The Top 10 Sequels

Okay, now a lot of the time when a great movie is released, a sequel comes out that completely trashes it. There are, however, occasionally sequels that can hold their own against there predecessors, sometimes even outshining them. Which is why I am counting down the top ten best sequels of all time. Also, a little note: The Hangover Part ii is NOT on here.


10. Star Wars Return of the Jedi
We all know the story with this one: Luke, Han, and Leia reach the climax in their duel with the empire. Luke, knowing Darth Vader is his father, must face him, and try to save him. Epic space battles, light saber duels, Ewoks, and Leia in a bikini are also in the mix. Some people bagged on this one purely because it undid a lot of the cliff hangers and events of the Empire Strikes Back, and to them I say: that's the whole point of having a third movie. The conflict is supposed to resolved, and frankly, if it wasn't, you people would probably even more upset. Now despite the fact that this movie had been out for over 20 years when i first saw it and i therefore already knew the ending, i was still happy with the action scenes and the final sequence when Anakin finally redeems himself to save Luke. The bottom line: I was entertained. 

9. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The fourth installment in the hit Potter franchise, we have Harry involuntarily entered in a magical competition at Hogwarts against wizards from other two other schools and one from his own. Now before any of you say anything, most people who like the harry potter movies will agree that while the first movie was good, it wasn't better than any of the sequels that followed, with the exception of the last two, both of which sucked. But, this is a sequel, and this my list, so i can do what i want. The stakes are raised, lives are in the balance, and there's a tiny a tiny bit of angst. With the exception of maybe Half Blood Prince, this was the darkest movie in the franchise, with plenty of great action, an engaging and somewhat mysterious storyline, great sets, and a minor role played by David Tennant (OH MY GOD IT'S THE DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Plus, Edward Cullen gets slayed!!!!!! Yeah, you all knew that joke was coming. Moving on

8. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
All the hail the return of the king. Even nerd haters have to respect this movie, mostly because it won eleven oscars, including best picture and best director. The final chapter in the trilogy saw Frodo and Sam nearing the end of there journey to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring, but Frodo begins to be tempted by it's evils. Meanwhile, Gandalf, Pippin, Mary, Aragorn, and company continue there valiant series of epic battles to fight the orcs. There's other stuff in the mix by way of character development, plus some great backgrounds and special effects (they filmed in NEW ZEALAND DANGFLABBIT!) As with Two Towers, the Gollum stole the show. This was just plain awesome, pretty much totally outdoing the other two by being the most action packed and the most plotty (it's a word...now.) I would have this higher up, but it's just SOOO DAMNNN LONGGGG. But it was still incredibly awesome. 

7. Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back
No list of sequels is quite complete without it. The second entry in the original star wars trilogy saw Luke go to the Degabar System (don't know if i spelled that right) to receive training from Yoda. Meanwhile, Han, Leila, Chewie, and C3PO go on the lamb and end up hiding out in Cloud City with Han's "friend" Lando Calrissian. Odds are, you know how the majority of the story goes. The darkest entry in the franchise, this had more action than the first, ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, and, of course, has quite possibly the most famous movie quote of all time. Big battle scenes, light sabers, stuffs gets tossed around with the force, the whole nine yards. Personally, A New Hope will always be my favorite Star Wars movie, but I guess this came close and just missed. 

6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
And I hereby give you all permission to hate me. This didn't go over too well with a lot of other Indy fans, for some reason. Even Steven Spielberg admits this didn't turn out as he'd hoped. Indy, along with his pint sized partner Short Round, who is possibly the greatest secondary character of all time, and a lovely singer they picked up by accident end up in a small Indian village, plagued by dark forces after there sacred stone was taken, along with all of there children. So, the trio follow a trail to a mysterious temple, where they find slave powered mining operation for the other sacred stones headed by a tyrannical monster out for world domination. I really don't get why so many people bag on this movie, I personally was highly entertained between the awesome action, great dialogue, and greater acting. As for  how dark and gruesome this was, which you may have heard about, let me put it this way: this was the main movie responsible for the creation of the PG-13 rating. Don't let that put you off, though, this was pretty darn awesome.

5. X2: X Men United
The best entry in the original x men trilogy, we have Wolverine returning to Xavier's school after failing to learn anything on his journey. This is right after a mutant attempts to kill the president. Professor X and Cyclops pay a visit to Magneto, which leads to them being captured by a Colonel William Stryker, who despises mutants and is experimenting on them. Jean and Storm track down the mutant who tried to kill the president, but we find out he wasn't in control of what he was doing. And after the military attacks the school, Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro go on the lamb. Eventually, they all encounter an escaped Magneto and Mystique, and they must team up to save the Professor and stop Stryker from enacting is evil plan. By far the best plot and best action of the trilogy, good acting for great characters, and, of course, the best use of the hysterical metaphor of "mutants as gay people," in some of the best comic relief lines i've ever heard. This was just good entertainment.

4. The World Is Not Enough
What can I actually say here beyond "this is a James Bond movie. It is my favorite one. Pierce Brosnan is my Bond." Quite frankly not all that much. It's a bond movie, if you've seen one you've seen them all, but I found this one most entertaining. Go figure. Some of you may hate me for saying that, but once again, my list.

3. Mission: Impossible III
There's a reason this is my favorite mission impossible movie, and it's called JJ Abrams wrote and directed it. After the long ago success of the first two films, the Bad Robot team that brought us Lost, Alias, and Fringe picked up the third film, bringing their unique brand of magic to the table. IMF agent Ethan Hunt has retired from field work and has begun training new agents. Why? He doesn't want to put his girlfriend, later fiancee, and then wife, in danger. But, he gets roped into one last mission to save the life of his favorite student from soulless meglomaniac Owen Davian, who's after something called the Rabbit's Foot. After Ethan and company bring Davian in, he escapes and captures Ethan's wife. Ethan becomes a fugitive and has to rescue her, and, naturally, to do so, a series of intense and almost totally impossible stunts most be performed. I like this Mission best because it has the best overall story to it along with kick-ass stunts and action only Mission Impossible can deliver. Overall, just watch this.

2. The Dark Knight
Yeah, you all knew this was gonna be here. Batman Begins's superior sequel saw Bruce Wayne/Batman, as well as GPD's Jim Gordon and DA Harvey Dent launching an all out war against organized crime in Gotham City. The organized crime is now headed by none other than the Joker, the man who could make Hitler pee his pants. Heath Ledger deserved an oscar for his haunting role as the Joker, disturbing as it was, especially seeing how he died shortly after the film was made. Wayne is dealing with the consequences of his actions as people begin to die because of what he does as the batman, all the while trying to win over Rachel Dawes, who's dating Harvey Dent. I... don't know how to describe how awesome this movie is. It's very dark, very intense, very violent, great acting... even though it sometimes sounded like batman was gargling marbles when he talked, and an amazing overall story. Soooooo awesome.

Now, what could have possibly topped the dark knight for the title of the greatest sequel ever?
Let's find out! 
And number 1 is...........






1. Indian Jones and the Last Crusade
By far the best Indiana Jones movie, here we have Indy on quest for the holy grail. His father, Henry Jones Sr, has been looking for it God knows how long and has gone missing. So, Indiana goes on a search for the grail and his father in europe. He teams a gorgeous blond who was working with his dad. They deal with Nazis, a secret society, a few twists and turns, gunfights, fist fights, whip fights, motorcycle chases,  boat chases, horse chases, tank destruction, ghosts, camels, assorted villains, fire, questions involving religion, and so forth. The father-son dynamic between Jones Sr and Jr really highlights the film, plus a lot of great dialogue and comic relief scenes, and the magic touch that only Steven Spielberg can supply. I just can't describe how awesome this movie is. If you're not entertained by this movie, congratulate yourself: you're a moron. True excellence.