10 Most Enjoyable Movie Sequels

The other night, my only reader and I watched It: Chapter 2, and were very disappointed. Both of us were big fans of the 2017 reboot, and had high hopes for the sequel. The very next morning, we went and saw Jumanji 2 (technically Jumanji 3), and we both enjoyed it, even if not as much as the reboot from 2017. This got me thinking, what makes an enjoyable movie sequel?

A movie sequel is a tall order. Filmmakers have to stay true enough to everything that people liked about the original while either advancing the story further, or repackaging the same basic story with some slight tweaks that raise the stakes enough that it feels new to viewers. Using It and Jumanji as examples (SPOILERS AHEAD):

1) It: Chapter 2 tried to further the plot by explaining the origin of Pennywise, as well as showing what each of the Losers gang had been personally dealing with in the time since the original. The plot for Pennywise was convoluted, and there was too little time spent on each character. The movie was nearly 3 hours long, which simultaneously felt way too long, yet also, not enough to do each character justice.

2) In Jumanji 2, there was less advancement of the plot in the real world, but the movie added a couple of characters who would be transported to Jumanji, and also included a new plot point – when multiple people in went in a “special” type of water, they switched avatars, i.e. Spencer could’ve started as Dwayne Johnson and then would’ve switched to Kevin Hart. This plot device allowed for a similar story within Jumanji as the first movie, but with the avatars switching identities; so Dwayne Johnson wasn’t necessarily the badass leader anymore because someone else was in control of him, which allowed for a fresh take on how the events would play out.

Below are a list of sequels that I enjoyed the most. As expected, there are a larger number of action movies than any other genre, most of which, involve a re-packaged plot, rather than furthering the narrative in a meaningful way.

To the list!

The Most Honored of Honorable Mentions: Technically, The Silence of the Lambs was a sequel. It is based on the same book series as the TV movie from 1986, Manhunter. However, there was no overlap in the people involved in making either movie, most notably Hannibal Lecter was played by a different actor, in a different interpretation of the character. It is a little difficult to think of it as a sequel. It wasn’t billed that way, and no one referred to it as a sequel. It just technically, is. It’s one of my favorite movies of all-time though, and if it is technically a sequel, I want to highlight it.

10). Halloween II (1981) / Halloween (2018)

I have expressed my affinity for the horror movie, Halloween, in multiple posts on this blog. Both of these movies are sequels to that original film, but they were released nearly 40 years apart. This difference in timing led to nearly opposite approaches for the story in the sequel.

The original sequel from 1981 picked up right where the first movie left off. This is an interesting plot device that not enough movies use, in my opinion. For all intents and purposes, the plot of the movie is the exact same: Michael Myers is loose, and he’s looking for Laurie Strode. At that point, the police have been called, and Laurie was taken to the hospital. The “repackaging” happens with the new setting – a deserted hospital is a creepy locale, and Michael is picking off hospital workers one by one on his quest to find Laurie.

The movie is written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, same as the original, but this time it was not directed by Carpenter. I’d say it is maybe 80-85% as good as the original, which is pretty solid. The one major issue, is that they added a plot point that Michael is Laurie’s brother, and that was the reason he was after her. The idea feels a little cheap, and the execution of it is pretty poor, in this bizarre dream sequence Laurie has while asleep in the hospital. If they cut that nonsense, it probably jumps up a level.

The 2018 sequel is probably a better movie, overall. It picks up 40 years after the original “Babysitter Murders”, and shows Laurie Strode struggling to deal with the trauma of what happened to her that night 40 years ago. We see the effect it had on her daughter and on her granddaughter. It is a more character-driven idea than most horror movies. This version assumes that Michael was caught that night, and had been locked up for the last 40 years. Of course, he breaks free, and does what he does best.

2018 Michael Myers is just as savage as he was in 1978. The acting from Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer is a step up from the other movies. Even though the basic idea of this sequel is the same as the original movie, the mother, daughter, and granddaughter have a relationship arc that is a new angle that furthers the overall story. It is a more substantial story element, that adds some weight that was not there before. They have already announced 2 additional sequels to follow in 2020 and 2021. It’s still early, but I think this 2018 version will age very nicely.

9). Skyfall (2012)

It is surprising to have a James Bond entry on here! There are obviously many entries in the James Bond movie canon, but the one thing that stands out is how there isn’t really a change in the story lines from movie to movie. They’re basically all the same movie, with different parameters, but all of the same general notes – some megalomaniac is trying to commit a global crime for profit, Bond charms, seduces, uses gadgets, and saves the day. We don’t learn anything about him, and the story doesn’t really advance from movie to movie.

That all changed when they rebooted the franchise in 2006, with Casino Royale. The movie contained a rougher, less-experienced Bond, and ended with him experiencing a personal tragedy. The next movie, Quantum of Solace, showed him self-medicating to deal with the pain of what happened, which was interesting character development, but overall, it was a lesser movie.

Skyfall starts with intense action, which climaxes with Bond fighting a man on top of a moving train. Bond is shot, and falls from the train a long way down into a river, where he is presumed dead. The shot comes from a fellow agent, ordered by their boss, M, intended for the man he is fighting. Bond resurfaces on some island, drinking a lot, sometimes with scorpions! He is dealing with the pain and confusion of how easily his boss would’ve sacrificed him. We don’t see him emote, necessarily, but the fact that they’re spending any time on his struggle is more than most Bond movies offer.

Once he rejoins MI6, the plot and characters are also developed further by the fact that the main villain is a former MI6 agent, who reveals a bit about M’s past, and how she treated him. Again, there isn’t normally much revealing or emotional complexity with James Bond movies. It’s just high concept entertainment. Skyfall is different, adding more information about Bond, the man. In this movie, he isn’t, purely, just a fantasy for the ideal male. There are struggles, and characters reference time before the movie.

8). Shrek 2 (2004)

Comedies are also rife for sequels. The original Shrek was a gigantic success. It was the 4th highest-grossing movie of 2001, it won the inaugural Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and it helped launch Dreamworks as a legitimate player in the animated movie space. It seemed like a sequel would earn a lot of money, but it would be almost impossible to make a movie in the same quality stratosphere as the original.

Shrek 2 is actually quite good. The original is a new way of telling a story we’ve seen plenty of times, an angry misfit who feels condemned to a life of solitude softens up and finds love. The sequel advances the story with another common trope that is ripe with conflict: meeting the parents.

The parents are voiced by great actors, Julie Andrews and John Cleese, helping those characters add to the movie. Unquestionably, the most impactful new character is Puss in Boots, who was so popular that he inspired his own spin-off movie. Puss is a small cat who thinks he’s Zorro, and is sent to kill Shrek and Donkey while they think they’re going on a hunt with Fiona’s father. After the failed assassination attempt, Puss and Shrek become friends, and Puss is on the adventure with them for the rest of the movie.

The contrast between the Zorro act coming from a small cat is funny, and on top of that, there are laughs whenever he employs his cuteness to distract someone. There is additional humor from a plot point in which a true love potion turns Shrek into a human and Donkey into a steed. The jokes are just as strong as in the first movie, the action is fun, the stakes are high, and the soundtrack is strong.

7). Rocky’s II, III, and IV (1979, 1982, 1985); Creed (2015)

The Rocky franchise might be the all-time master of giving you the same beats in every movie, but making it feel fresh each time, particularly for the sequels, which don’t require the same setup time as the original. Rocky Balboa starts out feeling one way, something knocks him down, and then he has to train his body and mind to overcome the specific thing that knocks him down.

They all include epic training montages, inspiring music (“Fighting Stronger“, etc), great antagonists that are appropriate for each issue Rocky is confronting, and compelling emotional scenes and storylines. Additionally, the Rocky sequels (not including Creed) begin with the end of the fight from the previous movie, which makes for an all-time great movie opening.

In the first movie, Rocky battles low self-respect, and the antagonist is Apollo Creed, a terrific boxer, who uses Rocky for a publicity stunt, and makes fun of him constantly to help promote the fight. Rocky’s ultimate victory is that he is able to go the distance in the fight with Creed, endearing him to the public, and earning self-respect.

The second movie picks up right after the fight ends in the first movie. Rocky retires from boxing, but finds out Creed actually gave Rocky his best in their first fight, which stirs up some feelings. The movie represents another step toward self-respect, his goal is no longer to simply feel that he’s good enough to be in the ring, but that he can actually win. Haters are antagonizing Creed about the closeness of their original bout, and he goads Rocky out of retirement for another fight. The victory in this movie is, well, VICTORY!

In the third movie, Rocky defends his title a few times against a few cupcake fighters, earns a nice living, and is set to retire to his life of spoils, until the hungry, hard-as-nails, Clubber Lang, insults him and goads him into a title fight, which Rocky loses (and his trainer, Mickey, dies that same night). The retired Apollo Creed now trains Rocky, and they leave luxury in the Philly suburbs to live in a crap-hole in L.A., and train at a grungy gym. Rocky gets back in touch with the hunger that originally drove him, and KO’s Clubber Lang to regain the title.

In IV, Creed gets restless being retired and schedules an exhibition against a ‘roided up Soviet fighter, who kills him in the fight. Rocky travels to Russia to avenge Creed’s death and single-handedly end the Cold War.

Again, each movie contains the same key elements, like training montages, music, etc., but the story is fresh in each sequel. Even though the plot lines aren’t complex or overly original, there is enough depth to the acting of the principle characters to make the audience care. Now the franchise has moved forward with Creed and Creed II, where Rocky trains Apollo’s son. They’ll keep making these movies long after I’m dead, and even if they’re not all great, most of them are still very enjoyable each time you watch them.

6). Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995)

Die Hard is, in my opinion, the greatest action movie of all-time. The first sequel, Die Hard 2, disappointed, which is the most common outcome for sequels, particularly those with new writers and a different director. In Die Hard 2 , McClane is at the airport picking up his wife, when he happens upon a group of terrorists that is trying to free a drug lord. It lacked the same stakes as the original, in which a single building was taken over, and though it was technically for a robbery, they had planned to kill everyone.

Die Hard With a Vengeance (#3), goes back to John McTiernan to direct, and has a much more interesting story than the second movie. Rather than having McClane be in a place that happened to be the site of criminal activity, a terrorist actually calls up John McClane (via the police), and threatens terrorist action in New York City unless McClane does everything he says. This establishes stakes immediately.

The terrorist basically runs McClane, and eventually Zeus (Samuel L.), all around New York City, making them solve riddles and answer payphones to prevent bombs from going off and killing thousands in the city. The stakes increase when the terrorist threatens to bomb a school. It is a different approach to having McClane get pulled into a situation where he is the city’s only hope. On top of that, the main villain turns out to be Hans Gruber’s brother, and is actually doing all of this as a distraction so that he can rob the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown New York City.

It is a very elaborate yet understandable plot, that is closer to the original movie in terms of the tightness of the script, both in how everything unfolds and in creating tension from high stakes. The brilliant sequel aspect is how they find a new way to get the ball rolling, by making McClane the mouse in a “cat and mouse” game.

5). Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

I don’t love that there are so many superhero movies and sequels in this day and age. Additionally, I’m self-conscious of the fact that this movie scores very high for me for kind of an unfair reason: I thought it was going to stink.

The first Avengers (2012) was great, and I actually enjoyed Age of Ultron (2015) more than the consensus, though not as much as the original. The issue was that by 2018, the MCU had grown substantially since 2012, and there were so many characters the movie had to serve. Similar to what I mentioned about It: Chapter 2, the end of this trailer shows all of the characters running, and it made me think that the whole movie would just be jumping from scene to scene just to make sure each character got their due. That did not sound like it would be a good idea.

What they didn’t show in the trailer (thankfully!), is that the movie would function as multiple ~15 minute vignettes, where they paired a few characters across the MCU, and they did a great job with these pairings. Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy had great chemistry; likewise for Ironman, Spiderman, Doctor Strange, and Bruce Banner; Captain America and Black Widow; Wakanda; etc. This allowed for us to spend a little time with each character, and experience what we liked about each one, without spending too much time with any one of them. All the while, each group is doing something pertaining to one of the infinity stones, which furthered the plot. It was a masterful way to handle the scope of the MCU.

It’s also worth noting that the infinity stone plot line was really interesting. As we saw with Die Hard 3, Skyfall, and Halloween (2018), the plot line of the first sequel can sometimes lack the nuance, the stakes, or the precision that made the original movie so great. Age of Ultron was basically about a sentient piece of artificial intelligence finding a body, and then trying to eradicate the human race. The stakes were high, but it wasn’t that interesting. The infinity stones were a plot point that had been quietly set up in many of the previous movies, but were never fully explained. Now, a genocidal monster wanted to capture all of the stones so that he could extinguish half of all living beings, chosen at random. The ultimate stakes are there, and the pursuit of each stone comes with its own set of dangers.

Another thing that made this movie great was, Thanos. He became a meme when this movie came out, but Thanos was a compelling villain in a universe where they have trouble creating good villains. The usual Marvel villain is someone who is corrupt, and is usually after some type of personal profit, whether money or power, but they’re not physically powerful. Thanos is a bad guy, for sure, but he is doing something that he believes to be for the good of all living beings, and although some would argue he’s trying to “play God”, he is not out to profit or to rule. At the end of the movie, he is settled, by himself, on some remote planet. He is also physically imposing, which is a nice trait because if we’re going to watch him destroy Hulk and Thor in a fight, I’d rather it looked like a legit fight, than have it be someone who is small and just presses a button, or worse…Tim Roth.

Finally, the main reason this sequel was so good was the ending. A big issue I have with most of these movies is they may establish high stakes, but we don’t really believe them. No one actually gets hurt. Captain America: Civil War was great overall, but I hated that airport hanger fight scene between the two legions, because you knew no one was really in danger. The one thing that the Infinity War trailer did hint at was that someone would die, which naturally added some stakes. However, what ultimately happened with Thanos snapping his fingers was completely unpredictable, and a very uncommon way to end a superhero movie. I really enjoyed it.

4). Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

Even more than the Rocky franchise, this sequel might be the epitome of making the exact same movie, but altering the story just enough to make it feel fresh, and worth watching. In the original, the McCallisters, an 11-person extended family, leave suburban Chicago for their trip to Paris, and somehow, they forget their son Kevin at home. As they try to get back to Chicago, Kevin is enjoying the time at home without any supervision, but ultimately, has to fend off two thieves who are robbing every house on the street.

The sequel hits all of the same notes, except that instead of being left at home, they’re all at the airport and Kevin mistakenly gets on the wrong flight, and is now lost in New York City. This is good for two reasons, the first of which is that it would be unbelievable, even in this universe, for a family to leave the same kid at home a second time. More importantly, it ups the anti as he is in an unfamiliar place, and needs to fend for himself. The change of setting makes it more interesting because we’re looking to see how he deals with the many things he encounters in New York. Of course, he makes the most of it, checking into a suite at the Plaza Hotel, ordering pizza in a limousine, etc.

The most memorable part of the first movie, of course, is the way he booby-trapped his house in the first one to fend of “The Wet Bandits”, aka, Harry and Marv. Somehow, these two end up in New York City, and they run into Kevin. So, now the stakes are upped because they’re after him. Kevin hides out in his uncle’s townhouse, which is currently under renovation. The more extreme surroundings call for more extreme booby traps! Instead of just heating the doorknob so that Harry burns his hand when trying to enter the premises, Kevin throws a brick off the roof and hits Marv in the head. Instead of forcing them to step on ornaments barefoot, Kevin electrocutes them. The crazier stunts help the sequel be as funny and shocking as the original.

3). John Wick 2 (2017)

Obviously.

This part is in italics because I added it in 3 days after this post was initially published. I figured, most action sequels don’t do this well, so it’d be worth mentioning a few areas where this sequel stands out.

A lot of this movie’s greatness is how well it was set up by the first movie. In John Wick, we are shown a little bit of this cool assassin underworld, which is interesting because it is a fictional world that is meant to exist in actual life. The sequel does a great job of taking us deeper into the world, adding in new details. We find out more about the inner workings of The Continental, both in how everything runs, but also the fact that it is a global network.

Obviously for sequels, the storyline is always supposed to be related to the events of the previous movie. John Wick 2 takes place basically a day or 2 after the events of the first movie, so everything is easy to connect. We get a hint of how Wick was able to retire, and the plot is basically driven by someone calling in a retirement-related debt.

The action is just as good as in the original. One of the things that made Wick a cult hit was the stylized, well-choreographed action sequences. The sequel meets the standard that was established.

There are humorous callbacks to the last movie without overdoing it. It’s nice when the sequel can play off the mythology of the first movie, but obviously there’s a line. Wick 2 does a nice job here.

The movie ends at a very interesting point. It is clear they were setting up a third movie, but the ending is somewhat unsettled, which sets them up to hit the ground running in Part 3.

2). The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Best sequel? Absolutely. Best movie, of all-time? Some sources I admire believe it is. So, why only #2? This is a list of my 10 most enjoyable sequels, and for me, part of enjoyment is re-watching. I’ve only seen the whole movie front-to-back one time, though I’ve seen a half hour here and there more often than that. I respect its brilliance, but couldn’t rank it my #1 because of my lack of time with it.

However, what was achieved by this movie, just on paper, is remarkable. The Godfather (part 1) was the highest grossing movie at the box office in 1972, and it went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, becoming an instant classic. It was popcorn entertainment that was also a work of art. That was the (impossible) standard. That was what Coppola and Co. were up against for Part II.

The movies are based on a novel that is based on real life. I don’t know what the original idea was for the sequel, but on paper, the idea of following up an instant classic, with a movie that contains storylines for both a sequel and a prequel seems like a fool’s errand. Not only that, in the prequel, we’re going to have someone play a younger version of one of the most immediately iconic movie characters of all-time, and the dialogue for that part won’t be in English? It just seems like a, John Wick-esque impossible task.

Finally, there’s the actual movie, which is awesome. Each of the characters is even more drawn out than the original. The plot is furthered as Michael is more ingrained in the family business, and is trying to legitimize his empire. The dialogue and cinematography are on par with the first movie. Just a top notch movie sequel that (somehow) lived up to the greatest movie ever made, and maybe even surpassed it.

1). The Dark Knight (2008)

In my lifetime of watching movies and being semi-aware of the narratives around them, this was among the most anticipated movies ever, and certainly the movie I recall being most excited about. Back when all of the movies weren’t superhero movies, Batman Begins was a dark, gritty reboot of a well-known superhero story. Bruce Wayne was darker, angrier, and there was an actual backstory for how he obtained his skills, and all of the equipment – something that had never been explained to people who didn’t read the comic books.

Similar to the Rocky franchise, an interesting thing about the Batman canon is that there are many different villains, and if a film-maker was willing, they could explore what each individual villain brings out of Batman, and the specific challenges they posed. Most previous movies grouped multiple villains together, and thereby weakened the actual exploration of the characters, and rather simplified it to good vs evil. Then came The Dark Knight, and I don’t know if a villain, and his effect as a foil to the hero, has ever been more interesting than what we saw from The Joker.

I’ll be brief, but The Joker is a lot of what makes this sequel the best. He’s an all-time great movie villain, and as noted above, the relationship to Batman was more nuanced than good vs evil. Heath Ledger was electric.

An awesome thing about this trilogy is that each movie has a different theme that advances the story of the movie before it. Begins sets everything up, and establishes Batman as someone who can clean up the streets and stop the mob from preying on fear. Dark Knight then explores Bruce Wayne’s descent as the mob hires The Joker, who publicly corrupts the idea of what Batman does for the city. Then in Rises, Bruce Wayne has taken 8 years off, which leads to his downfall, and ultimate redemption as a symbol of hope for Gotham. The middle chapter here is the most entertaining, and most interesting exploration in the trilogy.

Honorable Mentions: Terminator 2; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; 22 Jump Street; Meet the Fockers; Scream 4; The Color of Money; The Empire Strikes Back; Mission Impossible 3 & 4; Anchorman 2; Rush Hour 2; American Pie 2