Which sequel was better than the original

Has any movie leveraged the emotional attachment of its audience to the franchise more effectively than Toy Story 3? Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were great, thoughtful movies about growing up. Fifteen years after the original film debuted, Andy is headed to college—just like all the boys and girls in the audience who grew up with Woody and Buzz.

Talk about a guilt trip for any kid who abandoned their own toys in an attic before heading off to school. Gotham feels legitimately grimy and chaotic, a perfect setting for a laughing lunatic. How could they possibly stay still in the face of so much action? Every Bourne movie is designed to get your heart pounding. Paul Greengrass, in his second outing in the Bourne series he also directed The Bourne Supremacy , churns out a breathtaking two-hour chase scene.

But in both the book and film series, Prisoner of Azkaban represents a tectonic shift in tone and ambition. Alfonso Cuaron took over the franchise from Christopher Columbus to spin a darker tale for adults. Cuaron repeatedly returns to imagery of ticking clocks and the Whomping Willow growing and shedding its leaves to hint at the use of the Time Turner in the climax of the story.

The X-Men universe has a large cast of characters, and the first movie in the franchise set up their complex relationships and even more complex motivations. It later turns out the Nightcrawler was brainwashed. The scene sets the pace for the movie and presages the conflict: how the mutants must band together to fight xenophobia—instead of each other.

The Two Towers broadens the scope of writer J. There are more battles, yes, but there is more emotional depth too. The much-maligned character might have been painted as a pathetic monster in the hands of a less filmmaker, but Jackson gives Gollum the space to shine in The Two Towers, and he ends up becoming the beating heart of the trilogy.

The first Terminator was a good, even groundbreaking film—both in terms of its original storytelling and the special effects. But Terminator 2 stands out as one of the best action movies of all time, with director James Cameron improving every aspect of this franchise in his second outing.

The once-cowering Sarah Connor evolves into a full-blown badass in the sequel. He set a new high bar with the special effects. Even as the Lecter stories have proliferated , Silence of the Lambs remains the high watermark for the series and the genre as a whole.

But when the glasses are paired with a meek, aww-shucks attitude, his alibis suddenly seem more believable. It's proof that our favorite stories can take new, inspired directions—and surprise us along the way. From the best of the Harry Potter franchise to one of the greatest Batman movies out there, we've rounded up 20 movie sequels that are better than the originals. And for some more throwbacks, here are 40 Movies Turning 40 This Year.

Peter Jackson 's epic trilogy adaptation of the renowned J. Tolkien novels is pretty much universally beloved, but he left it all on the floor with the last installment, 's The Return of the King. The emotional climax of the fellowship's gambit to save Middle Earth even earns every one of its multiple endings seriously, just when you think it's over, there's another scene.

A technical and storytelling masterpiece, the sequel won every single Academy Award for which it was nominated, putting it in a three-way tie with Ben-Hur and Titanic , both of which also have In , filmmaker George Miller returned to his Mad Max franchise after three decades with this sort-of reboot, which puts Charlize Theron 's Imperator Furiosa at the center of the narrative. The setting is still an apocalyptic wasteland, but this new chapter has a fresh and feminist bent, with Furiosa and Tom Hardy 's Max fleeing from a power-hungry leading hoarding water, workers, and wives.

Fury Road holds a 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics placing it among the best action movies of the decade. For those of us raised on the original series, there is simply no such thing as a bad Harry Potter movie.

It marked not only a shift in the franchise's tone toward serious storytelling, but also a graduation of sorts for its young stars, who rose to the challenge of a more adult style. Its initial reception was underwhelming—likely because of the high expectations people placed on it after the original and the choppiness of its structure.

But now, it's regarded as Al Pacino 's defining performance and one of the best American movies of all time. It was also the very first sequel to win an Academy Award for Best Picture—not to mention five other Oscars! More than a decade after the original Terminator came out, Arnold Schwarzenegger made good on his "I'll be back" promise. His character returned to save humanity from a future dominated by robot overlords in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. With an unparalleled blockbuster budget and under James Cameron 's direction, we got to watch the Terminator battle a shapeshifting robot villain for the future of mankind—with state-of-the-art for the time CGI to make it feel believable.

The first Magic Mike , loosely based on star Channing Tatum 's own experience working as a "male entertainer," does pretty much what it says on the tin.

Mike performs, trains a "new kid," falls in love, and eventually leaves the biz for his first love: making furniture really. The sequel dispenses with the unnecessary plot, turning the whole affair into a road trip movie about Mike reuniting with his buddies to drive cross-country and show out at a stripper convention. On top of the inspired choreography, Magic Mike XXL delivers in legitimately moving male friendships, genre-appropriate silliness, and a sweet message about women deserving the escape they provide.

Several of the Batman sequels are better than the original. It answered a lot of the questions I had about the first movie, and added onto the original with more depth, understanding, and emotion. They expanded on the characters from the first movie, gave Wednesday a bigger storyline, and added Joan Cusack as Debbie, who totally steals the show!

It is my favorite movie to watch during spooky season for sure! I loved the way Doctor Sleep changed the context of The Shining , and, in my opinion, improved on the themes and added depth to the story. Epic battle on Hoth, the introductions of Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando Calrissian, the cliffhanger ending, and — above all else — the huge Darth Vader twist. Perfection from start to finish. Walt Disney Co. Warner Bros. Lucasfilm Ltd. Teilen Facebook. If the first film was an Amblin horror movie, Gremlins 2 is a straight up satire taking aim at corporatism.

In a stroke of genius, all the action takes place at a cutting edge Manhattan business building, offering a wide array of locations and settings for gremlin mayhem. Dante takes aim at any and everything, always keeping things entertaining along the way, and while the sequel lacks the terror of the first film, it more than makes up for it in dark comedy. As a war-time superhero story, it worked. Ahead of its release, The Hunger Games was looked upon skeptically by folks who thought it was simply another attempt to cash in on the female-driven Twilight love.

And while the first film is solid, director Francis Lawrence doubled down with the sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to make one of the most supremely entertaining pieces of blockbuster cinema of the last decade.

Anchored by a tremendous lead performance from Jennifer Lawrence , with scene-stealing work from Stanley Tucci , Jena Malone , and Sam Claflin , this film moves but also has something to say. One of the greatest sequels ever made, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is further proof that James Cameron is kind of unbeatable.

And what makes Skyfall special is that you could really only make it with James Bond; no other film character has that level of longevity or familiarity. Matt Damon once recounted a story in which he asked director Martin Scorsese which was better, Godfather 1 or Godfather 2.

The dual time periods is executed perfectly, giving us two incredible protagonists for the price of one. It is, quite possibly, the best sequel ever made. In fact, early drafts of The Empire Strikes Back are wildly different from the finished version of the film, which was given a significant assist by screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan.