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15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
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Slovenly Muse
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
EVIL DEAD 2!

Not only was it scarier than the original, it was also a whole lot of fun! Best of the series, IMO.
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John Thomas
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
What about 2010. I just recently watched both it and 2001: A Space Odyssey again on HBO and enjoyed the hell out of both of them. But while 2001 was revolutionary in its portrayal of space, much of its power has become dated over the years as the likes of Lucas and Spielberg have made its innovations a common part of how Sci Fi is portrayed. 2001 now feels very s l o w. 2010 doesn't have that baggage and is a more interesting story as well.
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Slovenly Muse
07/06/09

@John Thomas: I agree. I love 2001, but I understand why so many of my friends found it boring and unwatchable. 2010 may not be a better MOVIE (though it definitely is great), but it is more accessible, faster-paced, and mainstream. A worthy sequel indeed!
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Bill-Lee
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
I thought the theatrical release of Aliens was so-so but the director's cut that includes the scene about Ripley's daughter having grown up, lived her life, and died while Ripley was away, was awesome. Including that one scene made Ripley's reaction to Newt way more realistic.
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grime
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
oh io9, you can do SO much better than this.
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Charlie Jane Anders
07/06/09

@grime: How so?
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Julius Seizure - Gall Bladder Free
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
Thank you for "Aliens". Twenty years later I can still feel the energy in the performances - and the theatre.

3D, memorable characters and some of the tightest writing ever.

When the doors opened on Ripley in that exo-suit the audience went dead quiet and at "Get away from her, you BITCH!" we just lost it for a good 5 minutes.
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Purple Dave
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
According to some special feature on the Road Warrior DVD, The Road Warrior is not, strictly speaking, a sequel to Mad Max. They basically decided to take the same character and apply an entirely new setting/story. And if you really think about it, the Mad Max scenario doesn't really mesh with what we see in The Road Warrior, where suddenly everything has switched from a screwy-but-civilized culture where government is still clearly running the show, to a far-flung post-apoc future where civilization has clearly not existed in Mad Max form for the better part of a generation or longer.
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PansyLubooian
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
I must be missing something. There's no other reason to account for why Chronicles of Riddick isn't on this list.
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Charlie Jane Anders
07/06/09

@PansyLubooian: OH yeah... good point... hmm.
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cletar
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
Are there any examples of a third film being better than a second? Or a first?
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Purple Dave
07/06/09

@cletar:
Last Crusade? Army of Darkness? Um... BTTF if you really like cowboys and that one endlessly-repeated song that ZZ Top played at the hoedown?
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This_Charming_Man
07/06/09

@cletar:

Return of the King

Mission Impossible 3
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Purple Dave
07/07/09

@This_Charming_Man:
Meh. Never watched MI3, but The Two Towers is by far the best LotR film. Gondor isn't fit to wipe Rohan's horses' butts.
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RedAntisocial
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
Agree with the whole list, (even the Robocop 2 bit), one missing from the list perhaps is "Batman: The Dark Knight".

While I know it's been listed to death, and it's sci-fi only slightly by some of the tech Batman uses, it still has to count as a sci-fi sequel that didn't suck.
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FrankenPC
07/06/09

@RedAntisocial: Dark Knight NEEDS to be on this list.
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Charlie Jane Anders
07/06/09

@FrankenPC: The Dark Knight was on the list, and then I decided to avoid the arguments we always get into about whether it's science fiction or not.
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DeltaGuy
07/06/09

@FrankenPC: Have we reached a point where we, as a society, can finally be critical about The Dark Knight without spitting on Heath Ledger's grave? Christian Bale's performance was significantly better in Batman Begins than in The Dark Knight, where he gave a one-note performance (both figuratively and acoustically). While Batman Begins was a very tight, coherent story (partially because it was a classic origin story), The Dark Knight's story was so overblown and murky that by the third act it had spiraled out of control into a pseudo-philosophical mess. The Dark Knight wasn't a bad movie, but in crafting a more epic story, the Nolans' overreached, leaving a number of wide, glaring faults. Batman Begins, in comparison, was just a more even film with less a ambitious, but better executed, story, and much better acting by Bale in what should be the most important role of any Batman film.
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hopskipper
07/06/09

@DeltaGuy: I agree. After all the buzz about Dark Knight died down I watched both movies back to back and felt that Batman Begins was a better movie. I loved Dark Knight but BB had much better pacing and when it ended I felt, damn what great movie. By the end of Dark Knight I felt the 3rd act just dragged too slow.
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DeltaGuy
07/06/09

@Charlie Jane Anders: I feel teased, now I'm just interested to see what you would have written comparing it to Batman Begins. I always love reading your opinions, even on the rare times that I disagree with your viewpoint.
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CParis
07/06/09

@DeltaGuy:

Gotta agree with you on The Dark Knight. The story was so rambling, bloated and super-'splody. Bale's performance was dull and unfortunately Ledger got the Oscar because he died. His performance in Brokeback Mountain was much more deserving.
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omgwtflolbbqbye
07/06/09

@DeltaGuy: We're *not* supposed to be spitting on his grave?

Oops.
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goldfarb
07/06/09

@omgwtflolbbqbye: if a recient Vanity Fair article is to be believed, Ledger would probably prefer us to critique the film and his performance honestly...rather than the disgusting beatification going on now...
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Dr Wadd
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
Although it is going to be contentious, I`m going to offer up Escape from LA for the list. While it isn`t as good as EfNY, it certainly isn`t as bad as most people would suggest.

If we're going to allow Blade 2 on the list, surely there has to be a place for the original Dawn of the Dead.
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Charlie Jane Anders
07/06/09

@Dr Wadd: Oh yeah... I had a mental note to include Escape From L.A., and then I forgot for some reason.
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redspidey
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
I'd argue that Star Trek VI belongs on the list as much as Star Trek II, unless you want to bring up that II is a direct sequel to an episode of the show, and thus more of a sequel than VI in a way. Then again, I'm also a person who'd say that all of the Trek sequels with the original cast were better than the Motion Picture (yes, even V).
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Platypus Man
07/06/09

@redspidey: I think the idea here is that they're all the first sequel. Star Trek II and IV are both sequels, but only II is the first sequel.

It wasn't directly stated, but I think that's what it was going for.
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goldfarb
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
not only are these films examples of sequels that didn't suck, almost all of them are examples of sequels that are better than the movies they followed.
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Charlie Jane Anders
07/06/09

@goldfarb: Agreed!
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KhaiJB
07/06/09

@goldfarb: I disagree on Aliens being better than Alien.

I've always thought you could remove the end credits from Alien, remove the beginning credits from Aliens and then put them together seamlessly into 1 movie.

they are Equal in their brilliance :)
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goldfarb
07/06/09

@KhaiJB: true, but I always see them as movies with very different objectives...

...and I did say 'almost all of them' :)
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snarktastic
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
Bill Paxton's penultimate role.

Seriously.
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NerD: Blattella
07/06/09

@snarktastic:

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tetracycloide
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
dear god charlie what have you done, there's a stampeed of raging internet commenters ready to innundate us with every movie that should be on the list, shouldn't be on the list, should have recieved a footnote in the mention of some other film on the list, or was seen exiting a denny's at 4am with the list. my god help us all!
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Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.
07/06/09

In reply to 15 Science Fiction Movie Sequels That Don't Utterly Suck
As a fan of Richard Donner and Superman 2 I can say that you can skip the directors cut.
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JosephFinn
07/06/09

@Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.: It's an interesting curiosity for the audition footage spliced in.
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Garrison Dean: R.O.A.C.H.
07/06/09

@JosephFinn: It is for sure, but sadly the way you say spliced is too true. It really feels like they threw in unfinished footage rather than creating a new cut. (which I know is exactly what they did)
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