CINESCAPE #63
© 2002 Mania Entertainment

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The 25 Greatest Sequels of All Time

The movie sequel is almost as old as cinema itself. In fact, sequels to films were probably being made the day after the first moving pictures hit nickelodeons and flicker houses 100 years ago. It makes sense; people love things that are familiar, especially when it comes to their storytelling. Familiar plots, familiar heroes, familiar villains... it's all very comfy.

But familiarity does not a good film make, and while there have been tons of sequels over the years from early silent variations on the German horror icon THE GOLEM to modern retreads of popular films like SCREAM not many of them have actually been very good. Same old/same old, however comforting for the viewer, does not stretch the horizons of cinema.

Hence this list, CINESCAPE's attempt to catalogue the best sequels ever committed to celluloid (or digital video, in one case). And by "best" we don't mean the biggest space battles, or the scariest monsters, or the most inventive way to resurrect a character kicked off in the previous installment. No, a good sequel has to stand on its own as a film worthy of admiration apart from the quality of the previous entry. It has to push the conventions of its genre, the technical aspects of the medium or the storytelling of its fellow or, best of all, do all of the above. Not all great sequels are better than their antecedents, but they should at least come close. Here are some of the classic films that managed to do so: