24 Movie Sequels So Good, They Actually Surpassed The Quality Of The First Film

I'm still not over how good the "Holding Out for a Hero" sequence was in Shrek 2.

Recently, Reddit user u/ZygoticCells asked about sequels that are better than the original movie, and people had some hot takes. Here's what Redditors had to say!

1. Top Gun: Maverick

Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/smolparo

"It's definitely better. The first Top Gun is a terrible movie. It's cheesy as all hell and not in a fun way. And the effects weren't even good for the time. I'll never understand how this movie is considered a classic. Maverick, though, is a completely different movie. It's actually entertaining, with just the right amount of cheesy to make it fun."

—u/cornflake289

"The first movie is 80% a bunch of hot shots go to flight school, followed by some dog fighting of no real consequence. In the sequel, the mission is actually a part of the plot all the way through, so you actually care what happens at the end."

—u/ipostalotforalurker

"I was genuinely surprised at how much I really liked that movie. I grew up with the first one and have a bunch of nostalgia around it, but it’s actually really not the greatest on rewatch. But whatever blend of old and new they put together for Maverick resulted in basically a perfect Legasyquel."

—u/llikeafoxx

2. Toy Story 2

Walt Disney Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/ItsyaboyStephy05

The first Toy Story was amazing, but Toy Story 2 was always the one I wanted to watch growing up. I loved Jessie, and the twist with Stinky Pete was such a good betrayal. I also loved seeing all the toys work together, and Buzz and Woody actually being friends — and the themes about being forgotten and people moving on without you felt more emotionally resonant than those in the first film. Also, having action sequences in an actual toy shop was genius. 

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Marvel

—u/PlatinumPhoenix123

"Winter Soldier is honestly my favorite MCU movie. My husband thinks it's because the actors are attractive (which helps), but it's because it has all the elements I enjoy: witty banter, a male/female relationship that isn't leading to sex, and a twist or big turn of events."

—u/UntiltheEndoftheline

"Hands down my favorite MCU film so far. ... I think the reason why is because it was the first that felt outside of the typical superhero tale and rather an espionage film (one of my favorite genres). Remove a few scenes, and it's actually grounded more in reality."

—u/plainOldFool

4. Spider-Man 2

Sony Pictures Releasing

—u/der3009

"I think it's because of how wildly well the movie does stakes. You genuinely fear for the characters, that one or more of them might die. And they if they do, it will be a big deal — devastating, even. That Otto is truly dangerous, and even if Spider-Man wins, what will it cost him?"

—u/ConfessingToSins

"Raimi perfectly captured the weight of responsibility that comes with being Spider-Man and the struggle of balancing personal life with a superhero life."

—u/argothewise

5. Shrek 2

Dreamworks

—u/DoctorTNT

"The invasion with 'I Need a Hero' playing is one of the best scenes in any movie, straight up."

—u/stuugie

"Shrek 2 is a perfect example of a good sequel. Expands the universe in an interesting way, continues the story meaningfully, develops the characters, [and] tops the original in set pieces."

—u/BigBootieBeaches

6. Blade Runner 2049

Warner Bros. Pictures / Sony Pictures Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/beatlefloydzeppelin

"The original is incredible and set the stage for so many things that followed it and took influence from it. But it's always tough to watch something like that decades later and not view it from a modern perspective. It definitely has its flaws, but it was so groundbreaking that especially, at the time, those could be overlooked. I still love the original. But holy shit, I just hoped 2049 wouldn't suck, and I was absolutely blown away. The cinematography, the themes, the twist, just fucking incredible. Easily in my top three movies of all time (in a very subjective way, it's just everything I personally love in a movie)."

—u/Pertolepe

"The original is fantastic, although a bit dated. I find myself thinking about the film often, especially the incredible soundtrack by Vangelis. But 2049 blew me away. It was one of the best theater experiences I've had in my life. It might be the greatest-looking science fiction film ever made, and that's saying something. I love the pacing and the story. They expanded the world so much without it feeling forced. The characters (especially Joi) are compelling. It cemented Denis Villeneuve as my favorite modern-day director."

—u/beatlefloydzeppelin

"Sorry Ridley, but Denis just absolutely SMASHED it out the park. It built perfectly on the original without taking away from it, used the world building, expanded on it, and created a contained storyline that grips me from start to finish with amazing performances by everyone involved, and on top of that, it is one of the most visually stunning movies I've ever seen, and Zimmer's score is the cherry on top.

The OG Blade Runner, as amazing as it is, would be a silly sci-fi noir that faded into obscurity without Rutger Hauer's performance and Vangelis' truthfully amazing score."

—u/NotCallum

7. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

20th Century Fox Film Corp. / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/bonnieprincebunny

While the first one's obviously a classic, the sequel is always the one I watch around Christmastime. The setting is just more fun — I think every kid has dreamed about going on vacation by themselves, more than being left home alone by themselves. Christmas in New York is just gorgeous, and the settings of the hotel, the toy shop, and the park are all magical. 

8. Final Destination 2

New Line Cinema

"It’s not a good movie exactly, but it’s the one with the logging truck on the highway. No one remembers anything from the first one."

—u/WowThisShitAgain

"When I think of Final Destination (the entire franchise), I always think back to that truck scene, the noodle slip, and the idiot who scared off the doves/pigeons. Two really is the best in that not-so-good franchise."

—u/Yergason

9. Paddington 2

Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection

—u/BecomingSavior

"Both Paddington movies are just perfection. But the prison plot line sets 2 above 1 IMO."

—u/HoplessWanderer105

"I remember being a curmudgeon when all of the reviews for the first one were so glowing. I finally watched it and thought it was overrated (probably because I was being a curmudgeon). Then, the second came out and received better reviews, and I once again watched, thinking it was going to be overrated...and what I got was the perfect film. It melted my cold, dead heart."

—u/statdude48142

10. Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back

Lucasfilm

—u/Santikarlo

"I love it. It's the serious film of the original trilogy. The first one was corny as hell, hero's journey stuff. The farm boy learns he's the son of a magic knight, and with the help of a wise old man, goes to rescue the princess from the fortress of the villain before having a climactic battle where they defeat the villain's army, but the villain gets away in the confusion for a sequel. It's charming and fun. Rattling off quips in a gunfight while running around a lot.

"In Empire, the good guys are on the back foot from minute one. We see the sheer, unrelenting power of the Imperial war machine. The good guys objectively lost in every way, and the protagonists are wounded in body and spirit. The list of films I can think of which measure up to this kind of grim-dark is very small."

—u/Ruadhan2300

11. The Dark Knight

Warner Bros. Pictures

—u/PulakHasan

"I honestly don't think they'll ever get anyone to equal Heath's Joker. That was the most perfect live-action portrayal ever, and it's going to take one hell of an upgrade to even come close. Still my favorite Batman movie."

—u/BearmouseFather

12. Aliens

Bob Penn / 20th Century-Fox/ Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/Razmatazzer

"I think that Aliens stood the test of time much better. ... I think that the visible age of the special effects in Alien does it a lot more harm than it does in Aliens. Alien is a classic, and a true milestone of cinema, but watching it today, I just find it impossible to be scared of an alien that I can tell is a person in a suit."

—u/Any_Weird_8686

"People were falling asleep during the screening of Alien I went to. It's really, really dated with the pacing by today's standards. Aliens would pretty much grip modern audiences because it's a more accessible action film."

—u/CommanderMilez

"I know it’s a matter of personal preference, but Aliens just did so much to expand the world. It gave us the full alien life cycle with the queen, built out the universe with colonies, and gave us more insight into the company. Also, it did the cool swap of making the android who was the bad guy in the first into a good guy. So, basically added new elements to the world, expanded on it, and did enough differently to keep it fresh. But no hate to anyone who prefers the first; they are both excellent."

—u/Scro86

13. Bad Boys 2

Columbia / courtesy Everett Collection

—u/nueroticalyme

"Almost everything you remember as being awesome from the Bad Boys movies is from 2. I tried rewatching them recently; first one is a fucking slog. But 2. Man, 2. Peak Bay in all the good ways."

—u/heavymcd

"Bad Boys 2 is so over-the-top with everything. And that set piece with the boat and cars dropping is great."

—u/yvessaintlamont2

14. The Rescuers Down Under

Disney

—u/Yippy-Skippy-

"Show your kids this movie. Jaw-dropping opening scene. That's how you know you're doing it right when making a kids movie — if they're reacting to every peak and valley of the action, clearly already invested in the main character..."

—u/Run-Amokk

"Underrated movie overall. I recently watched the original, and boy, is it a joyless and stressful experience, while Down Under is utterly breathtaking and has some much-needed levity."

—u/racecarart

15. Thor: Ragnarok

Marvel

—u/Handsome2021

"Not just the best Thor movie, but actually just the best movie in the MCU. Love and Thunder was a fine, but admittedly disappointing, follow-up."

—llikeafoxx

"It's peak marvel — probably [has] the best onscreen chemistry in the franchise."

—u/ChaZZZZahC

16. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Paramount Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

—u/LucyVialli

"This movie is one of the first ones that made me want to travel. The end, right after they cross the seal, and the room collapses, and they escape, and you see the Treasury of Petra for the first time? Walking through the Siq and seeing the Treasury for the first time is fucking amazing. Like, you have no idea."

—u/Emotional_Yam4959

"I've said it my whole life: Last Crusade is the single greatest movie of all time. There is no arguing."

—u/phome83

"I definitely grew up more on Crusade than Raiders, so there’s a bias to begin with right there. But the father/son chemistry between Connery and Ford is what makes Crusade so damn enjoyable and ultimately puts it above Raiders for me."

—u/CLaarkamp1287

17. John Wick: Chapter 2

Summit Entertainment / courtesy Everett Collection

"The first is good, but the second one...it's AMAZING! It is the perfect sequel. It has a higher budget and expands the lore of the assassin universe, and every fight scene is on point."

—u/lamatherapy

18. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Tri-Star Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/wineblood

"Terminator 2 was just significantly better acted, had significantly more charm and character, its bad guy was more interesting, the threat always seemed more real...

"I’ll go a step further and even say T1 was a lean but slightly hollow movie. It feels like an '80s film, while T2 feels more timeless."

—u/njl4515

"I took a film study class, and we had to pick a movie to do a gigantic deep dive on — T2 was on the list, so I picked it and fell in love with that movie. There are so many things that are done so well that the viewer wouldn't even notice, but even without actively pointing it out, it makes the movie better."

—u/SayNoToStim

19. Addams Family Values

Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

—u/themysticfrog

"It had much better villains (Debbie, Amanda, and the camp counselors) over the first movie's villains (Tully, Abigail, and Bad-Fester)."

—u/Elranzer

20. Kung Fu Panda 2

Paramount Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

"The first was no doubt amazing, but...the second movie sustained and improved what the first movie offered; the score was amazing, the comedy is still funny, but most importantly, the drama and emotional pang still hits hard. Overall, amazing trilogy, tbh."

—u/mcraft595

21. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

New Line Cinema

—u/Ccphus

This was truly one of my favorite films growing up, and I'm not even joking (my dad let me watch it when I was 4, lol). The first one is good, but the second one actually taking place in the '60s just makes it so much better. Heather Graham is great as the female lead, and Seth Green seems to have really hit his stride with Scott. There are so many fun nods to the spy genre, the costumes and jokes are more memorable, and "Just the Two of Us" is truly a top-tier movie music moment.

22. The Godfather Part II

Paramount Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

—u/Replaceable-Human

"The Godfather was a masterpiece. It took incredible effort to get it made, but it became a massive contribution to cinema. Arguably one of the best movies ever made. And Coppola made a sequel which was even better."

—u/mrsoojay

23. Evil Dead II

Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

—u/accoladevideo

"Evil Dead 1 and 2 are both different; while one is a pure horror flick, [the] other is a plain comedy horror flick, and it just tops the comedy horror genre."

—u/tinolovespups

24. And finally, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

—u/creole_king

"It wasn’t just a really good sequel, it actually redefined Star Trek’s entire aesthetic for the next couple of decades and also brought the franchise back from the dead."

—u/we_are_sex_bobomb

What sequel do you think is better than the original film? Let us know in the comments below!

Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.

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