Darth Groovy Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 As the summer slowly draws to a close, we have been bombarded with a number of sequals. Some good, some not so good, and some have even surpassed the originals! Let us now discuss how and why some movie sequals actionally became better than the originals and why. The first one that comes to mind is The Empire Strikes Back which is still my favorite in the Saga so far. Why is it better? Everything turned up a notch. Vader was no longer Tarkin's Henchmen, he was scary and larger than life, using sheer fear to motivate his troops into deadly situations, even worse than when Captain Ahab risked the lives of his crew in persuit of the Great White Whale, Moby Dick. The characters developed connections with each other. Best of all, Yoda, how can you not love Yoda? Empire was dark, exiting, and completely unpredictable. It was not completely a sequal, but let's face it, had Star Wars not done good, it never would have happened. Empire was also directed by Irvin Kirshner, not Goerge Lucas, maybe that is something to think about. I will discuss more sequals later, first I want to hear from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBell Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 I agree, some sequals are good, but some can be quite annoying. The first annoying one that comes to mind is Tomb Raider 2. The first one got bad reviews for a flat storyline and lame outbursts of "action" But i would have to agree with you on the Empire Strikes Back sequal. I was a refreshing changes that basically game a good over-view of the Jedi and Master Yoda....oh, and that little "Im your father" scene that gave way to majorly lame jokes Im looking forward to Spiderman 2, even though im not a very good spidey fan. I want to see if it lives up to all this hype it's recieving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Groovy Posted August 13, 2003 Author Share Posted August 13, 2003 The other one that comes to mind would be X-Men 2, X-Men United. The story and action and interaction of characters far surpasses the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBell Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 i havent seen X-men 2 but from what my friends say it's way better than X-men. I just cant wait to see the new Colossus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cheat Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 one that comes to mind for me is the godfather part ii, great movie, better then the first in my opinion but they are both great movies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kain Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 Terminator 2: Judgement Day is way better than the first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoguePhotonic Posted August 13, 2003 Share Posted August 13, 2003 Bad boys 2 is better than the first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Eggplant Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 an older movie, but whenever ALIEN and all its sequels are mentioned ALIEN 2 always seems to win out. I think Bill Paxton did a lot for that movies success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 An incomplete and biased list of sequels that were, in my opinion, at least a little better in some way than the first film: Toy Story 2 Godfather Part 2 (Tough call) Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Not truly a sequel, but the third in a loose trilogy based on similar characters and situations) Clear and Present Danger More if I think of any... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 I liked Ninja Turtles 2 that was a good movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darklighter Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 The reason the vast majority of sequels being released are percieved as worst than their predecessors is because they are constantly compared to the original movies. This is not a good thing, each film should be view seperately as individual features. The good thing about ESB, is that it wasn't really a sequel, just the next installment in the Original Trilogy, so was not so much compared to ANH, because it simply carried on the story. Moving onto newer films, Matrix Reloaded was a much different case than Star Wars. Because the original film relied so much on special effects and "breaking the boundaries" in movie making, the sequel, even though I wasn't sure there was going to be one at first, was hyped up to be bigger, better and more spectacular than the first. On some levels, I agree it pulled it off, but sometimes at the expense of the acting. LOTR was more like the Star Wars OT in a way - Two Towers only continued on the story, it wasn't looking to be bigger or better than the first, but just to carry on the story set out in the books. IMO, neither film was better than each other, I loved 'em both, and can't wait for ROTK ^^; Spiderman 2, one of the films I'm most looking forward to, is gonna rock 'cos a new villain is gonna be introduced (Doc Ock, for those that don't know...he's on one of the teaser posters out at the moment, looks amazing). I don't suspect it will be better than the first, cos one of the main aspects of the Spiderman story was the acquiring of his powers, and the trials and tribulations that that invloved. X-Men 2 was fantastic, much better than the first, I thought, cos it brought in a whole load of new characters from the comic, all presented very well and loyally to the comic. Nightcrawler was done so well I thought. X-Men 3 though, without a doubt, will be the best of them, simply 'cos they're gonna bring in Gambit. I mean come on, they have to, he just owns =P Thus ends my essay ^^; XD *scootles off* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ET Warrior Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Originally posted by Darklighter I don't suspect it will be better than the first, cos one of the main aspects of the Spiderman story was the acquiring of his powers, and the trials and tribulations that that invloved. I suspect Spidy 2 WILL be better than the first, because it's going to be all Spidy fighting bad guys, and I dont have to watch how he gets his powers, because I KNEW how he got his powers and why he became a hero. This one will just be Spiderman kicking ass!! WOOHOO!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cheat Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 yeah star trek the wrath of khan and t2 judgement days are also great sequels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoguePhotonic Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Yep aliens was the best out of the 4...hopefully aliens vs predator will be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckcsaber Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Aliens is one of my favorite movies of all time. Although Alien was a fantastic movie, it's sequel surpasses it in every way. The Marines are such great characters, and are easy for the audience to become attatched to, which makes their deaths later in the movie even more emotional. The whole movie can literally make you sweat out of fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivy Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Clear and Present Danger *sticks a mini-marshmallow up edlib's nose* thats not a sequel, it's part of a series. i wouldn't count ESB as sequel either, same as matrix reloaded or anything else thats part of a greater or pre-written story. for me a sequel is when a film does well they decide to write and make another one 'for the fans', i.e 'for the money' color of money, nows that a good sequel... if you can call it that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 *Eats marshmallow* The comments I made to "The Good, the Bad..." can be applied to "Clear and Present..." then. Like I said,.. this was a list of films that I thought were slightly better in some way than the first film in a series,.. they didn't need to be a true sequel. My own rules,.. sorry. Just thought of another one... The Two Towers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Originally posted by MydnightPsion Terminator 2: Judgement Day is way better than the first. in what weird twisted alternate timeline???? X-2, Godfather 2 , ESB and Aliens would get my vote. But they are the ones everyone always mentions. Tomb Raider 2 could hardly be WORSE I liked back to the future 2 a lot, although as it is so closely linked to both 1 and 3 im not sure it could be considered seperately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cheat Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 well if clear and present danger can be considered one then why not goldfinger which was the best bond imo and really set the formula Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBell Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 I'de have to agree with Mydnignt, Terminator 2 is better than the first. It had 2 very accomplished actors, both of them playing 2 very unique and interesting parts. Plus, the stunts in it were, in my mind, ahead of it's time. Great movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topshot Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 One, such as myself, is always faced with tough decisions when it comes to good sequels. I'll have to pick Ninja Turtles 2 and the second Batman flick. Terminator 2 as well. I thought all 3 were good in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sivy Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 i didn't like the second turtles film, i prefered the first one.. maybe it was the fact it had vanilla ice in it well if you're including series, then harry potter 2 was better than the first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBell Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Harry Potter *Shudder* i regret ever watching both movies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Groovy Posted August 14, 2003 Author Share Posted August 14, 2003 Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn was far superior than the original. It was at this time, that the movies started becomeing less serious and more full of tounge-in-cheek humor. Go see them both and notice the difference. EDII, is basically the same story as the first one, minus a few characters, and the addition of more of a budget for the film. It is still a horror movie, but there is plenty of things to laugh at in this movie. Most of these things involve Bruce Campbell breaking plates over his head and spouting wisecracks at the evil deadites. This one is also my personal favorite in the Evil Dead Trilogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted August 14, 2003 Share Posted August 14, 2003 Yep, I'd have to agree with the general concensus about the 'good' sequels. Empire Strikes Back is definitely one of my favourite sequels, and is still my favourite of all the Star Wars films. I agree about Aliens. That's my favourite in the Alien film series, closely followed by the original. Terminator 2: Judgement Day was another great sequel. Die Hard 2 was as good as the first, IMHO. Lethal Weapon 2 was also a very good sequel. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is sort of a sequel (or maybe prequel to the Dollar movies), and is definitely my favourite of that series. And I agree with Groovy about Evil Dead II, although technically it was a remake. I consider Halloween 2 to be a very good sequel as well (indeed, I only watch those films back to back these days, because it's more of a continuous story) - and it should never have become a series. Star Trek 2 was obviously better than the first. The Golden Voyage of Sinbad was as good as the 7th Voyage, if you like that sort of thing. And X Men 2 was better than the first. Mad Max 2 was also a very good sequel. I guess there are not quite as many 'rotten eggs' in the basket as is often portrayed in terms of sequels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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