Which Movie Sequel Had the Biggest INCREASE in Quality?

[celedhring]

All 3 Dollars movies were masterpieces.

I'd say only the last one is, but masterpiece is a fuzzy concept. Anyhow, the last is so much better than the previous 2.

I'll also mention Terminator 2. Yes, The Terminator is a fine film, but it is very much a b-movie. T2 remains one of the best action films ever made, imho.

[grumbler]

All 3 Dollars movies were masterpieces.

Yeah, but they weren't really a series.  You could watch them in any order, so none of them was really a sequel to any of the others.  Leone not only said as much, but also pointed out that Lee van Cleef plays two different significant characters.

[Tamas]

All 3 Dollars movies were masterpieces.

I'd say only the last one is, but masterpiece is a fuzzy concept. Anyhow, the last is so much better than the previous 2.

I'll also mention Terminator 2. Yes, The Terminator is a fine film, but it is very much a b-movie. T2 remains one of the best action films ever made, imho.

Yep Terminator 2 holds up extremely well to this day.

My second choice is also Dark Knight.

[grumbler]

I'll also mention Terminator 2. Yes, The Terminator is a fine film, but it is very much a b-movie. T2 remains one of the best action films ever made, imho.

T2 was much better than T1, but was also a different kind of move (Much as Aliens is a different kind of movie than Alien).  T1 and Alien are horror, not action.  I tend to like action more than horror so liked the sequels better, but think people with different tastes would disagree.

[Barrister]

Really hard to argue with Terminator 2 or Aliens.  But let me give it a shot.

Captain America: Winter Soldier

Now it's kind of cheating, as Captain America was in one or more Avengers movies in-between.  But Captain America: The First Avenger was pretty mediocre superhero origin story, but Winter Soldier broke through into a political thriller/action movie that was pretty damn good.


No wait - even better.  Superman 2.  Come fight me.

[Sheilbh]

Also, are we sticking to Part twos'? Otherwise the Mad Max saga could score twice with Fury Road. And I would also put forward The Good, the Bad & The Ugly.

No rules!  Let anarchy reign!

Okay - I thought we were limited to direct sequels.

In that case, Rocky IV.

[The Larch]

If we're not limited to direct sequels then Mad Max: Fury Road sweeps the floor.

[Tonitrus]

I guess I am that weird heretic, that while loving Mad Max, Road Warrior, and even Thunderdome...couldn't last past the first 5-10 minutes of Fury Road.  It was just too ridiculous.

[grumbler]

If we are not limited to direct sequels, then The Room -> No Country for Old Men is the greatest increase in quality.

[grumbler]

I guess I am that weird heretic, that while loving Mad Max, Road Warrior, and even Thunderdome...couldn't last past the first 5-10 minutes of Fury Road.  It was just too ridiculous.

Plus, not a sequel.

[Admiral Yi]

I guess I am that weird heretic, that while loving Mad Max, Road Warrior, and even Thunderdome...couldn't last past the first 5-10 minutes of Fury Road.  It was just too ridiculous.

How can it be more ridiculous than Road Warrior?  It's a 2 1/2 hour riff on the chase in Road Warrior.

[Darth Wagtaros]

If we are not limited to direct sequels, then The Room -> No Country for Old Men is the greatest increase in quality.

You tearing me apart!

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  I know some people love the Motion Picture, but I find it crappy. 

[celedhring]

Fury Road is as much a direct sequel of Beyond the Thunderdome as Road Warrior is a sequel of Mad Max. Continuity has always been extremely loose in the series. The framing device of 2-3 as legends being told in the future about Max Rockatansky was an elegant way to solve this.

I liken it a lot to the Dollars trilogy, in fact, where continuity is also extremely dubious (with Lee Van Cleef playing different characters in different movies of the saga, for example), and it's all about following a wandering main character.

[The Minsky Moment]

I thought the Will Smith Ali sequel was intriguing.  Seems to have gotten a lot of attention.

[Duque de Bragança]

In that case, Rocky IV.

No way it's better than the first one. 
Cheesier, more '80s action as in reaganian. Very entertaining of course, but not better.
It's like saying Rambo II (First Blood part II is better than the first).