5 Movie Franchises Where Second Movie Is The Best
Hollywood loves makes sequels. And sequels are tough to make since they need to live up to the standards of the original film. We all know how rare it is for the sequel to outdo the original film and it does happen. Usually, it happens that the first film had a tough time laying down a proper foundation or exploring the characters, and a sequel usually does that and gives the audiences the depth which they were expecting for.
Sequels can also challenge many things from the first film and there are many film franchises where the sequel was much better than the original film.
1. Spider-Man 2 – 2004
Out of the three cinematic versions of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker is hands down the best, and will forever be. From the trilogy of Spider-Man films, Spider-Man 2 is the best film. It has everything that you could expect a superhero movie to offer, the film is just not an action movie but it also has quite the “drama”. Honestly, if superhero films have followed this kind of approach, we would have many great films in the genre.
The film follows a dissatisfied Peter Parker who has lost his job, Mary Jane, and his powers. And amid all this chaos, he has to fight Doc Ock who is now a threat to New York City.
2. The Dark Knight – 2008
It was in 2005 when Christopher Nolan revived Batman with a jaw-dropping reboot; Batman Begins. But with all due respect, Batman Begins is his most conventional film but doesn’t really reach the same depth as the sequel, The Dark Knight. And come on, it is a landmark film and brought back the character’s prestige as we had never seen before, and all we enjoyed was the best villain of the 21st century in Heath Ledger’s Joker.
The Dark Knight felt it was a definitive statement on the hero. The film follows Gordon Dent and Batman beginning to assault on Gotham’s organized crime and then the mob hires the Joker to kill Batman and bring the city to its knees. There is a reason this trilogy is known as the Dark Knight trilogy. The third film, however, messed it up.
3. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes – 2014
The Planet Of The Apes is one such trilogy where with every installment (Chapter), the movie and story get stronger. The second installment, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, had a director switch over from Rupert Wyatt to Matt Reeves, and audiences saw a quality upgrade instantly.
The movie follows Caesar, a chimpanzee, and leader of the evolved apes who allows a human family into his territory. But because of a vindictive bonobo, there are misunderstandings arise between the two species which leads to war. The trilogy’s last film, War For The Planet of The Ages (also directed by Reeves) came closer to the second film but didn’t match the second film.
4. The Empire Strikes Back – 1980
There can be no better example of an “even better sequel” than The Empire Strikes Back. In a bold move, the Empire movie set out to be as different from Star Wars as much as possible. Things get much darker, the good guys don’t win and the revelations in the first Star Wars are turned on their heads.
The movie follows Dark Vader being adamant turning Luke to the dark side. Master Yoda on the other hand is training Luke to become a Jedi. Every Star Wars film later tried to recapture the magic of Empire but ended up with mixed results.
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – 2014
Captain America was a subset of the larger MCU, but the best film with Cap is the sequel to his debut film; Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It is also considered the best film the Russo brothers have made.
Steve Rogers is finally adapting to the “new” world and joins Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson in his mission to uncover the secret behind a mysterious assassin.
