There's a common assumption among film fans that most sequels are inferior.
While some are definitely poor imitations, made in the pursuit of easy money, there are
plenty of others that manage to maintain their series' high standards.
Granted, it's rare for a sequel to outperform the original in terms of cultural impact,
innovation, or simply the element of surprise.
The following films are proof of that, but they are all nonetheless very good movies
on their own merits.
When they fall short, it's only because of the excellence that came before.
The last entry in the original Star Wars trilogy is frequently considered the worst, and that's
fair - it certainly isn't better than A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back.
But as part of one of the most adored sagas of all time, it doesn't have to be the best
of the bunch to qualify as excellent.
The Empire Strikes Back was successful partly because George Lucas handed some control over
to director Irvin Kershner and screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett leading
to more fluid dialogue.
The awkward lines returned with Lucas' Return of the Jedi screenplay…
"A Jedi knight!
I'm out of it for a little while and everybody gets delusions of grandeur."
...though not to the extent that it detracts from the film's finer aspects.
The return of the Death Star was justified by the Rebellion's visually striking assault.
Not to mention the nail-biting resonance of Luke's showdown with his father, Darth Vader,
and the reveal that there's "another Skywalker."
When Paul Newman expressed interest in returning to the world of pool shark Edward "Fast Eddie"
Felson 25 years after The Hustler, there was an obvious choice to direct the sequel.
Hot off the success of Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese was
at the top of his game.
Upon its release in 1986, The Color of Money faced sky-high expectations, considering Scorsese's
outstanding body of work, Newman's involvement, and Tom Cruise's addition as Eddie's understudy
Vincent Lauria.
But if you can divorce yourself from the burden of those expectations, you will witness an
incredible sequel.
Newman's chemistry with Cruise is captivating, as is Cruise's with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
While the dynamic is compelling, Eddie suffers from a lack of real character development,
and Scorsese at times relies on overused teacher-pupil tropes.
The result is an occasionally formulaic sequel that's still a smoldering success despite
those shortcomings.
In 1996, Wes Craven revolutionized the slasher genre with Scream, featuring self-aware characters
familiar with horror movie conventions.
Armed with this genre savvy, these tormented teens, led by Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott,
attempted to avoid their ends at the gloved hands of the masked serial killer known as
Ghostface.
[Scream]
A year and eight murders later, Sidney and company returned in Scream 2.
What could have been an ill-judged attempt at milking the first film's success was instead
a hyper-aware parody within a parody.
As Sidney started a new life at college, Craven went even more meta; in one scene, students
discussed whether sequels are ever any good.
"The way I see it, someone's out to make a sequel.
You know, cash in on all the movie murder hooplah.
So it's our job to observe the rules of a sequel."
Scream 2 is arguably as thrilling as the first, while also ramping up the gore factor, though
the jump scares did start to lose their impact.
Every once in a while, a film explodes in the face of convention and innovates its genre.
In 2002, it was Doug Liman's The Bourne Identity.
With a tone as grounded as its amnesia-stricken main character, The Bourne Identity delivered
gritty action instead of over-the-top, testosterone-heavy heroism.
In 2004, Paul Greengrass assumed directing duties for The Bourne Supremacy, picking up
right where Identity left off.
Bourne's emotional turmoil made Supremacy the most compelling character study in the
series.
However, it's impossible to overlook the original ingenuity of Identity.
The first film's fight scenes - close-up and edited at a lightning-fast pace - set a new
action template.
But in Supremacy, that style became dizzying.
[Squealing, dizzying tires]
The Raid is action distilled into its purest form.
The Indonesian martial arts gem was directed by Gareth Evans, but the roundhouse-kicking
star of the show is martial artist Iko Uwais as rookie special forces officer Rama.
The Raid 2 picks up directly after Rama's first torturous mission.
He barely has time to catch his breath before he is thrown into prison on a deadly undercover
mission.
The narrative is less compressed, stretching across years instead of one day.
There's more dialogue, more characterization, and more ultra-violent, ultra-stylish action.
But for all of its positives, the sequel is a bit sluggish by comparison, like a boxer
carrying a few extra pounds.
It's telling that The Raid 2 excels the most when, like The Raid, it sticks to what it
knows best: all-out action.
With 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn crafted a surprise hit from an obscure
source.
Unlike other Marvel heroes, the Guardians were relatively unknown outside of comic book
stores.
But against the odds, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, and Rocket captured
the imagination of millions.
Three years later, Gunn was given free rein for the sequel.
The series' hallmarks returned: a funky, smile-inducing soundtrack, stunning cinematography, and relentless
banter.
While some superhero films require spectacle, Vol. 2 is the opposite, thriving when depicting
the Guardians' interpersonal dynamics.
[Laughing] "She just told everyone your deepest, darkest secret!"
The foundations of that dynamic are shaken by the arrival of Quill's father, Ego the
Living Planet, who tempts his son to join the dark side.
Quill's struggle has plenty of emotional impact.
Ultimately, though, the second time around loses some of its effortlessness while still
providing a planet-sized dose of entertainment, not to mention...
"I have famously huge turds."