Sequels better than the original... (1 Viewer)

[Dome Vongvises]

The Godfather Part II
- Simple reason: two movies for the price of one
Better reason: I love the contrast between Micheal and Vito Corleone. Everytime my friends get into an argument concerning who's the better Don, I simply point to GFII and say Vito.
Aliens
- May not have the craft of Ridley Scott, but this one has more guns and aliens.
Concerning the ending to TESB:
- I don't find the ending bad at all. I think that even though the bad guys do win, it nonetheless possesses an optimistic tone about it. That kind of ending which balances both things is extraordinarily rare. The only other film I can think of that successfully pulls that off is the director's cut of Brazil.
Dawn of the Dead
- Shopping malls, zombies, and Tom Savini. What a winning combination.

 

[Kevin M]

Oh, I'm sorry! I thought it was Sequels or remakes.:b Oops!

 

[Larry Sutliff]

I don't find the ending bad at all. I think that even though the bad guys do win, it nonetheless possesses an optimistic tone about it.

I agree with you, Dome, but I think a lot of people are coming at this from the perspective of seeing it for the first time in 1980, when they had to wait three years to see the conclusion of the story. I remember seeing the film at the time with my sister's then boyfriend, and he loved the film, until the ending. He said, "There should have been another 20 minutes!" He wanted Solo rescued and back in action before the closing credits, and I think a lot of people felt the same way.
I didn't; I always liked ESB more than the original, if only because of the coolness of Vader and the Imperial March.

 

[Rob M]

RETURN OF THE JEDI...It was better than Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back

Count me in as another one who feels the same way. Love all the original films, but I think Jedi is the best one. I know that is kind of rare around here, but I stand by it, Ewoks and all.
I never could understand why people have so much contempt for this movie, especially when most rank the prequels over it, which I can't even begin to understand, IMHO.
Oh well, perhaps this is the unsophisticated-Hollywood-loving-movie fan in me talking who loves happy endings though

 

[Chuck Schick]

Count another vote for Meatballs 3 over Meatballs 2.

 

[Peter Cho]

wow a lot of people have seen a lot of weird movies...

 

[Brian_J]

He said, "There should have been another 20 minutes!" He wanted Solo rescued and back in action before the closing credits, and I think a lot of people felt the same way.

Of course we all wanted the movie to go on and Han to be saved. He was one of the most beloved movie characters of all time, which is what made that ending so great and unexpected. Leave your audience wanting more...

Brian

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Dome,

What exactly do you find optimistic about the ending of Brazil?!?!?!

 

[Rob P S]

Spider-Man 2
Friday the 13th Part 2
Under Siege 2
Halloween 3

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What exactly do you find optimistic about the ending of Brazil?!?!?!

Maybe he's referring to the "love conquers all" cut of the film.

 

[GeorgePaul]

Yet another reason for the brilliance of Empire--for my money the best sequel ever made. It's not only miles deeper in tone than the original, but it has the courage to end on a "downer" (though a hopeful one).
Return of the Jedi is all right--I'd put it ahead of TPM, to be sure--but the acting in it is not even close to its predecessors (making a poor script stick out like a sore thumb at times) and we don't see nearly as much character development. The good guys not only win, they pretty much seem the same at the end as at the beginning of the film. You find yourself empathizing more with the puppets and Ewoks, even the "more machine than man" Vader, than Luke Skywalker, Leia, Lando or even Han in this film. To me, that's when the greatness of Star Wars began to slip, when you had more interest in the non-human characters than the human ones.
Other superior sequels to the original:
Godfather II
Star Trek II
Toy Story 2
Austin Powers III
Richard III

 

[AdrianV]

Batman Begins, cause the trailer itself is way better than the rest of the Batman movies
Other than that, hmmm. I do like Empire Strikes Back but I'm not sure if I like it more than the first. Same with Godfather II, Aliens. I really can't think of any.

 

[ThomasC]

Without a doubt, Spider-Man 2.

 

[Jim_K]

Sequels on par with the originals
The Godfather II
Aliens
Sanjuro
Terminator 2
Continuations on par with the originals
The Two Towers
Return of the King
Kill Bill Volume 2
Sequels superior to the originals
Bride of Frankenstein
Dawn of the Dead
Spiderman 2
X-2
From Russia with Love
Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart at the River Styx
Fight Zatoichi Fight
Road Warrior
The Empire Strikes Back
Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan
The Testament of Dr Mabuse
Quatermass 2 Enemy From Space
Revenge of Frankenstein (Hammer)
A Shot in the Dark

 

[WilliamG]

Star Trek II
Spider-Man 2
WOOOOOoooo -- HOOOooooo!

 

[Ernest Rister]

Evil Dead 2 > Evil Dead....in my opinion

The Final Conflict: Omen III > Damien Omen II...in my opinion

The Three Caballeros > Saludos Amigos...in my opinion

From Russia With Love > Dr. No...in my opinion

Red Dragon > Hannibal...in my opinion

Die Hard 3 > Die Hard 2 (of course, a 14 hour loop of the yellow pages would be better than Die Hard 2)

 

[Kevin M]

Well that's your opinion.....:rolleyes

 

[Kevin M]

 

[Nick C.]

By just a bit, BEFORE SUNSET exceeds SUNRISE for me, as the characters are more developed and mature/less unsure of themselves, plus they delve into more interesting (and tangible) subjects... not to mention a nice ending

 

[Pete-D]

Terminator 2
Aliens
Star Trek II
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi

I liked Die Hard II actually, to me its pretty close to the first one. And I think Empire and Jedi both are better than the first Star Wars.

People get so miffed by the friggin' Ewoks who are only in 30 minutes of the movie and don't even talk (well relative to the Gungans).

The Luke-Vader-Emperor scenes in Jedi are absolutely some of the most tense and best scenes of the trilogy.

The Endor space battle is still IMO the most spectacular science fiction battle sequence ever put on film (or digital).

Jabba the Hutt is introduced (well until the Special Editions) here, and its got Princess Leia in a metal bikini. I mean c'mon. I think the pros far outweigh the cons.

Ian McDiarmid absolutely rocks as Emperor Palpatine, the complete embodiment of evil. Mark Hamil gives his best work of the trilogy in this one too.

It's not just because of the "happy ending". I don't know why the third one gets treated like stepchild of the OT, in many ways I think it's the darkest of the three movies.

The "darkest" moments in the OT IMO definitely come in Jedi ... when Luke loses it on Vader after being goaded by the wickedly sinister "so you have a twin sister..." line, or the Emperor cackling with glee as he states the Death Star II is operational and you just see the life suck right out of Luke's face ... *that* is absolutely the darkest hour in the OT.