As a general rule, sequels are a little bit worse than the movie that spawned them. After all, the good ideas were all there on the page the first time around, right? Any returns to that world will be lesser copies. Except, sometimes, a sequel improves upon its predecessor in every way, like with these ten films.
Spider-Man 2
Sam Raimi is the kind of director who gets things really dialed in the second time he takes a character for a spin. Look no further than his excellent 2004 superhero caper Spider-Man 2. While Toby Macguire was great as Peter Parker in the original Spider-Man film, the whole production just hit on all cylinders for the sequel.
Aliens
Take everything that made Alien a nightmare given shape in film form and dial it to eleven. That’s Aliens. The bombastic, adrenaline-fueled horror-action movie pushes protagonist Ripley to the very edge and shows audiences what it means to tangle with the vast unknown of the cosmos.
The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars was a revelation when it hit the scene in 1977. When Empire busted into theaters in 1980, people went completely bananas. Empire improved upon its predecessor in every way. Luke gets to swing his lightsaber! Han and Leia outrun the Empire! Force powers! The ending is also an all-timer, with Luke losing a hand and learning the truth about his dad and Han ending the movie frozen in carbonite.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The first Captain America film is an awesome WWII period piece. The second is a taut spy thriller set in the modern day. Using Captain America as a foil for the dark and gritty world of modern espionage was a stroke of genius on the part of the Russos and helped make The Winter Soldier one of the best Marvel movies.
Toy Story 2
It’s hard to believe that a movie could top the first Toy Story—after all, it got a 100% fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes. But, then again, so did Toy Story 2. Can you be better than perfect? If you can, that’s what Toy Story 2 is.
Evil Dead 2
You know how Sam Raimi often nails it on his second outing? That’s true of Evil Dead 2, too. It takes the things that worked in the first one, expands upon them, and then gives Ash a chainsaw for a hand. It’s absolutely groovy, baby.
The Dark Knight
Batman Begins introduced audiences to Christopher Nolan’s unique take on Gotham and Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight unleashed chaos by pitting him against Heath Ledger’s inimitable Joker, a force of entropy and destruction so powerful that he could be called elemental.
Dune Part 2
Dune Part 1 set up the pins so Dune Part 2 could knock them all down. Paul Atreides, the Maud Dib, accepts his fate as the center of a holy war and joins the Fremen in a bloody campaign against the Emperor. This gorgeous, jaw-dropping movie is Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece and one of the finest sci-fi films ever made.
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The Last Crusade
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a stone-cold classic, and Temple of Doom is a movie you can watch, but The Last Crusade really made Indiana Jones a franchise worth talking about. It’s got everything: action, intrigue, gorgeous cinematography, Sean Connery. What more could you ask for from a sequel? Honestly, just skip Temple of Doom and get right to this one.
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The Road Warrior
The Road Warrior is such a singular vision of the post-apocalypse that it’s hard to believe it’s connected to the original Mad Max in any way. George Miller’s vision of the irradiated Australian Outback is so iconic that it’s now just cultural shorthand for “the world after nuclear war,” and it all started with the sweeping, epic movie The Road Warrior.
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