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August 25, 2008
The Movie Blog’s Top 20 Sequels Of All Time
Last week a viewer sent in a question for us on “The Movie Blog: Uncut” show asking about sequels that were better than the originals (a very rare thing). That got me to thinking about what I consider to be the greatest sequels ever. After seeing my friend Brad over at RopeOfSilicon do his 10 best sequels list today, I thought I should throw mine up too.
If nothing else, the films on this list are a testament that sequels can be a great thing. Often people (me included sometimes) will moan and complain when they hear about a sequel coming out… saying there’s no creativity left in Hollywood and that they’re all terrible and just cash grabs. Well, I’m glad studios don’t listen to that sort of talk, because if they did, none of the magnificent films on this list would exist.
Remember, all lists are totally subjective and no 2 lists will look exactly alike. Having said that, I now present for your consideration and debate, The Movie Blog’s Top 20 Sequels:
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#1 – LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
The movie holding the record for the most Oscars (11) is still what I consider to be the greatest overall achievement in cinematic history. When you consider all the film making elements of cinematography, acting, art direction, visual effects, music, direction, story, no film in history has brought them all together in a package as nearly perfect as The Return of the King. An incredible ending to only the second trilogy in history to have all three of its films nominated for Best Picture. |
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#2 – THE GODFATHER PART 2
More than just an amazing story, The Godfather Part 2′s real genius was in how director Francis Ford Coppola told the story. Disconnecting the linear timeline and in essence telling two separate stories book ending the time frame of the first Godfather movie. Many will argue (understandably so) that this should be #1, and I can respect that because the film is just so flat out amazing. Still, for me part 1 is still the best of the franchise. One of the best, most tragic and haunting endings to any film in history. (The other trilogy to have all 3 films nominated for best picture) |
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#3 – RETURN OF THE JEDI
Like many many many other people out there, I’m a certified Star Wars freak (only of the original trilogy, otherwise Star Wars is dead to me now), but unlike most others, I actually think Return of the Jedi was just a little bit better than Empire. As you can see below, I think both were magnificent, but to me Jedi had something extra that’s hard to define. The Vader/Skywalker battle in the Emperor’s throne room and the music that accompanied it is one of my favorite single scenes in film history. Not to mention the greatest space battle scene in movie history that STILL hasn’t been beat. |
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#4 – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Sweet hotness! I still remember as a little kid seeing Empire for the first time. I thought I was going to wet myself when we saw the Star Destroyer for the first time shooting out the probe droids. I definite darker tone than the others in the franchise made for maybe the best dramatic storytelling in the franchise. And today, with all the M. Night Shamhammers running around it’s hard to appreciate a good “twist” anymore… but man, back in the day Darth Vader telling Luke he was his father was MIND BLOWING! I still remember as a kid wondering how Grover because a Jedi on some swamp world. |
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#5 – INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2
To this day my favorite cop movie of all time is the original Infernal Affairs (which as some people still don’t know is what the 2007 Best Picture winning film “The Departed” is a remake of), and yet Infernal Affairs 2 just might be even better. Filled with twists and revelations, the movie is a prequel to the original with many of the key cast returning and younger versions of some of the original cast filling in the gaps. A completely killer film. |
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#6 – INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
This is actually my favorite film of the entire franchise. One would think it impossible to meet or top the achievements of the Indiana Jones films at that time, and yet somehow Lucas and Spielberg found a way. Brining on Sean Connery to play Indy’s father is probably one of the best celebrity additions to a franchise ever. The chemistry between Ford and Connery was fantastic and carried much of the charm of the film. Funny, exciting and everything else you’ve come to expect an Indiana Jones movie to be (minus the nuclear fridge). |
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#7 – TOY STORY 2
The funniest thing about Toy Story 2 was that it was originally supposed to be a straight to video sequel, and that at some point the execs looked at it again and said “holy crap… this is actually turning out really well. Let’s release it in theaters!”. It’s a damn good thing they did. Not only did the film make nearly $500 million world wide, it is the only wide release film to hold a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes as well. |
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#8 – THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
Following the amazing achievement of Fellowship of the Ring (a LOT of people expected that movie to suck) people were bracing themselves for a let down. “The first one was a fluke” I heard more than one person say. Even I thought the franchise had nowhere to go but down. Wow was I wrong! The Battle at Helm’s Deep stands as one of my favorite battle scenes in history as the story of the ring got deeper and better. Many felt this film was robbed of the best picture Oscar… I’m one of them. |
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#9 – ALIENS
Where the first Alien film leaned more towards being a Sci-Fi suspense film in many ways, the second burst into a different direction as a balls to the wall action film. The film is just loaded with memorable scenes and fantastic one liners (“Game over man”). It was the first action film I’d ever seen that I could literally say had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The film will hold up forever. |
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#10 – X-MEN 2
The first X-Men movie single handedly resurrected the superhero genre movie after Batman Nipple Lord vs Austrian Ice Ham” nearly single handedly killed it several years earlier. X-Men 2 took it up a notch. Right from the incredible opening scene with Nightcrawler breaking into the White House to the end where we catch our first glimpse of he Phoenix (that only fans of the comic book recognized and freaked out over when the fiery shape came on the screen), X-Men 2 redefined just how good Comic Book movies could be. To this day it’s still my favorite Comic Book movie. |
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#11 – TERMINATOR: JUDGEMENT DAY
Who among us didn’t thing the new liquid Terminator was the damn coolest thing we’d ever seen when this movie first came out. But the T-1000 wasn’t just cool visual effects. The cold passionless killer that Robert Patrick gave us was also one of the scariest things my teenage eyes had ever seen. Damn that guy gave me nightmares. The story was excellent, Linda Hamilton just ruled (I still think Cameron is a bloody idiot for cheating on that woman) and seeing the Arnold Terminator as a GOOD guy was fun too. |
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#12 – THE DARK KNIGHT
Director Christopher Nolan did what many people thought couldn’t be done… he topped his own Batman Begins with a film broader in scope, deeper in story, more exciting in action all topped off with a classic villain given new incredible life by the single greatest performance ever in the history of comic book movies. The Dark Knight, while not perfect, delivered everything a Batman fan could have hoped for to send them home happy. The movie struck an obivous chord with comic and non comic book fans alike, quickly becoming the second highest grossing film (not counting inflation) in history. |
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#13 – CLERKS 2
To many people Kevin Smith and his films are an acquired taste. To be honest, as much of a fan that I am of Smith, I’m not actually that thrilled with many of his films. Having said that, I honestly think Clerks 2 is one of the sharpest, funniest and yes smartest comedies I’ve seen in a long long time. Smith shows he’s more than just fart and fuck jokes. Clerks 2 has so much heart to it that many people miss. Real issues struggled with by a lot of people entering their mid 30′s, issues of friendship, home, belonging, dreams, all dealt with within the context of Smith’s edgy humor. I unapologetically love this movie |
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#14 – STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KHAN
The first Star Trek film just blew chunks of refuse, so to many at the time a follow up film was a bit of a surprise. However, the idea behind the film was nothing short of pure genius. Going back and directly making the movie a sequel to AN INDIVIDUAL EPISODE of the TV show was a move that save the franchise. Ricardo Montalban instantly became one of the greatest villains in movie history reprising the role of Khan. If you didn’t feel the blood rushing through your veins when Khan quotes “To the last, I will grapple with thee. From hell’s heart, I stab at thee. For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee” then you are totally dead inside. |
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#15 – SPIDER-MAN 2
I nearly lost my mind the first time I saw this flick. Just about everything a Comic Book movie should be. Great visual effects, terrific action, loads of wild cheer moments, fun, funny and character who stick surprisingly well with the spirit of their comic book counterparts. Tragically overlooked in this film whenever it’s discussed is the performance of Alfred Molina as Doc Ock who brought that extra dimension to the film that Spider-Man 1 (as good as it was) missed. Such a shame Spider-Man 3 went completely to shit. |
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#16 – ROCKY 2
The original Rocky (which I know most people these days haven’t seen) was a different kind of sports movie. It was more about the character and his story than the sport. Rocky 2 began to float more towards the “action” elements that the franchise would become known for, but at the heart of it was still this terrific character… Rocky Balboa. How this simple guy went from nothing to celebrity status, how it effected himself, the relationships in his life and his dreams. One of the most electrifying ends to a movie ever. |
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#17 – ARMY OF DARKNESS
I understand that most people feel that if you’re going to put an “Evil Dead” movie on this list, then Evil Dead 2 should be the one to get the nod. Sorry, but to me Army Of Darkness is the king of the franchise and always will be. Perhaps no film in history has ever been as purely quotable as this cult classic. As a matter of fact, a lot of the most famous quotes in various movies and video games were all direct rips rips from Army Of Darkness. It’s the movie that elevated Bruce Campbell to god status who now dwells in the halls of the immortals. |
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#18 – STAR TREK 4: THE VOYAGE HOME
Ok, if I were a movie studio executive back in 1984 and some guy came into my office with an idea for a new Star Trek movie that focused on the crew of the Enterprise going back in time on earth to the 1980′s, looking like hippies and on a mission to save the whales, I would have thrown that dude out of my office and fired him on the spot. I guess sometimes the dumbest sounding ideas can be executed in such a way to make a classic. This movie is just so damn charming and fun. Scotty trying to talk to the 1980′s computer is a classic scene! “Oh, a keybord. How quaint”. |
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#19 – SHREK 2
The first Shrek film was pretty good, but there was something about the sequel that will always give it a special place in my heart. Blatant pop culture reference jokes rarely hit with me, but for some reason they way the material was handled in Shrek 2 had me grinning, giggling and laughing pretty much the whole way through the movie. Puss In Boots was a great addition to the cast of characters and that musical number of “I need a hero” near the end still gets my heart thumping. Like Spider-Man 2 however, it’s a shame the next film was total garbage. |
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#20 – DIE HARD 3
Kind of like the Army of Darkness pick, there will be many out there who will feel that Die Hard 2 deserves the place on this list. However, to performance of Jeremy Irons, the heist plot and the chemistry between Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson pushed this one over the top. Come to think of it, in terms of just the “heist” portion of the film… it may be one of my favorite heist movies ever. The plan was so freaking great! |
So there you have it folks. Like I mentioned at the beginning, all film is subjective and no 2 lists will look exactly alike, so I’m sure that even if you love or hate my list, there are things you agree or disagree with. What would your list look like? Which films would you put on there that I left off? Which ones would you boot off? (just so you know, I amended this list to include Clerks 2 which I originally forgot to add).
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John Campea
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Amongst all , I liked Godfather. Really entertaining movie!
LOL @ Pedro "Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions" I tend to agree with this even though I didn't think Reloaded was horrible. Halfway through the movie it did turn into xbox though, lol.
I thought I would weigh in on some of the worst sequels ever made. I did a quick scan and I didn't see anyone mentioning star wars 1-3. Any movie with jar jar binks automatically makes at least top ten worst ever. Here is some others that make my top all time worst list:
The Next Karate Kid
Teen Wolf Too
Oceans Twelve
Dumb and Dumberer
And of course the all time worst for me Godfather III. I have seen this mentioned a few times in some comments. I still have not seen this movie all the way through. Fall asleep every time, lol. Anyway, there are many other ones but I just wanted to give a few I haven't seen mentioned. Thanks.
Mike
Those were some interesting picks. First off, Die Hard 2 is crap. It's only watchable because the first one was so good that the audience has a bit of an emotional tie to John McClain. Three was good & 4 was pretty good as well but none really hold a candle to the original. Here's a quick few of my fave sequels...
Best Sequel of all time: The Empire Strikes Back. It's the best installment of one of, if not THE, greatest movie trilogy ever made. These movies changed movies. Luke finding out that Vader IS his father is probably my all-time favorite movie scene.
Terminator 2
Toy Story 2 was good but not near as good as the first. Toy Story 3 however was pretty damn close & easily good enough to stand on it's own.
The Dark Knight. Worth mentioning for Heath Ledger's performance alone, though it is so much more than that.
Ok, nobody be to rough with me over this but...
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban. The first two were just watchable if you have kids. All of the sequels since have been decent. # 3 in the series is actually quite a good movie. It's visually interesting, the acting is greatly improved over the first 2 & it has Gary Oldman. This was the movie where the series started to get dark.
Okay, that's all for now.
The Snapper was brilliant, follow up to the commitments.
Poor sequel: Chronicle of riddick, such a waste.
Great Sequel: American pie 2
Poor Sequel: Robocop 2.
Poor sequel: Tremors 2
Poor sequel: MIB 2
Great sequel: Star trek 1st contact
Poor sequel: Godfather 3
Movies that deserve a sequel: The Big Lebowski, Let the right one in (but they ll mangle it)
It's Aliens everytime!!!!
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Godfather 2
3. Dark Knight
4. Toy Story 2
5. Aliens
6. Terminator 2
7. Spider Man 2
8. Kill Bill Vol.2
9. Shrek 2
10. Indiana Jones
11. Lord of the Rings Two Towers
12. X2
13. Clerks 2
This does not account for movies made further in a series, or prequels (ex. LOTR return of the king) only movies following up the first in a series.
*Batman Series I consider to be re-started, Batman Begins is the origin story and completely apart from Past Batman movies. Its as if they wanted to start fresh.
Rated on a combination of things, movie quality, improvement, ability to be seen alone within a series of films, story, wow factor etc.
I can't think of a list right off the top of my head, but my personal alltime favorite sequel is (Grumpier Old Men).
Worst Sequels:
Force 10 From Navarone
Lethal Weapon 2, 3, 4, etc...
Superman 3 and 4
Alien Vs Predator (ok kind of a prequel but...)
AvP: Requiem
City Slickers 2
Transporter 2
Star Trek Insurrection and Nemesis
Jewel of The Nile
Kill Bill 2 (seriously not as good as KB1)
Wanted: The Sundance Woman (Sequel to Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid)
The French Conncetion II
Mission Impossible 2, 3, 4 (yadda yadda yadda)
The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 (nowhere near as good as the original)
JAWS 2, 3, and 4
Poltergeist 2, 3 (yadda yadda yadda)
Conan The Destroyer
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions
Robocop 2
Starship Troopers 2 and 3
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Anyone want to start a list of "Worst Remakes" ??
I think almost everything on the list is right, EXCEPT for Lord of the Rings because I believe that they are like one movie even though they were shot one at a time.
I think that the original Die Hard was way better than Die Hard 3.
Shrek I don't really care about.
For X-Men I think that they were all pretty equal.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Dooms was my favorite.
And Toy Story I don't really give a crap about.
But you guys are forgeting The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. (Even though Angels and Demons was written first as a book) I thought Angels of Demons was way better. Their were a alot of subplots that just made the movie interesting and the ending was what I would not have expected for a type of movie like that.
Best sequels you're missing include:
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
Superman II
Dawn of the Dead (Romero's original version)
Airplane 2
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Incredible Hulk (well, it was an i,provement on the Ang Lee version!)
Good Will Hunting II: Hunting Season (he he he!)
Good Will Hunting II - or "How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Math".
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best sets of movies ever, but people tend to forget many of the great movies from the 30's and 40's.
There were some great comedies like "Arsenic and Old Lace", and great adventures like "Captain Blood" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood".
Sequels only seemed to be done for lower budget matinee style movies, but I think if sequels had been made to the great movies back then, they could have dominated the list.
Just cause a movie is one of the highest grossing ever doesn't mean its a great movie. Jeez by that logic titanic is better than the Dark Knight lol..Box office numbers means one thing, profit. Dark Knight good movie, great sequel but give us a break please..
How is The Dark Knight only number 12. It should be up there with The Godfather Part II and LOTR: Return of the King. The Dark Knight is the second highest grossing movie of all time behind Titanic. Also, anyone whose a Batman fan or even likes Batman would agree that it's the best of any of them. It's also the first film in history in which an actor (the late great Heath Ledger R.I.P) has won an oscar for a performance based on a comic book.
Its tough to make one all encompasing list and feel a little behind the eightball making a comment on a thread that is over a year old but hey its an interesting subject.
I will say that im not a LOFR fan so wont find any on here. Didn't mind them but no top movie list for me.
In no particluar order
T2
Aliens
Back to the future 2
Empire Strikes Back
Scream 2
The Colour of Money
Desperado
Dark Knight
Batman Returns
The French Connection 2 (love popeye)
Godfather Part 2
Toy Story 2
Gremlins 2
Rocky 2
Star Trek First Contact
and lame as it is (these are the ones you can rip into)
Dirty Dozen: The next misson
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (i have seen it too many times to not include LOL)
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
I would also like to add that I enjoyed Spidey 2,Mission Impossible 2, Matrix 2 and Transporter 2.Some movies like Blade went on to have sequels but the original just had that freshness to it
1.Dark Knight
2.Aliens
3.The Chronicles of Riddick
4.Charlie's Angels 2
5.Bad Boys 2
6.Austin Powers 2
7.X-Men 2
8.In my opinion I think franchises like Lethal Weapon,Pirates,Indiana Jones got better with each movie
this list is almost perfect. the dark knight die hard with a vengaence and rocky 2 should have been higher. and wat is this with toy story?
How on EARTH did you leave off Back to the future II? Its got the future, the past, and and alternate 1985! It gives us a little bit of the old and a fun look at what could be...such a great sequel.
My favorite sequels:
1) The Godfather Part II
2) Once Upon a Time in Mexico
3) The Dark Knight
4) Oceans 13 (12 blew big time)
5) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
6) Return of the King
7) Return of the Jedi
8) Two Towers
9) Aliens
10)The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
11)Rocky II
12)Rocky III
13)Lethal Weapon 2
14)Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (I know, it's sad to think I like this movie.)
15)Army of Darkness
16)Spider-Man 2
17)Saw II
18)Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
19)Men in Black II
20)The Empire Strikes Back
1. Terminator 2
2. Aliens
3. Dark Knight
4. The Thing (could be considered a sequel)
5. X-Mas Vacation
6. Godfather 2
7.
I think that a good indicator of the top 10 sequels is if they actually improve upon OR are even better than a previous one. If that's true, these would make the list for a lot of us: (Not necessarily in this order): (Also, consider the fact that the bigger the film was a hit, the harder it is to follow it up with a satisfying sequel)
T2, Aliens, Silence of the Lambs, Empire Strikes Back, LOTR 3, Bourne Supremacy, Dark Knight, the new Star Trek (I'd call it a sequel!), Superman 2 (for its time), Toy Story 2 (maybe)...
I agree 95% with this list. Die Hard 3 was an abortion. Return of the Jedi is questionable also -- midgets in teddy bear costumes ruined that for me.
I think Kahn should be much higher up in the list. Great story of hate, revenge, and loss that is easy to understand and follow even if you are not a trek fan.
Good choice for Jedi over Empire, totally agree there.
X-Men 2 should be closer to the end of the list instead of being #10.
And Terminator 2 has to be in the top 8.
The rest of the list is solid.
Add Punisher: War Zone to the growing list of movie sequels that truly were not necessary.
This is definitely an interesting list and honestly, I don't think I could narrow down all the sequels to make my own!
I may have Bad Boys 2 on my list somewhere though... damn, I'm stuck!
Some of you have great choices! Here are mine.
The Godfather Part II
The Godfather Part II (Yes, it’s that good!!)
The Dark Knight
Goldfinger
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Aliens
Rocky II
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Saw II
If there were a list for WORST sequels ever made then I think that THE MUMMY RETURNS and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND should be on there, purely for fucking two good franchises in the ass.
Oh, and AMERICAN PIE: THE WEDDING.
*shudders*
Has everyone forgotten about ALIENS!!! Man that movie kicked some serious alien but!!
I would also like to add Starship Troopers 2 - sequel was better than the first.
Empire Strikes Back should be top of the list
LOTR both movies.
Does Pulp Fiction count as a sequel to Reservior Dogs? If it does put Pulp Fiction on the list.
yea referring bac 2 spider man 2. three words alone that can describe the movie by it's self, KICK ASS MOVIE. THIS MOVIE WAS so good. the visual effects, the color , the action . eveything was great. i rate this movie like of the scale a 10 like a big freaking 10. this movie rocks and to tell you the truth i dont even like spider- man like that honestly but it kept my attention throughtout the whole movie.
this list stinks except for Shreak, you should have Scream 2 on there
Where the hell is Leonard Part 6?
Oh, wait a minute...
Hey Someone,
So according to your logic... you're saying Titanic is a much better movie than The Dark Knight right?
Since when does box office say anything about the quality of a movie?
OKAY the Dark Knight is better than spiderman 2 and X-men 2. It has Higher ratings critically and has a MUCH higher box office count. The Dark Knight is the Highest grossing super hero movie ever(fact). The Dark Knight should definately be higher on the list man.
What about the second Back To The Future movie? Beverly Hills Cop 2 was pretty good too. American Pie 2 and Shrek 2 wasn't so bad nor was Austin Powers 2. In this economy, comedy is in. I guess the top anything changes with the times.
How can you put Lord of the Rings in front of Godfather part II. That is ridiculous, Godfather II is a classic and the Lord of the Rings return of the King was 30 minutes too long.
Maybe they should have just ended the movie with Rudy and Elijah make out.
Man this list is not good at all The Dark Knight should be higher up on this list. Here is my top 10list
1. The Godfather Part II
2. Lord of the Rings 3
3. The Dark Knight
4. Terminator 2
5. Aliens
6. Dawn of the Dead
7. Two Towers
8. Empire strikes back
9. Spiderman 2
10. X2
Now why did you put Spiderman 2 and X2 ahead of the Dark Knight come on man they're good movies but not that good. THE DARK KNIGHT IS THE BEST SUPERHERO MOVIE EVER(so far gonna be hard to beat).
Aliens 2
correct
LOTR sucks, too much fantasy and effects, that's why it never got an oscar for Best Actor/Actress, there's no acting, it's for children, it should be in a garbage can.
Wow i didn't really think that anyone approved of the X-men sequel, why was it good?
And John, you still have to do the worst sex scenes ever list. I asked that question a few weeks ago and you said it would make a great list.
Just sayin;)
I cry at the end of T2. Every single time, I fucking cry.
i agree............... all LOTR sequel belongs here...amin ;-)
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Top 10:
1. Aliens
2. Godfather Part 2
3. Terminator 2
4. Empire Strikes Back
5. Before Sunset
6. Mad Max 2
7. Temple of Doom
8. The two towers
9. Back to the future 2
10. Bad boys 2 (for fun)
The Neverending Story 2
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1. The Godfather 2
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Rocky 2
definitely the top 3
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Your synopsis of Army of Darkness was perfect. Awesome that you included it.
"first you want to kill me.....now you want to kiss me.....blow....."
Jeez, what about Pyjama Party Slaughter 2???
Jaws 2 - not bad?
Kill Bill 2 was better than 1!!!!!!
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