With James Cameron bringing his reputation as a King of Sequels back to theaters with Avatar: Fire and Ash, it's time to take a look at some of the greatest second chapters Hollywood has given us. Some sequels pick up right where the first movie left off, like Pixar did with The Incredibles 2 or old Hollywood did with The Bride of Frankenstein, while still other sequels may tell a different story altogether, like The Road Warrior or Batman Returns. There's more than one way to follow up a hit, and while not all of them work, they're all worth trying (and writing a CineFix Movie List about!) So here are our picks for 10 of the best movie sequels of all time.
From spectacular middle chapters like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or Richard Linklater’s Before Sunset, to admirable franchise entries that flesh out shared universes like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Hugh Jackman in Logan all the way to the more nebulous spiritual sequels and thematic trilogies that get us film nerds all hot and bothered with filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman, Martin Scorsese, Ozu, Park Chan-wook and more, business is good out there for sequels and we’re name-checking them all!
This Movie List was written by Clint Gage and edited by Justin Donaldson.
The List:
10 - Continuation of the Story - Back to the Future, Pt 2 (1989) dir. Robert Zemeckis
9 - A Second, Different Story - Dawn of the Dead (1978) dir. George A. Romero
8 - Middle Chapter - Star Wars - Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) dir. Irvin Kershner
7 - Franchise Entry - Goldfinger (1964) dir. Guy Hamilton
6 - Spin-off - 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) dir. Dan Trachtenberg
5 - Changing of the Guard - Creed (2015) dir. Ryan Coogler
4 - Long Range Sequels - Blade Runner 2049 (2019) dir. Denis Villeneuve
3 - Spiritual Sequel - Casino (1995) - dir. Martin Scorsese
2 - Thematic Trilogy - The Vengeance Trilogy - Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005) dir. Park Chan-wook
1 - Better Than The Original - Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) dir. James Cameron