Better the second time
Six franchises whose second film is the one people mean, and what changed between the two.
6 picks
Sequels are supposed to be worse. These are the cases where the first film worked out what the thing was and the second one did it properly, which is a different achievement from simply being good.
Worth knowing before you start, because in every case here the first film is the one you have to get through rather than the one you came for.
- 01
Terminator
8 titles · Sci-Fi & FantasyA tight low-budget horror film, then a sequel with seven years of technology and a completely inverted premise. The usual example, and still the best one.
Open - 02
Alien
10 titles · HorrorScott made a haunted house. Cameron made a war film in the same corridors. Neither is better than the other so much as they are different genres.
Open - 03
Mad Max
5 titles · Action & ThrillerThe 1979 film is a cheap revenge picture. The Road Warrior invented the look every post-apocalypse has borrowed since.
Open - 04
The Godfather
5 titles · Action & ThrillerThe only sequel with a serious claim to being the better Best Picture winner, and it wins the argument about half the time.
Open - 05
Spider-Man
18 titles · SuperheroSpider-Man 2 is the one people mean. It is also the film that set the shape of the superhero sequel for twenty years.
Open - 06
Bourne
5 titles · Action & ThrillerIdentity is a good thriller. Supremacy is where the handheld camera and the editing became a style other films spent a decade copying.
Open