20 Movie Sequels That Are Actually Better Than The Originals

Batman Begins was so good, but I think we can all agree that The Dark Knight raised the bar for superhero movies and is arguably the best.

In the world of filmmaking, it's a borderline miracle when you happen upon a solid movie sequel, let alone the rare find that outdoes the original.

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While there's always an appeal in chilling with some fan-favorite movie characters for a couple of hours, it's also incredibly easy to botch the whole thing with an undercooked story or a general feeling of aimlessness from the performers.

Yet there are a number of impressive sequels that have managed to exceed expectations, either offering a different, unique tale in a familiar universe or building upon the existing characters in an even more intense and exciting story.

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With that in mind, I've put together 20 essential sequels that not only are great in their own right but actually outshine their cinematic predecessors:

Warning: There are some minor spoilers ahead!

1. 22 Jump Street (2014)

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One of the best comedy sequels in the past decade, 22 Jump Street improved upon its predecessor, 2012's 21 Jump Street, in almost every way, including beefing up its supporting cast, landing a ton of hysterical callbacks and references to the original, and exploring the splintering friendship between Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum). Not only is the laugh-out-loud action-comedy firing on all cylinders as a meta dissection of sequels and the Hollywood system at large, but it also works as a unique metaphor for changing interpersonal dynamics when people go to college.

2. The Godfather Part II (1974)

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The gold standard when it comes to overperforming sequels, The Godfather Part II has many moments that are as iconic as (if not more so than) the most memorable sequences of the first Godfather. Add in the increased emotional stakes of Michael Corleone's descent into darkness, the engaging story of young Vito Corleone (as played by Robert De Niro), and more confident storytelling from director Francis Ford Coppola, and you have an Oscarworthy drama that shatters the monumental expectations set by its groundbreaking predecessor.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

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Fans of the wizarding world all have their favorite films and books from the Harry Potter franchise, but if any of the films can be unilaterally described as the best of the series, Prisoner of Azkaban is certainly the frontrunner. Showcasing an evolving tone to go alongside the darker themes of the book and the maturing cast members, Prisoner of Azkaban captures the magic introduced in the more family-friendly predecessors but in a new perspective enhanced by technically astounding direction by Alfonso Cuarón.

4. The Dark Knight (2008)

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2005's Batman Begins was a truly great reboot for the Batman franchise after the widely panned Batman & Robin, but no one could have predicted that Christopher Nolan's follow-up would become a definitive film of its time and genre. Bolstered by an Academy Award–winning performance by the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, The Dark Knight ended up grossing $1 billion at the box office and was notably selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2020.

5. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

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The original Top Gun may have been a seminal action film of the 1980s, but for the better part of four decades, the film became a pop culture punchline, with more attention being devoted to the volleyball scene and the dated soundtrack. However, not only did Top Gun: Maverick eclipse the original in terms of spectacle, emotion, and sheer feel-good storytelling, but it even helped bring esteem back to the first Top Gun and introduced the franchise to a whole new generation.

6. Annabelle Comes Home (2019)

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It's not often that the first film in a series is the weakest of the bunch, but this is indeed the case for the Annabelle franchise, which has greatly improved with each subsequent entry. While 2017's Annabelle: Creation is a great prequel that helped recapture the terrifying possessed doll's magic from The Conjuring films, it's the third Annabelle film that is an absolute home run, offering spook show–quality scares and multiple frightening threats, and building upon the Conjuring universe in a big, bold way.

7. Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006)

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The first Undisputed, from 2002, was a solid (if unexceptional) prison brawl movie that found home video success thanks to the combined star power of Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames following a poor theatrical run. Yet even without Snipes, Rhames, or director Walter Hill, Undisputed II: Last Man Standing improved on the first film in almost every way, delivering bone-crunching action scenes, a more tangible dramatic arc, and a pair of leads in Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins whose chemistry in and out of the ring will keep you glued to the screen.

8. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

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The differences between 1979's Mad Max and its sequels are almost night and day, with the series changing tones to the point of nearly shifting genres between each film. Luckily, this process has worked out well for the franchise, as evidenced by the riveting Fury Road and the now-iconic Road Warrior, which elevated the series to a whole different level and cemented its status in the pantheon of action classics.

9. The Devil's Rejects (2005)

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2003's House of 1000 Corpses was a stylish and sadistic debut horror film from Rob Zombie, who offered a neon-soaked nightmare destined for cult film status. While House was certainly divisive among horror die-hards, its follow-up, The Devil's Rejects, became unanimously celebrated, as Zombie turned a more gritty and realistic lens on the murderous Firefly family and even utilized the expanded universe to allow audiences to humanize and perhaps even sympathize with his onscreen sociopaths.

10. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

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James Cameron has proved himself to be a master at crafting sequels by identifying the strengths of the original and fundamentally changing everything around them, and Terminator 2 is the perfect example of that theory at work. It would have been easy just to rinse and repeat, with the original T-800 hunting a young John Connor, but by making the popular Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 a protagonist and utilizing spectacular, state-of-the-art special effects, Terminator 2 just feels bigger and better than 1984's The Terminator.

11. Addams Family Values (1993)

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I know it's been a hotly debated topic about which Addams Family film works best, but for this writer's money, it's not even close, as Values has so many more memorable moments and consistent belly laughs than the 1991 original. From the amazing "summer camp" storyline that leads to Wednesday's iconic monologue to the drop-dead funny subplot about Uncle Fester and his bloodthirsty wife, Addams Family Values improves upon the first film as both a comedy and as a film in general.

12. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

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The initial entry into the Hunger Games franchise was a more-than-solid adaptation that helped launch star Jennifer Lawrence into superstardom, but the sequel (under the direction of Francis Lawrence, who has helmed every Hunger Games film since) is when the series really began to cook with fire. By dedicating more time to Katniss's complicated interpersonal relationships, adding new threats to the playing field, and pushing forward the narrative logically in a way that ties up every loose thread from the first movie, Catching Fire took the franchise to a place guaranteed to satisfy more than just fans of the book.

13. X2: X-Men United (2003)

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The first X-Men film did a great job of introducing casual viewers to the roster of exciting characters while laying the groundwork for the world of the beloved comic book property. However, X2: X-Men United picked up the ball and ran with it, offering more exhilarating set pieces and compelling character development, and adding fan favorites to shake up the mutant roster, including Nightcrawler and Pyro.

14. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

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The first Evil Dead rocks and remains an incredible accomplishment in independent filmmaking, but so much of it feels like the work of a first-time feature film director learning the craft as he goes along. However, once he was equipped with a bigger budget, Sam Raimi blew the doors down (literally) with Evil Dead 2, a superb sequel that was undoubtedly funnier, creepier, and more instantly iconic than the first film.

15. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

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Spider-Man was a game changer when it hit theaters in 2002, and remains culturally and aesthetically important in a culture largely driven by superhero films. But even the film's most unflappable fans will admit that the 2004 sequel bested the film around every corner, from providing Sam Raimi with a chance to flex his well-built horror muscles to adding Shakespearean drama to the proceedings. Hell, there's a reason Spider-Man: No Way Home placed its dramatic crux on the shoulders of Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, who shines in this flick as one of the best superhero villains ever.

16. Fast Five (2011)

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The Fast and Furious franchise has certainly had its ups and downs, but the series undoubtedly hit its high point with Fast Five, in which the filmmakers traded high-stakes auto robbery and law evasion to make a full-on heist movie, bringing in recognizable faces from previous entries in the series and accentuating the spectacle with everything you could possibly ask for in an action movie. While the formula has been retooled and the ante has been upped in the films thereafter (to more or less great effect), Fast Five is really when the action still felt breathtaking and innovative, while still containing the spirit of the preceding Fast and Furious movies.

17. Crank 2: High Voltage (2009)

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A sleazy and chaotic masterpiece blending the LA crime movie aesthetics of Heat and Collateral with go-for-broke exploitation-film attitude, 2006's Crank was a fun action movie that no one expected to be a sleeper hit. But how does one deliver a sequel to a movie where the ending consists of the main character falling out of a helicopter? Easy: Throw out the rule book, go all in on questionable taste and shocking gag humor, and let the cast run wild. The result is Crank 2: High Voltage, a borderline-experimental film that is the closest the world will likely get to a cinematic adaptation of the Grand Theft Auto games (and somehow pulls it off with flying colors).

18. Batman Returns (1992)

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No one can really take anything away from Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, a film that set the blueprint for many comic book movies that attempted to ape its style and attitude in the years that followed. But Burton was able to fully embrace his style and voice with Batman Returns, a sequel that systematically improves upon Batman by being stranger, more bombastic, and far more salacious at times. People may remember Jack Nicholson's Joker, but they definitely remember Danny DeVito's Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman, too.

19. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

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I know that some readers might fight tooth and nail to say that the original Nightmare on Elm Street has not been and cannot be overshadowed by any of its sequels, but I firmly disagree in the case of Dream Warriors. While there's more ingenuity and pure scare factor in Wes Craven's 1984 original, Dream Warriors essentially perfects the "Freddy Krueger" formula, refining its presentation of nightmare logic, offering more of the killer's madcap personality and imaginative death sequences, and ultimately furthering the respective stories of Nancy Thompson and Freddy Krueger in a satisfying way.

20. And finally: Aliens (1986)

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Before he rewrote the book on sequels with Terminator 2, James Cameron successfully found a way to craft a belated sequel to 1979's Alien, one that traded in the atmospheric and patient horror of the first film for action-packed thrills and large-scale Creature Features shocks. Furthermore, Cameron found a logical and emotionally valid reason to bring back Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley into the fold, and her outstanding performance garnered an Academy Award nomination during a time when science fiction films were frequently ignored by critics.

Is your favorite sequel here?

Let us know what we missed in the comments below!