There have been many movies that spawned sequels over the years. Much too often, though, sequels lack all the elements that made the original a great movie. Here are five sequels that were truly worth the money to see.
Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back
The reason why I like this movie so much is because the bad guys actually win. This is the best Star Wars movie of the six by far. Darth Vader, one of my favorite movie villains, is relentless in his pursuit of the rebel force and succeeds in actually outsmarting them. The action is consistent throughout the movie with each character being developed further from Episode IV. We meet Yoda for the first time and begin to learn, along with Luke Skywalker, the true nature of The Force. And, of course, we find that all the pre-release rumors are true that Darth Vader is Luke's father. This movie also creates tremendous anticipation for the next Episode simply because we can't fathom Darth Vader and the Evil Empire succeeding in destroying the Rebellion.
Best line: "No, Luke. I am your father" - Darth Vader
The Godfather II
Who can argue with the Academy? It followed the original by being nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won Best Picture for 1974. Michael Corleone shows that being the head of The Family has its price. He is ruthless in his pursuit to protect his family, even if it means sacrificing those closest to him. We also get to see a young Vito Corleone rise to power in somewhat of a prequel to the first movie. With both stories being told, we are given the opportunity to see the difference in the Godfather roles the father and son play. In the end, Michael gets what he wants. But was it worth the price of destroying his self conscience with his greed for power?
Best line: "I know it was you, Fredo! You broke my heart." - Michael Corleone
Aliens
Horror movies, even the good ones, are usually never followed up with good sequels. Here is an exception. In the sequel to Alien, we find Ripley awoken from a 57 year hypersleep. When called to investigate LV-426, the planet where the first Alien creature was seen, she encounters a colony of them that have wiped out the human inhabitants. This time, though, she has an elite team of Space Marines to help her do battle. While not as suspenseful or frightening as Alien, there is much more action and a lot more Aliens to fight. Unfortunately, the series continued after this movie.
Best line: "Game over, man. Game over." - Private Hudson
Spiderman II
Spiderman was the best Superhero movie since 1989's Batman. But unlike Batman, our webslinger followed it up with another great movie. In this adventure, Spiderman must battle the idea of giving up his superhero life to save his failing life as a normal human being. But when a new villain emerges, Doc Ock and his mechanical tenticles, Peter Parker must once again swing into action and save the city. It is refreshing to see that this superhero is really just a normal guy with everyday problems like you and me. The movie balances this subplot with great superhero action better than any other Superhero movie, period. And in the end, Spiderman can still find a way to live his life and be Spiderman.
Best line: "You do too much. College, a job, all this time with me. You're not Superman, you know." - Aunt May
Star Trek - The Wrath of Kahn
Is this a sequel to the Star Trek movie or to the Star Trek TV episode "Space Seed"? Either way, the movie hit a homerun. Following the first movie wasn't very hard. It was a terrible attempt to simply lengthen a TV episode plot. But with The Wrath of Kahn, we have one of the series' best villains out for his long awaited revenge on Captain (now Admiral) Kirk. Several sub-plots develop along the way as well with the victor taking a prized scientific invention known as "Project Genesis". The best part about the movie is watching both Kirk and Kahn involved in a battle of wits. The action sequences are very good, but even better is watching how James Kirk plots and plans his moves and counter-moves to thwart Kahn. We also see a surprise ending with the death of a great friend. (Ok? I didn't completely spoil it. You all know who I am talking about, though.) Overall, The Wrath of Kahn is the best movie of the entire series, including The Next Generation contributions.
Best line: “I don't like to lose.” - Admiral James Kirk
Godfather 2 - Possibly my favorite movie of all time. Poor Fredo caught the big fish, alright.
Aliens - I disagree here. This actually did disappoint me. I found it too cartoonish. Ripley suddenly became Rambo. It was no match for the quiet horror of the first one.
Spiderman 2 - I still prefer the first one, but this was very enjoyable.
Star Trek: Khan - Great movie. Everything that that horrible first Star Trek movie wasn't. It was fun, epic, human, and had all the best qualities of the TV series.