17 Sequels That Are Actually Better Than The Original Movies

    "As far as I’m concerned, it stands unmatched."

    Morgan Sloss
    by Morgan Sloss

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This week, Reddit user u/Ulquiorr4_ posed the question, "What sequel, in your opinion, was genuinely better than the original?"

    CBC

    The thread quickly went viral with over 22,000 comments! Here are some of the top-voted answers:

    1. The Dark Knight

    The Joker holding up a playing card and smiling
    Warner Bros /Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The Dark Knight, to me, is a perfect superhero movie. Every line of dialogue and every scene in the movie matters. There’s no fluff. And if you dive into the Easter eggs, there are so many little nods to the comics and real life. Still one of my favorite movies."

    –u/overdosed93

    "My single greatest theater experience ever."

    –u/Nattin121

    2. The Rescuers Down Under

    Buena Vista / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It is pretty much the sole example of a Disney sequel being better than the original pre-2000s."

    –u/JohnSpartanBurger

    "I remember being a kid and not even realizing it was a sequel. I was a bit older when we ended up with a VHS copy of The Rescuers, and it was so dark and sad compared to Down Under."

    –u/prettyk8machine

    3. Rush Hour 2

    Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan preparing to fight in robes
    New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Quite possibly one of the funniest movies of all time. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker were amazing together; you can tell they genuinely enjoyed working with each other."

    –u/iamjomos

    "And the original was solid too. Goes to show how much Rush Hour 2 had to do to beat it!"

    –u/dbMitch

    4. Thor: Ragnarok

    Thor and Loki standing side-by-side
    Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I LOVE that scene where Thor is describing how Loki turned into a snake, turned back into himself, said, 'Gaah,' and stabbed him. You can SEE Tom Hiddleston give up and laugh. I bet they had so much fun filming that movie. Additionally, 'get help' is hilarious and shows their brotherhood bond before all the drama of the first Avengers movie. All in all, Ragnarok is the best Thor movie, and Taika Waititi was a blessing to the MCU."

    –u/embarassed25yo

    5. 22 Jump Street

    Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, and Channing Tatum holdings guns in a scene from the film
    Sony Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I was surprised by how much I liked the first. When I went to see the second, I had low expectations. It blew me away."

    –u/Myfourcats1

    "That was one of the funniest fucking films I ever saw in the theater. The first one is also hilarious, but 22 just improves upon everything. And nothing is as funny as Ice Cube's character finding out Schmidt hooked up with his daughter."

    –u/Kazewatch

    6. X-Men 2

    20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Wolverine became the biggest badass this time around, just straight up slaughtering fools. I had never seen that before in a superhero movie (though now it's pretty commonplace). But not only that, it was the first time superheroes genuinely used their powers in important and clever ways."

    –u/cuorebrave

    7. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

    Lauryn hill singing with a group of people behind her
    Buena Vista Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The final scene of Sister Act 2 is up there with the end of Dirty Dancing for me."

    –u/lisamfs

    "Ms. Lauryn Hill makes most things better, to be honest."

    –u/ThatMommyVanLife

    8. Spider-Man 2

    Toby Maguire as Spider-Man shooting a web
    Columbia Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Spider-Man is an almost perfect origin story, and SM2 still completely whoops its ass. I love every minute of that movie."

    –u/rubber_hedgehog

    "The thing I loved about it the most was it wasn’t just about Spider-Man — it was about Peter Parker. We saw his inner struggle between who he wants to be, who he has to be, and who he really is. Not to mention all the amazing actors in the film too. [Sam] Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 is the best portrayal of the character of Spider-Man imo."

    –u/LongWaysForResults

    9. Shrek 2

    Shrek and Fiona after getting married with Donkey standing on the onion carriage
    Dreamworks / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Improves on the original in every way and then some."

    –u/CarlRogeBih

    10. Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows

    Holmes and Watson standing next to each other
    Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "In my opinion, Sherlock Holmes was brilliant, but Game of Shadows was a masterpiece. Everything from the brilliant writing to the sets to the chess themes throughout the movie, right up to chess match between Sherlock and Moriarty while their 'pieces' literally danced on a chess floor. At the same time, Moriarty manages to be like Sherlock's shadow (from a psychological point of view), every bit as brilliant as Sherlock, but way better with people. He even had his own twisted version of Watson!"

    –u/WorthTheDorth

    11. The Empire Strikes Back

    Luke Skywalker carrying Yoda on his back
    Disney /  Lucasfilms / courtesy Everett Collection

    "Easily the superior movie of the original trilogy."

    –u/SgtBarnes72

    12. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

    Tri-Star / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Part of what makes Terminator 2 such a great sequel has to do with the growth of the characters. Sarah Connor goes from a meek waiter to a badass soldier. Arnold goes from an evil killing machine to a vicious/cuddly father figure. And the actual baddy is upgraded by like 10 generations and literally could not have been even visually realized in a movie even a few years prior (and he still looks awesome today)! My point is that part of what makes T2 so awesome is that it followed T1. They are both great movies, and as far as I'm concerned, they are the only Terminator movies."

    –u/J3553G

    13. The Mummy Returns

    Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Took a really good movie and made it great."

    –u/Mentally_Ill_Goblin

    14. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

    Disney/Courtesy Everett Collection

    “It pretty much set the tone for the MCU going forward, and as far as I’m concerned, it stands unmatched fight choreography-wise.”

    –u/Arntor1184

    15. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

    20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Don't get me wrong, I love the first one. But I find it much funnier to think about the fact that Kevin has no idea what weapons he has beforehand and less time to prepare. Plus, the bird lady is just a lovely character."

    –u/McLoving27

    16. Bad Boys II

    Gabrielle Union, WIll Smith, and Martin Lawrence wielding weapons
    Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Hell of a lot better than the first, and awesome on its own."

    –u/vercertorix

    17. And finally, Toy Story 2

    Woody smiling
    Disney / Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Toy Story 2 is really something special. To anyone that hasn’t seen it recently, consider watching it again. It’s not just the second Toy Story movie, it’s the best-paced movie I think I’ve ever seen. Every scene, every line, every joke works exactly like it should. It’s the kind of movie that was executed as well as possible."

    –u/Dark_Clark

    Which sequel did you think was even better than the original? LMK in the comments below!

    Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.