It's rare to get them both right.
The latest episode of The Canon podcast (hosted by Devin Faraci and Amy Nicholson) pits Ridley Scott's Alien against James Cameron's 1986 follow-up Aliens to see which one gets a spot in the pantheon of great films. I don't think I could make that choice. While I recognize that one is probably the better movie, I like both of them too much to ever be able to say that one should live on and the other should be forgotten.
This got me thinking: what is the best pairing of a film and a sequel? My gut says Alien and Aliens, but that's because I'm forgetting a bunch (and yes, I know most of you will say The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and you're not wrong either -- those movies just don't have as many aliens in them). Even if you aren't interested in nominating the "best" and just want to pick your favorite, I'm anxious to hear it. After all, Mannequin 2: On the Move does exist.
Have at it!
Home Alone and Home Alone 2. You can't get it wrong when it's a carbon copy of the original.
ReplyDeleteKidding.
But really, there are several. Alien and Aliens is the first that popped into my mind, and of course the First two Godfather movies are great. Other awesome examples include:
Batman Begins/The Dark Knight
Toy Story/Toy Story 2
The Terminator/Terminator 2
The Lord of the Rings
Star Wars: Episode IV/V
I'm sure there are more.
You can add Toy story 3 there too. Amazing how they did it!
DeleteYou joke, but I still have a real fondness for Home Alone 2. Sure it's the same movie but...in New York...and there's a toy store and...a pigeon covered bum...and a corny electrocution that turns you into a skeleton...I'm just sayin.
DeleteI do joke. I actually enjoy Home Alone 2 and its charters, like Tim Curry as the concierge, Rob Schneider as the bellboy, Eddie Bracken as Mr. Duncan, and Brenda Fricker as the pigeon lady. Both movies are childhood favorites of mine. They're just so similarly plotted.
DeleteI think Tim Curry's character in that movie is a permanent part of my subconscious now. I still sometimes say, "I'm terribly sorry sir but, I'm afraid you're mistaken," and get blank confused stares haha. But honestly, it is a blatant remake.
DeleteHere are the top 3:
ReplyDelete1. Star Wars/Empire
2. Alien/Aliens
3. Terminator/T2
Honorable mention:
Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein
Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2
Friday the 13th/Part 2
Greay choice with Frankenstein. I bet Dennis will be happy with Evil Dead (as am I!). Will likewise say Armt of darkness. Another trilogy of win!
DeleteYou know me too well ;)
DeleteMad Max & Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior for my American friends!)... The Texas Chain Saw Massacre & The Texas Chainsaw Massacre part. 2... A Better Tomorrow & A Better Tomorrow 2!
ReplyDelete:)
"A Better Tomorrow & A Better Tomorrow 2"
DeleteYeah!
Yojimbo/Sanjuro
ReplyDeleteDepending on which one I'm watching, Alien or Aliens is my all time favorite movie.
ReplyDeleteBut besides the Alien and Godfather movies I'd pick the Kill Bill series.
Amen ro Kill Bill!
DeleteThe Raid/The Raid 2.
ReplyDeleteCap Amer/Winter Soldier.
Pink Panther/A Shot in the Dark.
Lethal Weapon 1 and 2.
Interestingly enough, I cannot think of a Horror sequel that I like just as much as the first. MAYBE Phantasm 2.
DeleteI like Friday the 13th Part II more than the first....but in fairness, I don't really like the first. And I think I like Evil Dead II better than The Evil Dead, but Evil Dead II is also like, half remake, so I'm not sure if it's fair.
DeleteI think Evil Dead II might be a better made film, but I like the first better because it plays it straight as opposed to the cartoonishness of part II.
Delete1. Fast and the Furious/2 Fast 2 Furious
ReplyDelete2. Before Sunrise/Sunset
3. Dawn of the Dead/Day of the Dead (that one might be cheating)
Lots of good ones here, but it doesn't look like anyone's said Crank and Crank 2 yet. Let's go with those ones.
ReplyDeleteScream/Scream 2. For a sequel that was rushed into production and released less than a year after the original, Scream 2 is better than it has any right to be and isn't the lame carbon-copy that many horror sequels are (I'm looking at you, Scream 3 & 4). It's not as good as the first, but it belongs in this conversation.
ReplyDeletePsycho/Psycho II. See above, but change the "less than a year" bit to "22 years" and the rest applies.
Love both of those sequels as well. They both have quite a lot to say about their previous films without being over the top about it. They are smarter and just more engaging viewing than quite a lot of sequels.
DeleteKing Kong (1976) and King Kong Lives (1986)
ReplyDeleteDoes Manhunter & Silence of the Lambs count? If not, I'll have to with Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2.
ReplyDeleteRight on with the first two Lethal Weapon films. 3 was kinda bad and 4 was just weird, even though I have to admit I like it better than 3. Those first two were strong as hell though.
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DeleteAlso, I'm just going to go on record that I thought Terminator 3 was pretty cool.
ReplyDelete*runs and hides*
I've warmed to it over the years.
DeleteYeah, I can get on board with that. The truck chase and the ending made it memorable.
DeleteMany great ones already listed. I will answer as myself at age 15:
ReplyDeleteYoung Guns and Young Guns II
I think a case could be made for Bourne 2 and 3, and M:I 3 and 4 (though I really like the first films in those franchises as well). Also, If.... and O Lucky Man! are both great films, even if the "trilogy" they are a part of is very loose and mostly just grouped together because of director Lindsay Anderson and star Malcolm McDowell.
Oh, Also: The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark. Hilarious! Particularly the latter.
DeleteGood call on "Panther"/"Shot in the Dark." Those two were good-enough to launch a spinoff animated series and a spinoff sequel (1968's "Inspector Clouseau") that were good-enough to keep fans happy until 1975's "Return of the Pink Panther" rekindled the franchise.
DeleteCompletely agree with MI 3 - 4 (I actually like 3 a little bit more than 4 but not by much). I also agree with Pink Panther and Shot in the Dark, of course; it was in my earlier post.
DeleteIt was and I totally missed it! And here I thought I was special. "Great minds..." and all that, I guess. Credit to you, Chaybee!
DeleteHow about Ferris Beuller's Day Off and Election -- because I choose to believe that Matthew Broderick was playing a grown up Ferris who finally gets his comeuppance for his smugness all these years.
ReplyDeleteHow about this...is there a third movie in a series that is better than the first 2?
ReplyDeleteGood question. Last Crusade is way better than ToD, but falls short of Raiders.
DeleteThis one is a bit of a cheat, but Goldfinger was the 3rd Bond film and it nailed the formula going ahead.
Toy Story 3.
DeleteIt probably doesn't count, but Revenge of the Sith.
DeleteReturn of the King has a pretty good reputation, but I have a hard time separating those 3 films.
Yes, Toy Story 3. The first two are exceptional, but....that incinerator scene....
DeleteI think The Bourne Ultimatum is the best of that series. If you count the Vacation movies as a series, Christmas Vacation is the third and probably the best. And it's not the third, but I think Ghost Protocol is the best Mission Impossible movie.
DeleteGremlins/Gremlins 2: The New Batch. You got your Spielbergian take on cute monster running amock to get everyone on board, then the uncluttered-by-commercial-concerns Dante take on the same material meant for true creature feature fans. Win-win.
ReplyDeleteHOW DID I FORGET THIS? Great choice. Also, tonight on the Clamp Cable Network: Casablanca, now in full color and with a happier ending.
DeleteInfernal affairs 1 and 2
ReplyDeleteOh shit, how could I forget Enter the Ninja/Revenge of the Ninja. The sequel is even better than the original. It's the definitive Ninja movie in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteNailed it.
DeleteOf course you got your Godfathers and your Star Warses, but I'd like to give a shoutout to Sam Raimi's first two Spider-Man films.
ReplyDeleteCan we all just admit that the correct answer is Highlander and Highlander 2?
ReplyDeleteOkay, now that jokes out of the way. Most the good ones have been mentioned, but I would like to put up Dr. No and From Russia With Love as a truly great one-two punch.
The Matrix reloaded, and Matrix revolutions. Kidding
ReplyDelete1. Fellowship Of the Ring, Two Towers
2. Rise and dawn of the planet of the apes
3. Dr. No and goldfinger
Ah, good call on Rise and Dawn. I've really enjoyed both of the movies in that franchise so far.
DeletePart of me wishes they would just stop with these two. Especially since dawn was so good. Unfortunately they will probably try to capitalize on its success by making the next one a super cg monkey fight fest.
DeleteWell, maybe, but I think one of the things these movies have going for them is that the effects/motion capture ARE so well done. I can only imagine the effects will either stay on par or improve even more with future installments. If they stopped today, I would be satisfied, but I do want to see more if they can keep the quality up.
Delete1. Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back
ReplyDelete2. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II
3. Gremlins and Gremlins 2
4. The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day
5. Child’s Play and Child’s Play II
6. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
7. Spider-man and Spider-man 2
8. X-men and X-men 2
9. Hellboy and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
10. Batman and Batman Returns
So many good choices. Just because it hasn't been mentioned, I'll throw 28 Days Later / 28 Weeks Later out there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I don't think Quantum of Solace works well by itself, but as an addendum to Casino Royale it's much better.
Interesting choices. I considered mentioning those two Daniel Craig James Bond movies, but I have too many problems with QOS to include it among these great films. I also have a special place for the original Bond
Delete1.For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
ReplyDelete2.Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz
3.Blade I and Blade II
4.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2
5.House of 1000 Corpses and The Devils Rejects
The ones where the sequel is different enough from the original not to feel like just a rehash are the ones I like the most. To that end, here's my top 3:
ReplyDeleteAlien / Aliens
Frankenstein / Bride of Frankenstein
Gremlins / Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Back to the future 1 & 2
ReplyDeleteReading through everyone's choices I am struck by how many good sequels there are. Maybe it is just a myth or over-generalization that sequels often stink.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's the opposite: good sequels are extremely hard to find and rare. Consider the amount of Hollywood movies made since the early 1900's. Then add movies made around the world. Compare that amount (a six-digit figure) with the handful of good sequels that have been mentioned here, some of which are even debatable ("Back to the Future II," etc.), and you'll see the abysmal gap between good sequels and garden-variety sequels. You know, "The Fly II," "Karate Kid Part 2," "Another Stakeout," "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," "Speed 2," "Fletch 2," "Grease 2," "Easy Rider 2," "Ghostbusters II," "Oceans' Twelve," "Nightmare on Elm Street 2," "Superman II," "Sanshiro Sugata Part II"... these are norm for sequels. The handful of sequels mentioned in this column are as good and/or better than the original are actually in very short supply.
DeleteAnother Stakeout is awesome!
DeleteAnother Stakeout is awesome!
DeleteIm gonna go with Ghoulies 1 and 2 And Critters 1 and 2
ReplyDeleteAnd I also like Tremors 1 and 2 though not really 3 and I stopped watching after that
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure followed by Bogus Journey
ReplyDeleteI'll go on a limb here and say Crank/Crank 2
ReplyDeleteNot on a limb - Mike Eaton had it nailed already.
DeleteBack to the Future 1 and 2.
ReplyDeleteTerminator 1 and 2.
Kill Bill 1 and 2.
Captain America 1 and 2.
The Hustler and The Color of Money.
Back to the Future 1 and 2.
ReplyDeleteTerminator 1 and 2.
Kill Bill 1 and 2.
Captain America 1 and 2.
The Hustler and The Color of Money.