrabs]

mad max 2 and terminator 2 and toy story 3 I think are better than the originals

 

[Kimarous]

Spoiler: An early scene from The Rescuers

Spoiler: An early scene from The Rescuers Down Under

Yeah, "Down Under" wins by a mile.

 

[Images]

Lethal Weapon 2

 

[Erja_Perttu]

Spoiler: An early scene from The Rescuers

Spoiler: An early scene from The Rescuers Down Under

Yeah, "Down Under" wins by a mile.

WOW! I've not thought about those movies in years! You've just made my day, my friend, cheers!

I'll put in Hellboy 2, Toy Story 2 and Desperado. Those were good movies.

I'm not sure whether I prefer 'For a Few Dollars More' to a 'Fistful of Dollars' so I'll leave that one open.

 

[Nerfherder17]

Escape from LA was better than Escape from NY (the first one). about all i can think of atm.