Movie sequels that are better than the originals

[Steve Hoffman]

I just watched "The Godfather, Part II". One of the few cases where the sequel improves upon the original.

I can think of a few more: "Bride Of Frankenstein", "Terminator Two".

Any others?

[Oatsdad]

Off the top of my head:

"Aliens"

"Batman Returns"

"Empire Strikes Back"

"From Russia With Love" and other Bond flicks

"Predator 2"

ANY "Star Trek" flick after "Star Trek: The Motionless Picture"

(And I prefer the original "Godfather" to the second one...)

[Ed Bishop]

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. STAR WARS was comic book fun, but this one cut deeper and was far more visually impressive. Great John Williams score really made a difference.

A SHOT IN THE DARK, the second Pink Panther film, was way superior to ThE PINK PANTHER, a good film but not as inspired. And if one considers the Leone spaghetti westerns with Eastwood to be sequels, then THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY outdoes the first two. And of course it didn't take much to beat the first STAR TREK film:rolleyes: , though that one's not as terrible as legend has it; just not well thought out or executed(those uniforms look like pajamas, for gosh sakes).

One of the dumbest things Coppola ever did was allow that linear re-edit of the first two GODFATHER films. The movies worked fine as is; better drama when the early years are presented as originally shown. I liked the extra footage, but something big was lost in the translation, all the same.

ED:cool:

[James RD]

There certainly aren't many. Two that I really like:

"Babe, Pig In the City"

"Toy Story 2"

[Oatsdad]

And of course it didn't take much to beat the first STAR TREK film , though that one's not as terrible as legend has it

Yeah, it is. Every few years, I tell myself it's not as bad as I remember and I give it another look. Then I realize that it's just as terrible as I thought.

The same thing happens with the last third of "Apocalypse Now". I love the first two acts, but once we get into Brando-Land, it all goes to crap. That's one place where LD beat DVD - the second side ended in the perfect place, so I just stopped the movie before side three and pretended the third act didn't exist...

[The Cellar]

Originally posted by Ed Bishop
One of the dumbest things Coppola ever did was allow that linear re-edit of the first two GODFATHER films. The movies worked fine as is; better drama when the early years are presented as originally shown. I liked the extra footage, but something big was lost in the translation, all the same.


Oh, I dunno. One From the Heart was much dumber, I think. ;)

Seriously, I agree with you about that chronological Godfather Saga. For one thing, the impact of Robert de Niro's performance just isn't the same if you see it before Marlon Brando's. They also toned down the language and violence, and sometimes the seams were really obvious.

I think it's significant that not only has there been no news that this version of the two films will ever come out on DVD, but that no one seems to be clamoring for it either.

[Michael]

The Return Of Frank James with Henry Fonda...much more entertaining than "Jesse James".

[ZIPGUN99]

Originally posted by Michael
The Return Of Frank James with Henry Fonda...much more entertaining than "Jesse James".

And directed by Fritz "Metropolis" Lang, after he landed in Hollywood.

[Dan C]

For flat out stupid fun, Austin Powers "The Spy Who Shagged Me" is more shagadellic than the first one. :)
It also treats us to a cameo with Elvis Costello AND Burt Bacharach. :thumbsup:

It's been ages since I've seen them, but I liked "Superman II" a bit better than the first.

I second James' vote for "Toy Story 2".

Dan C

[guy incognito]

Originally posted by Oatsdad

The same thing happens with the last third of "Apocalypse Now". I love the first two acts, but once we get into Brando-Land, it all goes to crap. That's one place where LD beat DVD - the second side ended in the perfect place, so I just stopped the movie before side three and pretended the third act didn't exist...

You probably don't want to see Coppola's Redux re-edit, then. It actually extends the Brando scenes considerably.

[Ron Stone]

THE ROAD WARRIOR was better than MAD MAX.

[Andrew]

Originally posted by Dan C
It's been ages since I've seen them, but I liked "Superman II" a bit better than the first.

Me too.

[Ken_McAlinden]

Originally posted by guy incognito


You probably don't want to see Coppola's Redux re-edit, then. It actually extends the Brando scenes considerably.
Well, actually, the only large extension involving Brando I remember is the one new scene that takes place in daylight. It seemed strange to see Kurtz well-lit, but it was an interesting scene. I prefer the original cut of the film, but the redux stuff is pretty interesting.

I also thought the Godfather saga chronological edit with the many additional scenes was an interesting way of presenting it as a TV event. It takes nothing away from the original movies, which remain definitive, but there is an interesting effect to seeing the parallels between young Vito and Michael playing out in a chronological epic that includes Michael's ascendence from the first film as well. The novel paralleled Young Vito with the main story from the first film, and the TV epic captures some of this that Coppola didn't use. As long as the original films remain the primary viewing option, I find the re-edit to be harmless and actually pretty watchable.

Regards,

[ATR]

Evil Dead 2, Dawn of the Dead, and although technically a remake and not a sequel, David Cronenberg's The Fly. I fully agree on Bride of Frankenstein and Godfather Part II, and what's also significant is how great the originals were that they somehow surpassed.

[Claus]

MATRIX Reloaded ;)

But why not name the sequels which are worse than the original:

All Alien sequels
The Fly II
The Crow II

[teaser5]

Mission Impossible II

Peace
Norm

[ATR]

Originally posted by Claus
MATRIX Reloaded ;)

But why not name the sequels which are worse than the original:

All Alien sequels
The Fly II
The Crow II

Because the list would be too long.

[vex]

I thought "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball" was better than "The Secret Policeman's Ball".

[The Cellar]

"Addams Family Values" was better than "The Addams Family".

[VeeDub]

Godfather Part II & Empire Strikes Back, absolutely. Probably Toy Story 2 as well.

Can't agree with Aliens, Superman II, and T2. Aliens is definitely the best of those 3, but none of these top their predecessors, IMHO.

How 'bout Two Towers vs. Fellowship Of The Ring? Too close to call just yet....

Mark

[-=Rudy=-]

Originally posted by Ed Bishop
A SHOT IN THE DARK, the second Pink Panther film, was way superior to ThE PINK PANTHER, a good film but not as inspired.

I like both equally...SHOT is probably the better of the two, since it introduces the characters that would prevail throughout the series. But I also prefered the more subtle humor of the first movie, since everyone seemed to have a comedic line here or there. All downhill after SHOT, IMHO...the humor went from hilarious to ridiculous, and the plots too far fetched. I liked the way we would see Clouseau reacting with everyday life and common objects, vs. some screwy fabricated plot device like a 'Doomsday Machine'. :confused:

"Francois, call the doctor. Thed help be fiidd by dose!"

[proufo]

The Godfather II is the textbook example of a much better sequel.

The young Vito Corleone/Little Italy scenes are made to look like old film stock.

Steve, I'm sure you have the answer to this: what are exactly the features of that film? Is it related to the way it captures the blue color?

[Ken_McAlinden]

Gordon Willis, the Godfather cinematographer, freaked a lot of people out at the time. Despite all of his groundbreaking work in the 70s, he was never even nominated for an Oscar until 1982 (for Zelig). Prior to that, he was passed over for both Godfather films and "Manhattan" among others.

He probably used filters, but he also got a lot of the effects and unique looks via photochemical post-processing techniques. I've read several articles where they talked about how radical it seemd to have an actor's eyes obscured by shadow at any point in a film, but he and Coppola used it deliberately to suggest that characters were hiding their thoughts or emotions. Other cinematographers working at the time have said they would have been fired if they had shot anything that way. :)

There's a good article on Gordon "The Prince of Darkness" Willis at the American Society of Cinematographers website (http://www.theasc.com/awards/history/pr/9_gordon_willis.htm).

Regards,

[Michael St. Clair]

Superman II showed more potential than the first. If not for all the turmoil, politics, and creative changes, I think it definitely would have been.

[Ken_McAlinden]

The first Superman film suffered from sluggish pacing and a deus ex machina ending that felt like a cop-out. The second film was more tightly constructed and better paced, but suffered from a tendency to make up powers as necessary which was not unlike the ending of the first film times about 5 or 6. I like them both about equally, which is pretty surprising given the troubled production of the second film which was shot largely by Richard Donner and then finished by Richard Lester.

Regards,