7 Sequels That Are Better Than the Original (No, Terminator 2 Isn't On the List)

Often, when you hear a sequel has been planned to a great movie, your heart sinks a little bit. Yes, you want more of it. But how often have sequels failed to deliver? Too often; that's the answer.

But sometimes - just sometimes -the sequel is actually better than the original. As these 7 movies show:

Paddington 2 (2017)

It has everything you want in a family movie. It's gentle, charming, has a dash of villainous deceit – and includes a cute bear. The first Paddington movie was good. In fact, it was very good. And there were fears that a second was just a crude money-making attempt.

Those fears couldn't have been more wrong. And if you don't believe me, I suggest you get yourself a cup of tea and a marmalade sandwich, watch the movie, and then reconsider your opinion.

Superman II (1980)

By far the best Superman film. It had the best baddies, the most genuine threat to Superman, and enough tongue-in-cheek-ness that it was actually funnier than Superman III even though the later one starred Richard Pryor.

The original was decent but required a whole load of preamble. This movie got into the meat of the action much quicker – and was all the better for it.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

I mean, come on. Animated characters just shouldn't do that to a person. And you might argue that it was only because we'd already been on two adventures with them that they could tug so heavily on our heartstrings.

But the truth is that there was a certain poignancy about a coming-of-age movie that took it to the next level. I know Toy Story 4 and 5 have been released since. But at the time, it felt like the end of an era. And it included all the wholesome goodness you'd expect, just with a bit more jeopardy than we were used to. I mean, don't even get me started on the incinerator scene…

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Star Wars (1977) broke the mould. The Empire Strikes Back created a legacy. The original was a good movie that introduced a whole new world – and then had that dreadful ending where the heroes were all given medals. It was twee, and probably down to the fact that nobody knew yet how massive it would become.

The Empire Strikes Back was raw. It showed the dirty side of the rebellion and didn't shy away from the fact that things were tough for the ragtag bunch taking on the might of the empire.

And then we got the immortal line: 'No. I am your father' which has to go down as one of the best moments in cinematic history.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

This was when they knew they were onto something huge. Harry, Ron and Hermione were that bit older, viewers had already had their introduction to the wizarding world, and the story was cranked up a gear.

The first two films in the series were for kids. This was a movie that moved on from the formulaic good vs evil and appealed to viewers of all ages.

This was grittier, darker and almost felt like a new direction for what was fast becoming a franchise.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Yes, this is a prequel, but it's called The Godfather II and it proves the point that a follow-up movie can be better than the original. From the outset of The Godfather, we knew Vito Corleone as a Mafia don. A powerful man who had earned his place at the top table and called the shots. It was gripping, but it lacked depth.

Despite it being almost 3 hours long, it didn't really provide any backstory. The Godfather II did exactly that. There was a nice symmetry between the lives of Vito and Michael that made the sequel punch above its weight in a way that the original couldn't.

So, it was no surprise when it became the first sequel ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture - and Robert De Niro picked up a gong too.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Heath Ledger made this movie the success it was. Going all the way back to the days of Adam West as Batman in the TV show, The Joker has always been an impressively unhinged adversary for the Caped Crusader. But Ledger turned him into a maniacal version of the character that was real enough you could almost believe this was a genuine supervillain.

It was the bad guy the franchise needed to recover from Batman Begins that was an almost dark take on Gotham City but just didn't quite allow Christian Bale to truly shine in the cowl.

The Dark Knight was the opposite. Bale pulled out the best Batman performance ever on screen (yes, that's a subjective view, but who did it better), aided by his being pitted against the best supervillain ever. What ensued was epic.