Sequels are most often lifeless money grabs. However once in a while, a good one comes along to bless our screens.
They hardly make up for a mountain of bad sequels, but they sure are a delight to watch. The following sequels lived up to the originals or even surpassed them.
After Star Trek and Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, it was great to get a new Star Trek film with the original characterizations.
It came at the sad loss of The Enterprise but we finally got TOS Kirk back y'all!!!
Many of the previous Ocean's sequels flopped.
So when this fresh take focusing on Danny Ocean's sister released we were all glad to discover it was a stand-alone.
Led by Charlize Theron, this movie is just what the Mad Max franchise needed.
After Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome's storyline people asked how they could possibly continue.
And Fury Road was the perfect answer to that.
It's rare than a buddy cop action comedy sequel turns out better than the first.
But Bad Boys II perfectly nails the combo of action scenes, drama, and comedy.
The third Harry Potter movie is one of the best.
Director Alfonso Cuarón brought his own brand of film making to the franchise and it worked wonders.
The fourth in the Harry Potter franchise is also one of the best.
Director Mike Newell tried to mimic Cuarón's aesthetic from the previous film and it nailed it.
This sequel really ramped up the original's plot.
You'd think The Godfather would be impossible to follow but we're glad to be proved wrong.
In a surprising twist, this comedy sequel had a similar premise but entirely new jokes.
The third installment of the Thor franchise got a breath of fresh air in the form of Taika Waititi's direction.
This is what made it so much better than the first two.
Handsome Shrek? Mogo storming the castle to the Fairy Godmother's rendition of 'I Need a Hero'?
Donkey and Dragon getting bizay? And Fiona decided to stay an ogre! Literally a cinematic masterpiece.
Shrek stuck an alternate reality where he was never born discovers Fiona is a tough-as-nails resistance leader.
Together they save the day and fall in love all over again.
What's not to love?
Overall for sure the greatest Captain America movie.
It's the layered plot, Steve's conflict, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fall, and Natasha's newfound personality that make it so good.
Toy Story movies are meant to be for kids and adults, don't even try arguing with me!
It's full of complex humor and heartwarming plots, so it's a great sequel.
We all knew watching Andy growing up would be hard for us.
But Toy Story 3 gave us the perfect ending with Andy going off to college, finally too old for toys.
Among the flaming trash pile that is all the X-Men sequels and spin-offs, Logan stands out as a good movie.
It's much better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, that much is for sure.
