I decided to change mine, removing The Exorcist III, in order to keep this as a list of first sequels, released immediately after the first film. So, in no particular order:
- The Godfather Part II – one of the best movies ever made
- Aliens – very different to Ridley Scott's classic sci-fi horror, but a kick ass action movie
- Batman Returns – darker and busier than Tim Burton's first Batman movie, and better for it
- The Bride of Frankenstein – I prefer it to the first Frankenstein film
- A Shot in the Dark – the best of the Pink Panther films
- The Testament of Dr. Mabuse – an incredibly prescient piece of silent cinema and easily the equal of Dr. Mabuse the Gambler which is a brilliant study in villainy and a key influence on the writers of…
- The Dark Knight – I was unsure about the recasting of Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes deciding to do Mad Money instead of this is one of the biggest career mistakes of all time) but it works very well because Maggie Gyllenhaal is a more accomplished actor, Heath Ledger is immense, and it feels more 'epic' than its predecessor
- X2 – probably the best of the X-Men movies with great storytelling, direction, and acting by the ensemble cast
- Toy Story 2 – I don't know how I missed this from my top 10 or 'just missing out' section before, but this is one of the few sequels which I would forcefully contend are better than the film they followed.
- Before Sunset – I love Richard Linklater's 'Before' trilogy, and this is better than Before Sunrise, as the characters are established, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are more assured as actors and, as they wrote some of the dialogue themselves, screenwriters. They also have an immediate rapport, leading to more emotional engagement from the viewer.
Just missing out:
Scream 2 – I really like the self-referential 'meta-' nature of this, plus the references to other sequels
Gremlins 2 – I love the anarchy, pervasive sense of mischief and black humour
Wayne's World 2 – Waynestock and Kim Basinger. I need to say more?
Evil Dead 2 – I don't know if this is a sequel or remake or a mixture of both, but it's one of the best horror comedies ever made
The Matrix Reloaded – a lot of people hate this; I like the philosophical concepts and expansion of the universe. However, there is some very dated CGI
28 Weeks Later – it may not have the suspense, visceral horror, or groundbreaking camerawork of Danny Boyle's movie, but it does have some terrific acting, thoughtful scripts, and terrifying set pieces
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior – possibly more exciting and undoubtedly more action packed than the first film in the Mad Max series, I sometimes prefer this to the original, and sometimes prefer the other one, constantly flip-flopping between the two
Spider-Man 2 – Sam Raimi again, this time more at ease with the cast and camerawork needed to put the audience in the place of hero when he is swinging through the streets of New York. It also had more storytelling freedom because the origin part was out of the way and, in Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, a better villain than The Green Goblin.