Two versions of this list appear in my collection Everyone Else is Wrong (And You Know It): Criticism/Humor/Non-Fiction. Click the link to purchase the hardcover or paperback edition along with some of my other published work.
Since we delved into my picks for the worst sequels of all time last week, it felt appropriate to revisit a list I've been working on since I began film criticism a long time ago. This edition differs from my two original lists (which were published together in my book as my taste had evolved from the first and second drafts). The following is an amalgamation of those original efforts. As far as my criteria, I concentrated on sequel films that were significantly better than the first efforts, with the possible exception of Aliens, which is a film equally on par with Ridley Scott's original Alien. You will notice typically highly-ranked sequels like The Godfather Part II are not below. This is based completely on my personal taste. I am in the minority of folks who believe The Godfather needed no sequel although there are things I admire about both parts 2 and 3. Also, I give explanations below which do not appear in my book to justify my choices.
Please like this post and, in the comments, include your top picks or films you think I criminally excluded. Happy reading!
10. Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011)
Brian DePalma's 1996 original mostly baffled audiences when it first appeared, Mission: Impossible 2 had some wonderful campy material, and the third film was admired mostly for its villain (played by the immortal Philip Seymour Hoffman). With this one, former animator Brad Bird crafted a mini-masterpiece of action/adventure and gave the series the sea legs it desperately needed to continue in (so far) three more films which continue to impress both discerning and non-discerning viewers.
9. Hot Shots!: Part Deux (1993)
Just because it's a silly comedy doesn't mean it doesn't warrant a place on this list. The 1991 original shows Jim Abrahams' (Airplane, The Naked Gun series) top-notch skill at parody, slapstick, and deadpan humor. But, the follow-up surpassed the original in the number of laughs. With homages to Apocalypse Now, the Rambo films, and strong performances by Charlie Sheen and Lloyd Bridges, this is the one I can't stop watching once I've started.
8. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
The first two films in the Harry Potter series were professionally made, certainly: the first was maybe a little turgid and the second overlong but full of charm. But, with the choice of director one of the finest filmmakers working, Alfonso Cuarón, the series took a major step forward in quality of storytelling and visual magic. Cuarón is equally adept at films for adults and children (see his A Little Princess) and he was the first director in the series to illicit fully watchable performances from its young cast. On a more basic level, the time-travel plot is one of the best rendered in the series making this one the first one we could call a classic.
7. Aliens (1986)
Say what you want about James Cameron's excesses, the man knows how to make a good popcorn movie. Taking over from Ridley Scott, he created an imminently quotable film with perhaps the strongest performance of Sigourney Weaver's career. It is rare for a sequel to match the original even if the strengths are very different. Scott's is more cerebral, but Cameron's is more moving and definitely more fun to watch.
6. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
1977's The Rescuers was born out of the malaise of the animation unit of Walt Disney Studios as it was searching for a direction after Walt's demise. The original has its fans, but I found it boring as both a child and adult. With beautiful computer and cel animation, The Rescuers Down Under beats it in every single way. This is one of many Disney films that does not get the credit it deserves. As the first animated sequel the company produced (and coming nearly fifteen years after the original), it is unique and, in my opinion, sublime entertainment.
5. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982)
There is a longstanding argument that the even-numbered films of the original Star Trek film series are the best and you'll find no argument from me. I admire Star Trek: The Motion Picture for its attempt at a kind of epic ambition, but The Wrath of Kahn and its stellar performance by Ricardo Montalban, remains the best Trek film of them all. Most might argue it should go higher on the list, but this list is an embarassment of riches as you'll see with the final four choices.
4. Flirting (1991)
Australia has given us many great actors, but few pay attention to the quality of Aussie directors and screenwriters. The strongest of both was John Duigan who, because of this film, had a brief moment directing Hollywood fare. Flirting is a sequel to 1987's The Year My Voice Broke, a tender look at adolescence and, apparently, autobiographical as representative of Duigan's childhood of desolate landscapes and loneliness. The sequel, though, is the best kept secret in the cinema of the 1990s. With arresting performances by Thandie Newtwon and Noah Taylor (and early performances by Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts), this tale of two youngsters (one from an all boys' school and one from an all girls' school) discovering love and lust in 1965 is a true masterwork. It manages to be evocative of adolescence, wryly funny, and somehow a distillation of the Australian experience.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Peter Jackson's original Tolkien trilogy serves as three of the best films of the 2000s, especially in their Extended Editions (which is the only way I watch them now). The Fellowship of the Ring may be a perfect movie, but The Two Towers never feels like its own film, but instead a piece of tape conjoining the first and last installments. While we can whine about the multiple endings in this one, they are well deserved after such an epic story. It keeps our attentions rapt from beginning to end.
2. Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
George Lucas cannot be said to be a great (or even) good director or screenwriter. His strengths are in his creative and visual imagination. He did the right thing by handing off the directing reigns to his former teacher Irvin Kershner who crafts the most perfect film of the original nine-part saga. Both darker and more entertaining than the first, it also overshadowed everything that came later (strictly from a filmmaking point of view).
1. The Dark Night (2008)
While Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is a gripping element, The Dark Knight remains the finest superhero made regardless. How Christopher Nolan does what he does, I have not yet been able to pin down. His films are intelligent, moving, packed with action (or visual daring), and exceptionally well written. While the other two films in this series have strengths and weaknesses, I've yet to find a weakness in this one. While comic book franchise films were already becoming predominant in the industry at that time, this is the one that made people sit up and realize they can be great art as well (in the right hands). Everything else, including everything film from the MCU, would be lucky to lick the boot of this Batman adventure.
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