Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
Ah, one of the rarest of motion picture occurances. The mythical case of a movie's sequel actually equaling and surpassing the original. For some unknown reason most film-makers simply cannot create a movie series that builds upon the greatness of the first film and produces one or more sequels that take the best of the original, dump the crap, and result in a finer movie-going experience.
However, there ARE a few rare exceptions to this rule. And since this is my thread, I get to point out the most obvious ones, and let you folks struggle and come up with more.
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
For me, this represents the ultimate sequel. The first film was revolutionary in its own right, but it was bathed in 80's cheese. The sequel completely blew the doors off the visual effects industry and reinvented the sci-fi action film. And most importantly, this film has a heart and conscience. And the score is utterly breathtaking (possibly the biggest improvement over the original behind the visual effects). James Cameron is truely a God among film-makers.
2. The Empire Strikes Back
Of course. Empire is THE classic example of a sequel overshadowing it's predecessor in every way. Not much needs to be said about this film. It's fucking Empire.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
I actually prefer The Fellowship of the Ring over the other two LOTR films, but general consensus is that The Two Towers is the greater of the two films, if not the best of the entire series. I'm not going to argue. It's flippin amazing. You could also put Return of the King on this list if that's what rocks your boat. All three of these films are so damn good you could argue any way.
4. Spiderman 2
This one is definitely debatable, as both movies are quite amazing, but personally, Spidey 2 does more for me than the original. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that 2 doesn't have the lengthy esposition in the beginning on how Parker becomes Spidey. That and Doc Oc is a cool villain. Overall, the visual effects and fight choreography in this film is just better than that of the original too, so score some points there.
However, there ARE a few rare exceptions to this rule. And since this is my thread, I get to point out the most obvious ones, and let you folks struggle and come up with more.
1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
For me, this represents the ultimate sequel. The first film was revolutionary in its own right, but it was bathed in 80's cheese. The sequel completely blew the doors off the visual effects industry and reinvented the sci-fi action film. And most importantly, this film has a heart and conscience. And the score is utterly breathtaking (possibly the biggest improvement over the original behind the visual effects). James Cameron is truely a God among film-makers.
2. The Empire Strikes Back
Of course. Empire is THE classic example of a sequel overshadowing it's predecessor in every way. Not much needs to be said about this film. It's fucking Empire.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
I actually prefer The Fellowship of the Ring over the other two LOTR films, but general consensus is that The Two Towers is the greater of the two films, if not the best of the entire series. I'm not going to argue. It's flippin amazing. You could also put Return of the King on this list if that's what rocks your boat. All three of these films are so damn good you could argue any way.
4. Spiderman 2
This one is definitely debatable, as both movies are quite amazing, but personally, Spidey 2 does more for me than the original. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that 2 doesn't have the lengthy esposition in the beginning on how Parker becomes Spidey. That and Doc Oc is a cool villain. Overall, the visual effects and fight choreography in this film is just better than that of the original too, so score some points there.