Sequels that were better or equally good
 

I did a search to check there wasn't something like this already and only found threads for worst sequels, so apologies if I am duplicating.

With sequels not always matching up to a successful first movie I was just thinking where some have been better than or at least fairly equal to the first movie. Like T2 for instance was very successful.

Anyone have some which they prefer?

Definitely Guyver 2: Dark Hero. Despite it being a made for video movie of a ****** live action film of a anime, it was pretty good.

Godfather 1 and 2 are so good that they can be combined into the same film.
Empire Strikes Back is better than A New Hope. I personally feel the same way about Jedi, as well.
Aliens is a really, REALLY good follow up to Alien.
The Pink Panther series always delivered, too. I don't even know which is the first in the series, so the sequels must be good.

I grew up always hearing that sequels were never as good, but I found it confusing because I had the opposite experience. At least with the types of films I was watching.

The Dark Knight
Spider-Man 2
X-Men 2
Empire Strikes Back
Iron-Man 2 (jk)

Empire Strikes back had come to mind when I was creating the thread also, not just for me personally but I've noticed on-line with people.

Dark Knight for me was at least in league with Batman Begins, as in I equally enjoyed them at the theatre... I would still put the first ahead if I were ordering them though.

Oh, Star Trek, Wrath of Khan among other sequels were more entertaining to me.

Batman Returns. Blows Batman 1989 out of the water, though may be too weird and Burtoneque for some people. Enjoying it depends on your mood imo. To be fair, ‘89 is a decent enough movie in its own right.

I gotta go with Aliens. It was more an action movie then the 1st one. Which was more of a horror movie.

Better then the original.
Aliens
Terminator 2
Toy Story 2 and 3
The Dark Knight
Guyver 2
Hot Shots Part Duex
Shrek 2
Back To The Future part 2
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
Star Trek 2, 4, 5, and 6
Gremlins 2

Equal to the original
Incredibles 2
F/X 2
Robocop 2
Wayne's World 2
Beverly Hills Cop 2
Crocodile Dundee 2
Home Alone 2

The Bourne Trilogy gets better as it goes. Shrek 2 is better than 1. Mission Impossible movies get better as they go, too (except for 2, 2 is trash garbage). Madagascar 1 is no bueno, 2 is OK, but 3 is reeeeeal good.

Secret of The Ooze was just as good as the first film and I like it better.

Back To The Future II takes a new spin when it comes to a sequel and is just as good. The third one dropped off, but they were smart and ended it.

Home Alone 2: Lost In New York is nearly as good as the original and it never should have gone beyond this. Both are classics.

Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film and I like Return of The Jedi almost as much as I do like Empire Strikes Back. If it was not for that dumb added in alien number and the gang getting captured by Jabba one at a time for no reason. I like both more than A New Hope.

Rocky II is equally good as Rocky and the series should have concluded after the fourth film, but when money is to be made only Back To The Future knows when to stop.

Spider-Man 2 is the best Spider-Man film easily and surpassed Spider-Man creatively and in general consensus. I also enjoy Spider-Man 3 more than the first even if it is a convoluted mess.

Its funny, Batman Returns is the only Batman film I cannot watch again. Its so dark that its campy and it does not intend to be. From the portrayals (script not the actors just like B&R) may be its own things, but its too far off for me. It does the opposite that Batman & Robin do, and I prefer the characters used in Batman & Robin. Batman Forever is my favorite of the four easily. I hate the neon theme and Jim Carry's final battle suit, and wished the psychology of it such as when he says " I killed them." What do you mean? Please dig in. Its all a matter of opinion.:)

My favorite Indiana Jones movie is The Last Crusade. Sean Connery makes that movie. It's much better than Temple of Doom and probably on par with Raiders.

Back to the Future 2 is another personal favorite, if only because I love the future scenes. Others will probably say it's equal to the original.

Dark Knight is a great continuation of Batman Begins, and Ledger makes it great.

The Naked Gun Trilogy are all equally hilarious.

I just did my yearly watch of Spider-Man 2. It's one of my favorite movies ever. As time goes on, you can see just how superior it is to the first and third film. Raimi and the whole team were at the top of their game.

I love the current landscape of Marvel films, but there is a special ingredient here that the MCU isn't capturing.

Predator 2, Star Trek: First Contact, and Terminator 2. (Yes, I even liked the first movies too.) The Crow: City of Angels is a near-honorable mention.

It's been a long minute since I've rewatched any of the Highlander, Rocky, Indiana Jones, or Conan movies, but I might have them sitting around somewhere.

Batman Returns is still a cherished Batman sequel.

Gremlins & almost anything Godzilla related.

Haha, I was about to say "What? Nobody mentioned Gremlins 2?"

What a weird, but amusing movie. I think the funniest part of the story is that it got made only after the studio agreed to let Dante do it however weird he wanted.

Actually it was Rocky Balboa that concluded the Rocky story as it ignored the lousy 5th film.

I would argue that Back to the Future II is the weakest of the trilogy while still being a really good movie. While 1 and 3 are pretty much self-contained stories, 2 suffers from being a "bridge" movie, the future scenes have not aged well, and while the technology was a breakthrough at the time, Michael J. Fox playing his entire family was pretty corny. Also it hurts your head trying to figure out how it all makes sense. As a kid, 3 was my least favorite, but I've grown to appreciate it more over time.
I agree about Spider-man 2. Although some of the dialogue has not aged well, it's still the most entertaining Spidey movie (I say this not having seen the latest one).

Speaking of Spider-Man, I found Far From Home to be weaker than Homecoming. It's going to take me some time to properly articulate why, but something about the film feels off to me. I love the summer vacation vibe, as well as some other elements of the film, but not enough to win me over.

Homecoming has flaws as well, but the plot was less flimsy to me and they nailed the "friendly neighborhood" vibe in a refreshing way. It's charming.

That's part of the reason I wasn't crying when Disney lost the Spider-Man license for a moment in time. Yes, I prefer Spider-Man to stay in the MCU, overall, but I still have the feeling that there are too many cooks in the kitchen. It's like they threw in some expert Marvel chefs to try and correct the Sony meals with tasty spices and sauces, but I still wish we could just get one or two great chefs in the kitchen, like Spider-Man 1 & 2 appeared to have. Those films, for whatever flaws they may have, feel cohesive and purposeful in their direction.

When it comes to MCU's Spider-Man 3, I'm optimistic but nervous. Can't wait to see what they come up with, but I need it to click with me more than FFH did.