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Not all sequels are lazy rehashes that fail to live up to the originals. From Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back to The Godfather Part 2, these films outshine their predecessors, and how
Sequels are a tricky business. The expectations are already worryingly high and the chances of failing to live up to them are also pretty stratospheric. There’s also the chance that the sequel ends up looking like a rehash of the original or completely loses any connection to what people loved about its predecessor. While it’s not often that a sequel manages to capture the fantasy of the audience as well as the original did, there are a few gems that manage to take on the daunting task. Movies like The Empire Strikes Back, or The Godfather Part 2, build upon the solid foundation laid down by the original and allows us to explore the universe and the characters further. Here are a few examples of such works that are a lot better than their original counterparts.
The fourth instalment in the Australian action movie franchise created by George Miller, this one was a complete revamp of the series. It’s widely considered to be one of the best action movies of all time and surprised everyone by becoming the biggest winner at the 2016 Oscars. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where petrol and water are rare commodities ruled over by a cruel dictator known as Immortal Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne). The titular Mad Max (Tom Hardy) joins forces with one of Joe’s lieutenants, the iconic Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who is fleeing from the dictator with his five wives. There is a lengthy road battle involving armoured trucks, vicious sand storms, and an albino guitarist, who shoots flames from his guitar while suspended on a rig. It’s a treat.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
If we’re talking about sequels that surpass the original, then it would be remiss to not talk about the second part of Francis Ford Coppola’s dynastic gangster drama trilogy. It became the first-ever sequel to win a Best Picture Oscar. The movie acts as both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, as it explores two timelines simultaneously. This gave us not one, but two incredibly well-written protagonists in Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro). The flashback timeline gave a deeper insight into the Corleone family and allowed us to explore what made these power-hungry men tick.
Streaming on Netflix
The third movie in the Thor sub-universe gave the lacklustre franchise a super-charged boost. Thor: Ragnarok quickly became one of the top favourite superhero movies of all time, all because of the decision to get indie film director Taika Waititi on board. Not only did Waititi give the film a brand new treatment, in terms of visuals and characters, it also made the best of Chris Hemsworth’s impressive comedic talents. The movie does a good job of shedding the dead weight of the previous two by stranding Thor on a foreign planet, without his flowing golden hair and his weapon. The movie walked a fine line between expanding the scope of characters and their arcs in the universe and giving us a genuinely funny and entertaining superhero film that refuses to take itself seriously. It also stars Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins.
Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
The Spider-Man universe has been rebooted and remade more times than one would think is possible. While Marvel’s Spiderman is a really good take on the superhero’s story, it’s the original Tobey Maguire version that remains the closest to fans’ hearts. The first movie does a great job of taking us through the origin of the friendly neighbourhood superhero, but it’s the second movie where it reaches its true potential. Sam Raimi builds upon the foundation set through the origin story and creates an emotionally gripping sci-fi action film that still remains intensely watchable. It gives Spider-Man depth as he struggles to manage his personal life and his duties as a superhero. It also shows the many downsides of being a superhuman who has to constantly face the task of saving the world from destruction.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The final conclusion of the Wolverine trilogy was unexpectedly poignant and bleak. Director James Mangold redeemed the terrible series with this third instalment that was raw, gritty and absolutely heartbreaking. It unabashedly embraced the X-Men universe’s underlying political themes of embracing differences in the face of persecution, with Logan (Hugh Jackman) making the perilous journey to escort his daughter Laura to safety across the border. In the movie, Logan and Professor X (Patrick Stewart) are aged and broken, and the solid performances by the cast sell the excruciating agony they’re living through every day, until they achieve peace at the end. The movie was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards, becoming the first live-action superhero movie to be nominated in the category ever.
Streaming on YouTube
The Russo brothers began their Marvel journey with the second instalment in the Captain America sub-universe. They successfully steered the First Avenger from becoming a two-dimensional superhero to a well-realised character with complex conflicts. It shows Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), who is trying to adjust to his life in the contemporary world, as he gets involved in a mission to uncover a conspiracy within the government agency he works for. The movie skilfully gives us a thrilling tale of mystery, complete with high-octane action sequences and ace performances.
Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
The second movie in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy is easily the best Batman movie out there, though some ambitious superhero fans will tell you that it’s the best superhero movie to exist. Nolan manages to marry two different genres, a crime thriller and a superhero movie, and create a highly entertaining film with some iconic moments and characters. This was the movie in which Heath Ledger gave the world one of the most menacing cinematic villains of all time, the Joker. It also helps that it has a star-studded cast, including Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The Star Wars fandom rarely agrees on anything, but if there’s something that everyone unanimously trusts and believes, it’s that the second movie in the original trilogy (and the fifth one overall) is the best Star Wars movie to date. While New Hope did the job of introducing us to the world and its varied characters, Empire Strikes Back wasted no time before establishing what’s at stake and gave us a dark, action-filled sci-fi movie that packs one of the biggest twists in cinematic history. If you’re even the tiniest bit of a pop culture fan, then you know which twist we’re talking about. It also introduced us to Yoda and Lando Calrissian, so there’s that.
Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar
While the first two Harry Potter movies did a great job of introducing us to the world of wizards, witches and all the other magical creatures, it was Alfonso Cuaron’s adaptation of the third book in the series that really set the tone for the movies to follow. It’s unequivocally the best movie out of the eight in the series. Cuaron did this by adding his own flair to the source material, creating a film that was both delightful, in its display of the fictional world’s magic, and also deeply emotional, in Harry’s discovery of his past and the devastating truth behind his parent’s murder at the hands of you-know-who. A new school year has started for Harry and his friends, but as always, danger lurks around the corner. This time, it’s in the form of a deranged serial killer who has escaped the well-guarded prison, Azkaban. It also helps that Cuaron brought music to the Harry Potter universe, with the Hogwarts’ choir that obviously has a toad as a member.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
The second instalment of the Hunger Games franchise is perhaps the one that is the closest to the books in its adaptation. The movie is very divisive in its appreciation, as some fans feel the true-to-book adaptation is a bit of a snooze, while the others hailing it as the best one of the lot. It takes place a few months after Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) won the Hunger Games. Their troubles are far from over as they realise that they will now have to compete once again in a Quarter Quell, where previous winners have to come back to fight for their lives in the dangerous arena. With Catching Fire, any doubts about this franchise being yet another young-adult, angsty sci-fi drama were removed as it presented a well-crafted story with brilliant performances by the leads. The supporting cast was also filled with scene-stealers like Stanley Tucci, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Streaming on YouTube
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