When studios release a terrific movie and greenlight its sequel, it’s rare that audiences are delivered the identical quality in a second installment as they did within the beloved original. Nonetheless, loads of second movies justify their very own existence, expand their worlds, deepen their themes, and find ways to enhance on what made the primary movie so memorable in the primary place.
Some sequels manage to boost the stakes, some reinvent their franchises, and others someway manage to eclipse a terrific movie that seemed not possible to follow. That is what separates good sequels from great ones. Moderately than simply feeling like extensions of existing stories, the very best sequels of all time stand as masterpieces in their very own right.
5
Kill Bill Vol. 2’s Tonal Change Was Genius
Quentin Tarantino shot each Kill Bill movies concurrently and packaged them as one film, however the duology was split into two separate movies for theatrical release. Vol. 2 follows Uma Thurman’s The Bride as she closes in on Budd, Elle Driver, and ultimately Bill himself. Vol. 1 embraced samurai cinema, martial arts movies, and exploitation motion, however the second installment shifted toward a revenge Western with character drama and long stretches of dialogue, helping the 2 movies feel distinct in their very own right. By rejecting the standard “larger is best” sequel formula, Kill Bill Vol. 2 focuses more on emotional payoff and character, relatively than attempting to recreate the long-lasting motion just like the House of Blue Leaves sequence.
While many follow-ups just increase the size of the unique, Tarantino offers fans something latest with a whole reinvention of the story, redefining every thing that got here before without diminishing it. David Carradine’s performance as Bill transforms him from a mythical character to one in every of Tarantino’s most fascinating antagonists, finally forcing audiences to confront the person at the middle of The Bride’s revenge. At the identical time, Vol. 2′s final confrontation goes down as one in every of cinema’s most satisfying conclusions. Elevating Kill Bill right into a compelling and explosive revenge story, tragedy, character study, and family drama, Vol. 2 successfully elevated its predecessor and cemented itself as top-of-the-line sequels ever made.
4
The Raid 2, Also Generally known as Retaliation, Expands the Sensible Original
Given the immense success of director Gareth Evans’ The Raid, The Raid 2 was one in every of cinema’s most impressive achievements. The sequel follows Iko Uwaias’ Rama as he goes undercover inside Jakarta’s criminal underworld shortly after surviving the events of the primary film. The sequel trades the claustrophobic apartment block of the unique Raid movie for a sprawling gangster epic. Amping up the violence and brutality to deliver a few of the best combat cinema has seen, the second installment continued to honor the true intensity of the legendary pencak silat fighting style.
Even still, The Raid 2 doesn’t just deliver more of the identical. The motion scenes are broader, more ambitious, and someway much more inventive, while the expanded scope allows Evans to inform a genuinely compelling crime story with jaw-dropping fight choreography. Sequences involving Hammer Girl, Baseball Bat Man, and the kitchen fight have already entered motion movie history. While the fights may be raved about incessantly, The Raid 2 took one in every of the tightest, simplest motion stories ever made and transformed it into something much greater, and its emotional and narrative upgrade solidified the sequel as an incredible continuation.
3
Blade Runner 2049 Proved Its Own Necessity
For a long time, a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner felt largely unnecessary, if not outright not possible. Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 follows Ryan Gosling’s K, a replicant blade runner who discovers evidence that threatens humanity’s understanding of humans and replicants, which ultimately leads him back to Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard. Moderately than simply attempting to recreate the 1982 original, Blade Runner 2049 proved its necessity by expanding upon Blade Runner’s themes of identity, memory, and humanity while crafting a vibrant, color-coded visual identity unlike anything seen in science fiction.
Ryan Gosling’s immensely tragic performance breathes as much life into Blade Runner 2049 as Roger Deakins’ entrancing colours. Villeneuve is likely to be remembered for his work on Herbert’s masterpiece Dune, but Blade Runner 2049 will remain his most emotional and visceral project. Whereas most legacy sequels rely heavily on nostalgia, Villeneuve’s installment understood that simply revisiting iconic characters and locations is not enough. The sequel treats Ridley Scott’s original like a foundation greater than a blueprint, leaving the unique to feel larger and richer because of this of Blade Runner 2049.
2
The Godfather Part II Changes How Viewers Understand the Corleones
Francis Ford Coppola faced an not possible task after The Godfather, which many considered to be the best film ever made. Nonetheless, The Godfather Part II not only succeeded, nevertheless it became one in every of the rare sequels that is mentioned in the identical breath as its predecessor. The sequel follows Michael Corleone’s efforts to expand the family’s criminal empire while also telling the story of a young Vito Corleone’s rise in Recent York a long time earlier. That parallel narrative allows Coppola to match father and son directly, showing how Michael’s pursuit of power progressively isolates him from every thing Vito fought to construct.
This emotional tragedy is what elevates The Godfather Part II beyond a standard crime sequel. Al Pacino delivers perhaps the defining performance of his profession, and Robert De Niro’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Vito Corleone stays just as iconic within the sequel because it is in the unique. There aren’t many sequels which have expanded their stories, themes, and characters as successfully as The Godfather Part II, because the 1974 follow-up deepened its predecessor so dramatically and completely altered the best way audiences view the unique film.
1
The Empire Strikes Back is the Best Follow-Up of All Time
When The Empire Strikes Back arrived three years after Star Wars, audiences were expecting one other thrilling space opera adventure. As a substitute, they received a darker, more mature, and significantly more ambitious follow-up that completely modified what blockbuster sequels could appear to be. Often thought to be the best sequel ever made, The Empire Strikes Back boasted gorgeous visuals, a menacing villain in Darth Vader, a sprawling story, and a beloved protagonist at his lowest.
The Empire Strikes Back expands the galaxy far, far-off beyond the unique, introducing iconic characters like Yoda and Lando Calrissian in addition to memorable locations like Bespin and Hoth. The sequel also successfully deepened character dynamics between Luke Skywalker and Leia, offered top-of-the-line lightsaber duels within the franchise’s history between Luke and Anakin, and at last delivered one in every of cinema’s most talked-about plot twists when Darth Vader revealed he was Luke’s father. By ending on uncertainty relatively than triumph, The Empire Strikes Back proved that sequels could challenge audiences as an alternative of just giving them more of what they loved, paving the best way for probably the most popular franchises of all time.