Sequels are tricky things. Quite often, they don’t live up to the “wow” of the first film, and when the first film isn’t very “wow” to begin with, then you wonder why they made a sequel in the first place. Case and point, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 is going into production pretty soon, and one can only hope that it’s better than the first one, which ended up being very average despite generating decent income at the box office. Even the films that managed to blow you away the first time might stumble at the sequel hurdle (*cough* Matrix *cough*), or be too different from the first one that comparison is difficult, as is the case with Age of Ultron.
But, sequels that surpassed the original have been done before, so we live in hope for TMNT 2. My personal example of this would have to be the difference between Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: Winter Soldier. The first movie wasn’t bad per se, I thought it was pretty good, but compared to Iron Man it felt a bit lacking, and was pretty obvious in the way that it was just an origin story. On the other hand, The Winter Soldier is hands down one of the best movies I have ever seen, and not just in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
So, time to ‘fess up. Which sequel have you liked more than its predecessor?
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Critical Hit as an organisation.
Last Updated: April 29, 2015
Unavengedavo
April 29, 2015 at 10:35
Boondock Saints 2 *runs from the mob holding pitchforks and torches*
Admiral Chief
April 29, 2015 at 12:13
I love it when they run, makes the headshots seem so much more worth it
Blood Emperor Trevor
April 29, 2015 at 15:15
Please, it’s obviously Highlander 2.
Rock789
April 29, 2015 at 11:01
I loved Captain America. But agree – Winter Soldier was even better… Awesome sequel. Actually, Winter Soldier is one of my favourite MCU movies so far – I truly loved it (right up there with Avengers 1 and Iron Man 1)!
My example would be The Godfather 2. The Godfather was already an amazing movie, but Godfather 2 took it to the next level – it was sublime! Fantastic piece of cinema history!
Could also be an argument for T2, when comparing it to the original Terminator… Both great movies, though.
DarthZA
April 29, 2015 at 11:06
Empire Strikes Back. The first Star Wars was good, but Empire Strikes Back was a better movie in every possible way.
Rock789
April 29, 2015 at 11:22
Most definitely!
Hammersteyn
April 29, 2015 at 11:28
Terminator 2, best sequel ever.
The Sten
April 29, 2015 at 11:32
Aliens, though im not sure it counts because it was a bit of a different genre to the first.
The Dark Knight
Spiderman 2 (with dock ock)
X2
X-men 1st class, DOFP and Age of Apocolypse is considered a trilogy on its own so in my own opinion DOFP was better that 1st class.
also the others mentioned here as well t2, winter soldier, empire strikes back ect.
Kervyn Cloete
April 29, 2015 at 12:07
Mad Max: The Road Warrior, Terminator 2, Godfather 2, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Drunken Master II
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
April 29, 2015 at 14:49
Star Wars Episode 5
Dragons 2
Indie 3
Terminator 2
Lethal Weapon 2
Wolverine 2
actually there are quite a bit for me.
Jared
June 9, 2015 at 11:14
Although it was only marketed as a “sort-of sequel,” and doesn’t retain all the characters, or follow on from the plot, I enjoy thinking of “This is 40” as a sequel to “Knocked Up”. “This is 40” is slightly too short, I felt all the wild antics and stirring emotions in the characters could have gone on for longer and I would’ve watched them delightedly. Although “Knocked Up” is already a great film (and vastly underrated), I felt “This is 40” reaches to even more personal, tender, and wild depths in its extraordinarily talented creator, Judd Apatow.