Myth of the Sequel

After a discussion with a friend recently about how sequels are never quite as good as the originals, I started to see if I could think of movies that are (in my opinion) actually better than the first ones. Not sure how much I could come up with up, but I'll think of them as I type.

Oh, and I havn't included sequels like LOTR: Two Towers, because all 3 films are really just one book, and therefore not an actual sequel that was written after the first was released, but rather the next part of the same story that was all written at once.

And I havn't included sequels like Godfather: Part 2 because, well, I havn't seen it yet. I lost music street cred, now movie stret cred too. Sigh.

And I also ommited sequels like Matrix Reloaded because it sucked.
__________________________________

Honourable Mentions:

Toy Story 2
Spider-Man 2
X2
Evil Dead 2
__________________________________

Kill Bill: Volume 2

While I said before that I wouldn't include Lord of the Rings because it was all one story, I'm including the second Kill Bill even though it could be considered in the same category. However, the two movies are just so different that it's like they were written by two different people. Actually, no, they are both stylized and slightly self-indulged in that charming Tarantino way, so only he could have written either.

However, the second wins for me. Tarantino writes my favourite kind of dialogue. It's like he told the actors to start the scene, and then he went for a cigarette break and forgot to yell cut, so the scenes just go on. And on. It's awesome. The conversation at end before the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart is a great example of this. Dear Tarantino: more Pulp Fiction and less Death Proof please.

The Bourne Supremacy

Disclaimer: Havn't read the books.

This was a case of "more of the same, just bigger and better." What made the original film awesome was that some dude who had no idea who he was just beating up people who were chasing him, running from them while simulteniously trying to find out who he was. And with Supremacy, we get more. Only the running is faster, the shooting is better, the fight sequences better directed, the car chases more exciting, and Matt Damon makes you feel empathy for a character who shows no emotion most of the time. That's what you call acting. Oh, and they make shaky cam awesome instead of annoying like it usually is.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Because Arnie became the good guy! Good twist at the beginning of the movie to differentiate it from the original. Not to mention that even 20 years after it was released, dreaming of the T-1000 chasing me still really freaks me out. I'm scared of slugs, snails, and killer terminators solidifying infront of me turning his arm into a sword. Awesome action set pieces, special effects that don't even seem that dated for the age it was released, all set to a simple premise: one killer machine is trying to kill John Connor, and the other killer machine is trying to protect John Connor. Yes please.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

I can't say for sure that I enjoy this more than A New Hope, but it's clear that this movie is the one that actually set up the Star Wars universe, and began to establish the world around the main characters. The original could easily have been a stand alone picture, but with Empire, George Lucas actually makes us believe that there a whole living universe around them, with unlimited story potential. With Empire, Star Wars ceased to be a movie and turned into a franchise.

And how about that reveal at the end. Everyone under the sun knows the line, but I was lucky enough to watch this movie without knowing the twist. It was awesome. This was the beginning of the part-2-ends-in-a-twist-so-you-gotta-watch-part-3-era that we are a part of. If you havn't seen it, see it.

The Dark Knight

With Batman Begins, it was important to establish the character. Why would a billionaire dress up as a bat to fight crime (illegally, funnily enough)? So we got a dark, brooding film. We journeyed into the depths of Bruce's soul, and saw why he made his decisions.

With The Dark Knight however, the shackles of origin explanations were broken. Now it was a war of two armies, each army only consisting of one man: Batman and Joker. Without the restraint and slow pace that defined the original (but still very enjoyable) film, TDK was a film that was fastpaced yet methodical in it's approach. It juggled the themes of escalation, anarchy, good and evil, and did so with such breathtaking ease that 2 and a half hours just seemed too short. Not to mention the action setpieces (the plane plucking up Batman from the building, the truck flip, the hospital explosion).

It surpassed what anyone thought could be possible for a comic book film. Chris Nolan was already the real deal before this (watch Memento), this was just more proof.
__________________________________

Also, I lied. I wasn't talking to a friend about this. Really I just started thinking about it in bed last night. But the "I was talking to a friend" thing really seems a more blog-like way to start a blog post doesn't it.