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Kevin’s Lists: Top 10 Movie Sequels of All-Time

A little over a week ago I gave you my 10 Worst Sequels of All-Time and now I have decided to give you my list of the Best Sequels of All-Time. You may have noticed that there seemed to be a curse on the ‘threequels’ as one of our fans called them. However, to dis-spell any such curse I would like to point out that a few ‘threequels’ have made it into the Top list as well.

And Now for the List…

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The Top 10 Sequels of All-Time

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#10: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Any TRUE geek will know exactly what I am talking about with this one. The Mad Max series is a series that the casual moviegoer writes off as just another post-apocalyptic fantasy film series. However, Mad Max offers much more under the surface than you might expect.  I love the entire franchise but the second film is a cut above which is why it has earned a spot on my list. Oh, one last thing, that is not a typo below, it truly does have a ONE HUNDRED PERCENT on Rotten Tomatoes (which just proves how right I am here)
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%


#9: Aliens

So, as much as there seems to be a curse on the third installment of franchises it seems that the opposite holds true for those second installments. Alien has to be one of the greatest movies of all-time for its genre. I don’t usually get into this exact type of movie but I love just about every minute of this one.  Oh, yeah and that is another 100 percent there from RT.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%

#8: Toy Story 3

To be honest, I actually have not seen any of the movies in this franchise but based purely on critical acclaim and word of mouth from every single person I know who has seen this film it definitely deserves a spot on my list.  It will be the only animated film to earn a spot on the list because let’s face it most animated sequels are terrible (looking at you Disney!)!
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 99%


#7: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Often times it seems that this third installment to the Indy franchise gets overlooked but this has to be my personal favorite in the series.  Sean Connery and Harrison Ford are definitely at their best with this one and it has the perfect blend of action and comedy. The thing that seals it for me though is the number of booby traps they encounter and the final scenes where they must choose which cup to drink from. The word epic comes to mind.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%


#6: Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Who would have ever thought that the ol’ govanator could have been involved in such a great movie. I have not disliked any of the films in this series but this one by all accounts blows all of the others out of the water.  The effects for its time were amazing and seeing this one in the theatre as a ten year old was truly a memorable experience!
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 98%


#5: Godfather: Part II

The Godfather trilogy is easily one of the greatest trilogies in film history and it set the stage for so many fantastic gangster movies that came to us in the years after. The fact that the second film was probably the best chapter in one of the greatest trilogies ever is about all that should be needed to be said here.  I really feel like it should be ranked even higher but looking at the rest of my list I can’t find any that I am willing to move for it.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 98%


#4: Back to the Future: Part II

I got a lot of hate for including the third movie of this series in my ‘Worst Sequels’ list but I am sticking with what I said there. The third movie in my opinion did not have the same feel or magic that was created in the first two.  The first movie was absolutely amazing and probably one of the best time traveling films of all-time.  However, it is just something about this second one that has always made it my favorite.  The amount of clever things that they came up with in the ‘future’ world (which by the way many have come to fruition just like they did in Star Trek just sayin) make it so fun to not only watch the major action of the film but also to keep your eyes peeled for things happening in the background as well. I realize I am probably in the minority here but the second movie is better than the third in my opinion.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 64%


#3: The Dark Knight

So it was literally about impossible to decide on the order of these top three films. Each one is not only a great sequel but each has earned spots as the top movies of their respective years, decades, and even all-time. This one is easily the greatest super-hero movie ever created up to this point.  Christopher Nolan is a genius and in one attempt put every other super-hero film director to shame.  We finally got a dark look at the Dark Knight and we should all be grateful for that. Here is hoping the third movie in this franchise can avoid that nasty curse we were talking about earlier!
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%


#2: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

This is, in my opinion, the greatest trilogy of all-time. No other trilogy has been able to maintain this level of pure brilliance throughout ALL THREE films.  Our previous entry has a chance if the third film can live up to the Dark Knight and Batman Begins but every Lord of the Rings film is nearly flawless.  I know the critics generally like the second one the best and the casual movie watcher likes both the first two better than this one, I honestly believe that this film was the best of the three.  Visually it was stimulating (Avatar would hold no records if this trilogy had had the fortune of coming out as the first 3-D blockbuster) it has a great combination of drama, fantasy, and action.  The acting is great. I could go on and on but I don’t need to since anyone who disagrees with this coming in at Number 2 obviously doesn’t know their movies very well!
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%

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And the Best Sequel of All-Time goes to…

#1: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Was there ever any doubt here people??  Empire Strikes Back was not only the best Star Wars movie of all-time but it was also the best movie of the entire 1980s as well as probably the greatest Sci-Fi film of all-time.  In my opinion this is the movie that is responsible for the cult following Star Wars has achieved over the years.  This is the film that all other Star Wars films have tried to emulate with varying degrees of success.  Everyone knows the characters, everyone knows the famous lines.  I know everyone will say this only came in at Number 1 because of my Star Wars obsession but I am pretty sure that most ‘geeks’ out there would agree with me on this one.
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 97%
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Kevin "OptimusSolo"

OptimusSolo is a Cartoon Historian and even has an actual History degree to go with it. He's also an avid Toy collector boasting an over 1,000 piece Star Wars collection and nearly 400 Transformer toys. He is one of the hosts of the Powers of Grayskull series. He also has a passion for cartoon Theme Songs, Star Trek, MacGyver, Baseball, and is a major Movie Geek!

6 Comments

  1. Excellent list, Optimus! Though I would have had a “Nightmare on Elm Street” on there, were it my list.

  2. In all fairness, even though Pixar is owned by Disney, I don’t consider it a “Disney” movie. Pixar movies are made completely in Pixar Animation Studios and are usually untouched by high up Disney executives (as of right now). Disney Animated Movies on the other hand (non-Pixar) are made in Disney Animation Studios. Neither really cross over. Which is why (despite being owned by Disney) Pixar movies are still 100x better… and their sequels much better. The difference being Pixar actually places very heavy emphasis on writing and pre-production with all of their films, including their sequels, and re-write their stories hundreds of times.

  3. I completely agree with the placement of 1-3. However, I am a bit confused as to why Last Crusade overpowered Temple of Doom as a sequel. Especially when in the Indy series, the only pure sequel was Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It was the only movie to play off of the events of Raiders. The other two merely had its own story. And we’ve already placed K.O.T.C.S at the most god awful sequel possible. Great list Kevin!

  4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a brilliant movie. I have actually listened to that episode of MWIRE. And I believe that Crusade is one of the best stand alone movies of all time. But if you go by a legit sequel, Last Crusade does not qualify. With a sequel normally picking up either right off, or somewhere close to where the last movie left off, KOTCS is a sequel.

    I actually believe that Sean Connery and Ford did really well together on film. And has the very first and best Young Indy tale before Sean Flannery took it.

  5. TJ I will never speak for Kev, but in my mind Last Crusade was the only good indy film, it gave origin, plot, character development, and action. check out MWIRE Ep 50 where kevin and I expound on this

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