My Top 10 Movie Sequels!

 

Hey Guys x

As you may or may not know, throughout the last year and a bit, film has been something that I feel really passionate about, and I've been watching as many films as possible!

So, for today's post, I thought I'd let you in on some of my favourite sequels. People tend to say that the original is always the best and that sequels tend to ruin the story - and this is true in many cases. However, I've picked 10 sequels that I think, not only make their franchise better, but in some cases, are better than the original movies!

This list mainly consists of Marvel, horror and Disney movies, so they might not be your cup of tea, but I love them all!

For each film, I'll say whether or not you can watch it without watching the first movies, because that's really important for me when it comes to sequels!

Also, my descriptions will probably contain spoilers from the first movies, so if you haven't seen them, but you want to - avoid reading my description!

10) Insidious: Chapter 2


Insidious is one of my favourite horror franchises. The first film is basically about a couple who have three children. One of their kids falls unexpectedly into a coma-like state. Then they discover that he is trapped in between this world and another 'dimension' (I don't know what the specific word is, so let's go with dimension!), and the only person that can bring him back is his father.
This time around, it seems as if everything is completely normal - only, the father isn't acting quite like himself. What was it about his past that allowed him to travel between dimensions? And who is the mysterious veiled woman in all of his old photos?
This is a great film whether it is a sequel or not - it's scary enough to be a really good horror film and it makes you so invested in the original story.
The films are so intertwined that you can't really watch this without watching the first one, but it's awesome so go and watch it!

9) The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea


Yes, this is the complete opposite of Insidious! However, I think it's one of the best sequels that Disney have ever done! So we all know the story of 'The Little Mermaid' right? Ariel, the mermaid who decided that she wanted to have legs so she could date Prince Eric, and so makes a deal with sea witch Ursula, one pair of legs in exchange for one voice?
Well, 12 years later and it's the turn of Ariel and Eric's daughter Melody. Only this time, she has legs and wants to be a mermaid (the irony!) so makes a deal with sea witch Morgana, sister or Ursula. One pair of fins for the trident that belongs to King Trident, incidentally, also Melody's grandfather.
I love this film so much! It's more fun than the first one, the music is great, and it's nice to be reunited with characters that you already know and love! You could probably watch this without seeing the first one, but the first one is great so I'd suggest watching both!

8) Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol


Again, this is completely different from the first two films, as it's an action movie! For this one, you can definitely watch and enjoy it without seeing the first films (this is the fourth) because I haven't seen any of the films previous to this, and had no background information when I watched it!
I don't want to reveal too much, but Ethan Hunt and his team race against time to track down a terrorist who has gained access to Russian nuclear codes. It's fast paced, funny and action filled, the perfect action movie!

7) Paranormal Activity 4


And we're back to horror! If you're not a fan of horror, you may have bypassed these films, however, I'm a fanatic! I've seen every single movie including the latest one 'Ghost Dimension' and, without a doubt, this was the best movie in the whole franchise including the original film! This franchise is about ghosts and the paranormal and began with a couple called Katie and Micah, who were tormented by paranormal activity. The 2 films following this showed that Katie and her sister had been targeted by the same demon when they were kids.
This film, however, is about a family of four who live a seemingly normal life. However, when they take a boy called Robbie into their home, everything changes and suddenly, it's them who are the target of the latest paranormal activity!
You don't need to see the first three films to see this one. I was interested in Katie's story, but this one doesn't really feed into that that much, so definitely watch this if you like horror!

6) Iron Man 3


Now, onto Marvel! If you don't know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is made up of the Iron Man, Captain America and Thor films, but there are also 2 'Avengers' films. However, for the purposes of this countdown, I'm treating each set of films as their own franchise, outside of the MCU. The first two films show how Tony Stark became Iron Man, and what he has done since becoming Iron Man, including defeating villains such as Obadiah Stane and Whiplash.
This time around, there's a new suit, a new villain, and some major new problems for Tony Stark. Following the events of 'The Avengers', Tony is in a bad place. But there's nothing like new villain 'The Mandarin' to spice things up.
I didn't explain it very well, but trust me, it's a great film. I think, with this, you'll have seen it if you're a Marvel fan, and if you're not, you'll probably never watch it, so there's no point promoting it to you. But if you're a superhero fan, watch this movie. It's exciting, captivating, and my favourite in the Iron Man franchise!

5) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so of course, I had to include one of the sequels in this countdown! This is the third film in the franchise and my favourite out of all 8 (closely followed by Goblet of Fire and the Order of the Phoenix!) because it's amazing!
The films are about a boy who discovers he's a wizard, and then has to learn how to deal with this knowledge while defeating ultimate bad-guy Voldemort! In this film, Harry finds out that the serial killer who sold out his parents has broken out of Azkaban (the prison) and is looking for him. or so it seems...
This is a really great movie whether you're a fan or not, however, probably don't see it without seeing the first two first, otherwise you probably won't get anything!

4) Peter Pan: Return To Neverland


This is probably the most underrated Disney sequel ever, and it's definitely one of the best! The original story is that Peter Pan has lost his shadow, and finds in in the Darling's house. When he meets Wendy and her brother's John and Michael, he takes them to Neverland and they help him to defeat Captain Hook.
This time around, however, it is Wendy's daughter Jane who finds herself in Neverland with no way to get home, especially when she admits that she doesn't believe in fairies!
This is such a feel-good movie with a song that makes me want to cry every time I hear it! You can watch this without seeing the first Peter Pan, but I assume that most people already have!

3) Captain America: The Winter Soldier


Another Marvel movie! Like Iron Man, the Captain America franchise is part of the MCU, but I'm going to talk about it as it's own franchise. In the first film, we saw the making if Cap, how he became who he is, and evolution of villain, the Red Skull. This time around, with some new characters introduced, Cap and the team have to defeat terrorist group HYDRA before they wipe out New York! This film is so good, it's really fast paced and interesting, it's not too complicated, and the action scenes are incredible!
I watched this before seeing the first Captain America film, so I'd say that you don't really need to watch that one to watch this one. However, watching the first 'Avengers' film could be helpful in understanding the context a bit more.

2) Annabelle


I don't know if a prequel can count as a sequel, but it came after the first film so I'm saying it's a sequel! It's a prequel to the Conjuring, which was about a family who were being stalked, terrorized and possessed by a demonic spirit. However, this story is about a doll, Annabelle (it's seemingly unrelated if you haven't seen the first 5 minutes of the Conjuring, the only time when Annabelle was mentioned) . A pregnant woman and her husband are attacked by a couple who worship Satan and tried to kill them. As the woman was killed by the police, she was holding one of the pregnant woman's dolls. Since then, weird things have started happening. Could it have anything to do with that doll?
Of course it does!
You can watch this as it's own movie without watching the Conjuring. In fact, I kind of wish it was it's own movie rather than a sequel, as the two have nothing in common!

1) Back To The Future II


Back To The Future is my number 1 favourite film of all time, so it's only fitting that it's my favourite sequel too! It's about a boy called Marty McFly. His inventor friend creates a time machine, and he then get trapped in the year 1955, interrupting his parent's first romantic meeting and rushing to get them back together before he's erased from history!
In this second film, his friend Doc drags him to the future, 2015 to be exact (which is now in the past - freaking crazy!!) so that he can sort out a problem with his future kids. However, when they come back to 1985, they find themselves in an alternate reality and need to get things back to the way that they were - which means travelling back to 1955 and trying not to bump into themselves from the first film. This film is probably one of the only films that I will ever call a cinematic masterpiece that everyone really needs to watch! If you haven't seen this yet, watch it now! But watch the first one first because they're heavily linked and amazing!

Thank you for reading

Comment below your favourite movie sequel!

Keep Smiling - Lou xx