Is there a better sequel than Terminator 2?

94 comments

Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Blade Runner 2049 would be my picks.

Aliens
- While I do not think that Aliens was a bad film at all, I kinda wish it wasn't a sequel to Alien. It's a completely different film, far more action-oriented
  Then again my view is probably significantly coloured by the fact that I enjoyed the first one a lot more
  
  That's one of the reasons it's so good. Alien is perfect space horror. Aliens doesn't try to match it but tells a different kind of story with some of the same characters.
  
  I think that's the fun of the movie. It's not trying to recapture the suspense or tension of the original. It's a natural evolution in a world of monsters. In the first movie, the crew are just people trying to survive on a ship in space with a terrifying novel threat. Any other monster movie sequel, they find new victims and run it back, but the characters in Aliens react as one should to a new threat. Gear up and go at them with soldiers and weapons.
  It's still terrifying because you and they know what lurks in the wet shadows. They are prepared to fight it which is why it's an action movie, but it's still very much an Alien sequel.
  
  The same could be said about terminator 2
  
  Which (IMHO) is the reason it works so well. The first movie can't be topped because we've seen the Alien and the tension can't be repeated (see: the later movies which try this same formula and fail). Aliens takes that and ramps it up in a different way to make the desperation of escaping with firepower on your side still nerve wracking!
  The 3rd installment also takes a new twist and different approach but doesn't succeed as well (I still found it enjoyable, and rewatch from time to time.
  Everything since then has been a cash grab of hot garbage.
  
  You don't have the fear of the Alien and the tension from Ripley without the first movie.. in my view, but yes it is a totally didn't feeling movie otherwise.
- The correct answer. The perfect duology.
- Game over, man
- I was about to say no, but you convinced me. They're both phenomenal.

The Empire Strikes Back

The Dark Knight

Empire Strikes Back.
And if you're into "it's so bad it wraps around and becomes hilarious" films, Troll 2.

Mad max 1 was a revenge cop story nobody watched outside Australia
Mad max 2 was the apocalyptic Mad max everybody know

Shrek 2
- You know what, thread closed. What a perfect movie.

Godfather 2

Wrath of Khan

Bending the rules a bit here. I know it is not a true sequel, but it's part of a trilogy. Hot Fuzz is better than Shaun of the Dead. Also, except for the second film, I think the Mission Impossible series just gets better with every entry.
- Why do you think Hot Fuzz is better? Not arguing, I love both movies! I had never thought to compare the two
  Shaun of the Dead is on my "perfect films" list but I'm sure it's at least in part because of its context in my life.
  
  I just think the joke ratio is a lot higher and they're all excellent jokes as well. Plus there's tons of little moments which you can pick up on multiple viewings.
  Shaun is still a great film, I just think they got better with Fuzz.
  
  Not OP. I think that Fuzz just got more budget and looks less campy than Shaun due to that and stylistic choices, but I love both equally and I don't think filming Shaun like Fuzz would make it better. HF packs action and SotD shines in it's long shots when we see parts of it's storytelling in the background, they both have different vibes and the way they are filmed and edited serves them well.
  Ed Wright and their shared cast are so talented they could've made anything a cult classic, even an omegaverse\Twilight crossover where Simon Pegg, haphazardly tanned to look like Jacob (pre-RenEsme lock-in), struggles to find a match with a vampire omega and joins the Edward\Bella story only to steal Edward; Nick Frost serves as his werewolf bro giving the least useful advices Simon blindly follows; also it's suburbs of London and the soundtrack is full of hair metal for some reason.
  Shit, now this idea would haunt me for years.
- I know it is not a true sequel, but it’s part of a trilogy. Hot Fuzz is better than Shaun of the Dead.
  I think we'll have to agree to disagree here.
- For a while, Mission Impossible kept getting better, but Dead Reckoning was absolute dog water and it killed all my interest in the franchise forever.
- I liked MI2 better than MI:III
  it's been a while since I've seen them, so I can't really remember why.
  
  About two years ago, I watched all six, as there were then, over the course of a couple of weeks. For me, the second film stands out as being the weakest.
  I think I need to watch Dead Reckoning (formerly part 1) again as I was slightly disappointed seeing that.

People who grew up with the original will probably flay me for this.
Bladerunner 2049 was a better movie than Bladerunner. It took everything that was great about the original and improved upon it.
- The original is a masterpiece. That said, I loved the sequel and have rewatched it multiple times. However, I don’t know if it is because I love the film or just anything Ryan Gosling is in 🤤😅
  
  Drive?
  
  The first movie I saw with Gosling was Lars and the Real Girl. I didn't get his appeal then, but I do now. I should watch that movie again because as weird as that movie is, I think his performance is stellar.
- Old school fan here, from the 80s. I'm just dandy with this take.
  Probably never been more nervous about a sequel to a beloved movie. I was praying and praying, please god don't let them fuck this up. But how could they possibly follow one of the top 5 most popular science fiction movies of all time?
  Well, Villeneuve knocked it out the fucking park. I was sold from the first scene with Bautista. Sold. Enough call backs and fan service to put us in the world without being obvious and ingratiating. Damned fine line to walk.
  Entire cast rocked out, too many props to write down. Yes, Leto was a little over-the-top, but he was supposed to be. Richest man in the world, totally disconnected from his humanity, and humans. And they got Olmos and Ford back! Perfect.
  Got to see it with my ex-wife, no one else in the theater. What a grand experience. If it ever comes back to the big screen, I'll not skip it.
  
  Do you frequently go to the movies with your ex-wives?
  
  I had never seen the original until right before watching the sequel. While I really appreciate the original, I had no real expectations from the sequel, but it still blew me away.
  I honestly can't say I've ever seen a better sequel. Especially not so long after the first one came out. It's pretty amazing.
- It is great.
- I guess I will need to rewatch 2049 again (I've only seen it once, in the cinema at release). I've watched the original quite a few times since though and I'm increasingly of the opinion that it's quite overrated and gets heavily carried by the visuals and the soundtrack, so I could see a case being made for the sequel being better.
  
  The story / writing is pretty bold too. It's nothing new by modern standards, but it was probably relatively novel in 1982.
  
  The visuals and soundtrack are a major part of any movie. And yeah, the original rocks out on both.

Evil Dead 2, though it’s arguably a re-telling vs a sequel.

Paddington 2

I wouldn't say they are better, per se, but these are some sequels I think are on the same level, when compared to the original film in the series:
Austin Powers 2
Die Hard With a Vengeance
Operation Condor 2
Back to the Future Part 3
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
- This one right here, officer.

I don’t think there’s a better movie sequel than Terminator 2. It’s the reason why it’s still an ongoing franchise today.
Would people still watch the first Terminator if it wasn’t for Terminator 2?
- I like Terminator 1 a lot more than T2.
  It's much more grim-dark with horror elements. I would even go as far as saying there are subtle cyberpunk motifs in T1. There is also a modicum of character development. Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese) does a great job.
  T2 feels more like a teen's summer action movie in comparison. It lacks that edge and is overly sentimental.
  I will note that growing up I liked T2 a lot more than T1.
- The first one is still a great movie. It's biggest hindrance is the low quality stop frame animation when Arnold is just the skeleton. I wish they would re-release it with the fan made improvements to the stop motion that have been done.

The Two Towers?

Short Circuit 2
- Number 5 is ALIVE!
  
  Los locos kick your ass.
  Los locos kick your face.
  Los locos kick your balls INTO OUTER SPACE!

I won't go so far as to say this is better than Terminator 2, but Gremlins 2 is such a great sequel. Some people are turned off by the zaniness, but I love how it's basically a parody of unnecessary sequels and that they just swung for the fences with it.

Godfather II. The first is honestly kind of hokey and people are really stupid when they are trying to be clever. GF II has higher levels of tension and the execution of everything is smarter. And Robert DeNiro just slays playing young Marlon Brando.

Empire Strikes Back
Star Trek II
- Nailed it! I'd add Aliens, not as a better movie, but as a worthy sequel.

I saw another comment that spurred my thinking. There are (how many?) sequels in the Terminator series that have only been increasingly worse all because Terminator 2 was so good.
The same goes for Star Wars. Empire Strikes Back is a damn good movie by any measure. I’m confident none of the Star Wars movies since have managed to even come close, and I’d even say the only ones really worth watching are the first, the second, and the immediate prequel (Rogue One)

Hate on Michael Bay and his Transformers movies all you want, but there is only one movie with more robots that turn into more things than cars, more explosions, more ridiculous destruction, more awesomeness, more movie than 2007’s Transformers, and that movie is Transformers: Age of Extinction.
A giant robot that turns into a semi-truck painted with red flames, wielding a sword while riding on the back of another giant robot that turns into a flame-breathing T-rex robot. It’s unparalleled in the stupid dumb action movie genre.

I qualify a good sequel as a movie that can be enjoyed without having to watch the previous. Not that the previous isn't important, just not required.
Terminator 2 clearly fits into this category. As do a lot of sequels. Here is my short list:
Terminator 2
The Dark Knight
Finding Dory
Toy Story 2
Spider Man 2 (Toby Maguire)
Do Casino Royal or Rogue One count for anyone?

I was going to say terminator3 but then I realized you were serious.
I'll have to say Escape from L.A. It is not usually mentioned and I think it is better than the first part
- ? Interesting take. Haven't watched either for a decade or two. You got me thinking...

I can't think of any. It's hard to be a better sequel than the greatest action movie of all time is.
If I had to pick, I would say The Empire Strikes Back.

Hot shots! Part deux.

Critters 2

cars 2. Nothing better than a spy movie where the protagonist is literally a car

Dune, Part Two
- Why better? I'd put them on exactly the same level, damned near perfect.
  
  The first film was a lot of set-up that payed off in part 2.

Dead snow 2. First one was so bad it was good, the second one was actually incredibly.

I'm guessing you don't mean "film better than T2 that also happens to be a sequel," but rather "sequel that is better than the first film by an amount greater than T2 was over T1."
I haven't seen T1 in a while, so I'm not sure how it would hold up. I want to say it was like a 7/10? And T2 a 10/10?
So, is there a sequel that is more than 3/10 better than the first film?
Inside Out and Bladerunner are both better than 7/10 in the first place, thus their sequels cannot be the answer regardless of how you would rate them.
I've never seen the Twilight films, but wasn't the 2nd one said to be a huge upgrade over the 1st?
Same with Shrek. I never made it through the 1st one, it was so bad.

Toy Story 2? My other answer would be Godfather part II, but it's been so long since I saw it that I don't know if I agree with that commonly-held opinion.

I really wish they had made a 23 jump street. 22 jumpstreet wasn't as big of a jump in awesomeness like T1 vs T2, but it was still an even funner movie than 21 and I'm sad they didn't milk the franchise for one more film. Especially with all those baller ideas they had at the end of 22. Lol