25 best movie sequels ever

best movie sequels the empire strikes back

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Easily the finest of the six Star Wars movies, Empire is almost gritty at times and its ending is surprisingly downbeat – but not before the audience has been given a shocking emotional punch to the gut in Darth Vader’s famous revelation to Luke Skywalker.

best movie sequels the lord of the rings the two towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Two Towers is probably the weakest movie in Peter Jackson’s trilogy – it’s tough being the middle film – but it’s still ten times better than the average blockbuster. Highlights include Andy Serkis’ wonderful Gollum coming to the fore and the 45-minute Battle of Helm’s Deep sequence, featuring Legolas and Gimli’s “who can kill the most orcs” contest.

best movie prequels gremlins 2: the new batch

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Dumping most of the first movie’s horror elements in favour of near all-out comedy might have seemed like a dumb move from filmmaker Joe Dante, but Gremlins 2 is so much fun you probably won’t care. This time the beasts take over a high tech skyscraper in New York, allowing for more than a little satire to creep into the chaos.

best movie sequels back to the future part III

Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Marty and the Doc return in this final installment of everyone's favourite time travelling trilogy. Following on immediately from Back to the Future Part II, Marty travels back to the Wild West to rescue Doc from Burford "Mad Dog" Tannen while repairing the all-important iconic DeLorean in the process. Now if you'll excuse us, we're off to eBay for a second-hand flux capacitor.

best movie prequels lethal weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that, once you’ve seen Lethal Weapon 2, you have to repeatedly shout “DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY” in a harsh South African accent. The movie reunites Mel Gibson’s unhinged Riggs and with Danny Glover’s world-weary Murtaugh, pitting the LA cops against wicked Saffa criminals (it was made before apartheid ended). A perky Patsy Kensit pops up as the token “good” South African and Gibson’s love interest.

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