Daggard said:
Discounting strict trilogies like Matrix, LOTR & Star Wars of course.
We all know that 95% of sequels tend to suck, but over recent years they seem to have improved in quality and even - SHOCK - surpassed the original (as rare as it usually is).
I've included From Russia With Loved because it was the first sequel to a Bond film (and if you don't like it, you can take it up with my lawyer, B. Lowme.
)
So what's the best sequel ever made?
In america, yes, sequel have sux since the damn of time. But when you look elsewhere, it hasn't always been so.
In Japan, 27 great Zatoichi sequels were made. Akira Kurosawa did one heck of a masterpiece when he made a sequel to Yojimbo, and it turned in Sanjuro. The samurai trilogy telling the story of legendary samurai Musashi Miyamoto played by Toshiro Mifune is another great exemple. In Hong kong, there was 50 sequel to the original Won Fei Hung movie. While I haven't seen even ONE of this wong serie, they are well seen by critics.
The one-armed swordsman's trilogy is one hell of a great exemple. The second one is still my favorite shaw brother movie, and it's a sequel, of course. In the 80's, Jackie chan gave us the excellent Police story trilogy, and a sequel to his first drunken master. Stephen Chow's Chinese odyssey part 2 is such a little underrated gem.
In the anime world, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust's pretty great, and Ghost in the shell is a modern beauty.
The muppet movie by Jim Henson are all great.
And then there's the 27 follow up to the original godzilla, and the 10 sequel to the original gamera. There's also the great Daimaijin trilogy. And the once upon a time in China saga, or the mr. vampire 5 movie stories. I could go, of course.
Heck, there's been so many great sequels that it's impossible to chose, imo. Sniff.
But I think i'll go with Dawn of the dead. It still holds a very special place for me as a sequel which truly expended upon it's original source.