Off the top of my head: Terminator 2. Unlike the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings sequels, it was actually a separate story, and improved on the original in pretty much every way.
Toy Story 2 and 3 were also pretty good, and (if we can include third movies) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly* made masterful use of silent scenes that let the Morricone score give it an incredible feeling of power and scale (supposedly this was because Leone's budget was so low he couldn't afford writers; another example of limits forcing creativity that we don't really have any more). And I'll give an honorable mention to The Godfather, Part 2. I actually prefer part 1 for narrative reasons, but both are excellent.
Upon some further thought, I'll toss out Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It's very different in tone from Raiders of the Lost Ark (pretty much everyone agrees that Temple of Doom wasn't as good, and I'm with them), but on the whole, I like it better, even if I can't really say it was a better movie (since aside from the submarine-clinging thing, I'm hard-pressed to find an actual flaw with Raiders). And it gave us Harrison Ford and Sean Connery together on screen, because God loves us and wants us to be happy (Benjamin Franklin would've mentioned it, alongside beer, if he'd been writing two hundred years later).
*: bit of a digression here, but have you noticed how Westerns have changed over the decades? Maybe it's just what I've been seeing (it's not like I've made a thorough study of the subject), but the gung-ho serial adventure style of the 40's and 50's gave way to darker, gritter stuff in the 60's and 70's (well before the rest of modern culture followed that trajectory), then mostly faded away, aside from bits and pieces popping up in later years, that were again more pulpy, but still in a darker way, like Hell or High Water?
Star Trek IV -- The Voyage Home. It had favorite actors. A great script. A tight plot and narrative. Some moments of drama. Some wonderful comedy. Connection with the themes and stories from throughout the Star Trek story/universe. It deftly combined their 23rd century "present" and what was our 20th century present. Tackled a global problem without self righteously beating us over the head. Happy ending.
Opinion
26Opinion
"Aliens"
and
"The Dark Knight" is a close 2nd, but I saw it before I saw "Batman Begins", so, even though it's a sequel, it was my first experience with that franchise.
I saw "Alien" in 1979 and "Aliens" in 1986, both in theaters when they were released.
Here are the opening titles to "Alien".
The "Alien" opening title sequence is creepy to get you scared of what's coming, but the "Aliens" opening title sequence is designed to scare you in a different way: to let you know an imminent threat is coming.
Titanic II all the way be because it make me want to throw up & it was a movie that should of never been made.
u A sequel can be a third and fourth. A third film is the sequel to the second film.
As such, my favorite sequels are Star Trek: First Contact, Top Gun: Maverick, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and The Dark Knight Rises.
The Mummy Returns. Few sequels manage to capture all the magic of the first movie, and then add to it, but this one does.
Also, 2 Fast 2 Furious, because I'm able to enjoy it for what it was. It was never supposed to be a cinematic masterpiece. But it captured the love of cars, racing, organized crime, and humor very well for me. It's still a great movie to watch when you're in a mood to have a good time. :D
"Fast & Furious". It won't be the same without Paul Walker tho. I loved it back when it was all about cars, racing and heists. Another sequel I love is "Undisputed".
Matrix Reloaded was a pretty competent sequel. It have some cool special effects and added some more philosophical wrinkles. That and The Animatrix made me really optimistic for the future of the Matrix series.
So before I give my opinion, may I get clarification as to what should qualify?
Would Debbie Does Dallas 2, which answered all the questions from the original Debbie Does Dallas, qualify as a sequel? However Debbie Does Dallas: The Next Generation, the eagerly awaited continuation of the storyline, would not qualify as a sequel?
Terminator 2 - Judgement day, really great movie directed by James Cameron.
Young Guns II was great.
Top Gun: Maverick was also great
I would like to say Return of the King, but I consider that trilogy to be one really long movie. So instead, I will say:
Terminator 2
Aliens
Lethal Weapon 2
G. I. Joe 2: Retaliation
2 Fast 2 Furious
The best movies that have the best sequels are the Back To The Future trilogy, The Cars trilogy and Pitch Perfect 2 is better than the first.
Empire Strikes Back is the best of the 9 movies by a long shot. Godfather II and Aliens get honorable mentions.
Terminator 2. It was the best of the whole series.
Weekend at Bernie's 2
Die Hard Franchise
Beverly Hills Cop 1,2,3
and Top Gun / Top Gun Maverick
Red 2 Both "Red" movies are fabulous, but the 2nd is even better than the first.
I agree with your choice. My other favorite sequel is "Top Gun, Maverick" They took the original to a new level.
Matrix reloaded
high school musical 2
