I really enjoy Aliens. I know that you found the tonal shift from horror to action jarring, but it is a brilliant follow up to the original. Aliens expands the established world, and fleshes out the lore of the xenomorphs. It also draws Ripley back into the action in a way that made a certain amount of sense. There was focus on her overcoming her trauma, and that frailty made her a stronger character. I still prefer Alien for its technical excellence, but Aliens is a brilliant sequel.
I agree. This is where Predator sequels failed. The first one was pure horror. The second onwards it seemed like they couldn't find the balance between action, which they wanted it to be, and horror, which was the root of the Predator story.
@@mabusestestament Alien 3 Assembly Cut saves the movie. A lot of things that appeared laughable ("Hey, let's have the Alien chasing us!") become desperate ("We are at our last ropes...") That scene alone becomes one of sacrifice and redemption. You actually understand the story. The idea (ditched because cut) that maybe the Alien can mind-control the weaker characters is truly scary. That this cut was not the cinematic one is one of the greatest mistakes in the history of cinema.
In my opinion terminator, alien and predator all have amazing sequels. They are vastly different from the first films. When it comes to predator I have a very hard time picking which one I prefer. As a kid I always watched P2 over P1. I was always drawn to Danny glover. It is nonstop action and chaos from start to finish, Just like aliens. I love the part where he sees all the agents getting demolished in the warehouse and says screw this I’m taking charge. Reminds me a lot of Ripley in Aliens when she does the same thing. These 3 franchises have the best sequels from horror to action. I wish the slasher trio Michael Freddy and Jason films were as good
Maybe a follow-up vid on under-rated sequels? My top pick is Psycho II, surprisingly satisfying arc to Norman Bates, actually gives Perkins the chance to delve much deeper into the character and arguably gives an even more stand-out performance than the first film. I'm also a fan of More American Graffiti. It's not perfect, it's still a very interesting and different spin on the first one that I think deserves more attention than it gets.
I enjoyed all the ones you mentioned. Mad Max 2 I saw as an adolescent. It was R rated but we managed to sneak in. Because of my age and the way it was filmed it really got to me. Godfather, Raiders, Empire Strikes Back and so on felt like cost millions. Mad Max 2 didnt and still managed to tell a story like no one had before. Thank you so much. I listen to you whilst eating lunch every afternoon. ;)
Great topic. I know blockbusters seem to be the main talking point in this discussion but I personally think “Before Sunset” to be the greatest sequel of all time. I love The Dark Knight and The Empire Strikes Back but Sunset is so daring and arresting. Just my 2 cents. Keep up the great work. 👍
Cameron has two excellent films T2 & Aliens. And half a great film Titanic, the story is silly but the Titanic sinking? Terminator is cool. And then there is Avatar, that is Dances With Wolves With Aliens and Pocahontas. No comment. I have never seen Godfather without seeing Godfather II. And I have seen them together twice in the cinema. To me it is one film. But III? Cash grab with a few good elements. Thanks for your thoughts Maggie.
when I was younger I used to say Spider-Man 2 was my favorite movie lol I just did not expect Mary Jane to find out Peter was Spider-Man and it blew my mind. We really need a Spider-Man 4 with Tobey and Kirsten where they can get married and be happy for a second, but that will never happen😭
@@kevyxcx5829 Yeah man. Spider-Man 2 is just such a wonderful character driven superhero movie. It's top 5 for me with regards to the comic book genre.
Of course Jaws 2 isn't as good as its predecessor but for a kid being brought up in rainy, grey northern England, it was ALL THAT! I so wanted that lifestyle.
I agree with Temple Of Doom. The film has only grown on me over the years to become my favorite Indiana Jones iteration. The most iconic scenes for me come from this film. I also absolutely adore the dynamic between Indy, Willie & Short Round. Adventure films dont get better than this. 👍👍
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 yes it is,i assume you are implying that it remade the og and ash died at the end of fhe first which ive been told before but the show ash vs evil dead recalls events from the whole trilogy that happened so regardeless all three happened if you consider it cannon which i happen to do,along with that it is also why i mean almost sticks the landing because the continuity from the first as like fast fowarding through the events til he kills his girlfriend is so sloppy imo but then again the movie is all about breaking the rules
@@someone7068 I never watched Ash v Evil Dead, but for me no way in hell a series based on original movies counts as canon. Although people seemed to really like it, Ash v evil dead existed to do what modern series do; milk a recognizable IP that has a loyal fanbase.
@@dr.juerdotitsgo5119 youd think that but it is actually a good legacy sequal if you can call it that look at top gun maverick most people would say it is better than the og and was made with a fair amount of heart,well i can tell you the show has enough creativity to keep me intrigued and it honored the ogs while adding new lure to the character so yes i consider it cannon and i think it qualifies as a sequal but i get where you are coming from to me anything after T2 and return of the jedi are fan fiction,because they have no heart or place to exist or bring anytying new to the table,ash vs evil dead has the charm,gore,fan service,and a chance for more story that was explored and character backround given to imo be a good legacy continuation
@@someone7068 I haven't watched anything Stars Wars related aside from the original trilogy, but I'll definitely take your word for it lol. And I have seen a few scenes from Ash and it didn't do it for me; I missed the B-Movie charm and seemed like it was trying too hard to be funny, but to each their own I guess.
I love Star Trek 2 just as much as the next guy, but honestly my favorite is Star Trek 6. Idk, I just really love that film's theme of how we can always be young at heart and how it seemlessly blends the sci fi genre with the prison genre and conspiracy thriller genre.
Loved T2, The Wrath Of Khan, The Godfather Part 2 and The Empire Strikes Back and liked Temple Of Doom. Great video Maggie and take care and stay safe 👍.
the first terminator is way darker than the second movie. The idea that T2 does nothing merely for the sake of spectacle is laughable. A lot of it is fan service that makes no sense narratively whereas the first movie had a reason for everything. In T2 he wears sunglasses for no reason except as a reference to the first movie. In the first movie he is wearing them specifically to disguise his eye damage. In T2 they establish that John has to order the t-800 not to kill anyone but he was already averse to killing before that as he hadn't killed anyone at all. In the opening bar scene he clearly applies non lethal attacks to all the patrons who threaten him, in the first movie he literally rips buddies heart out of his chest in the opening scene but in the second movie he breaks a guys arm and stabs it and were supposed to believe theres some progression from being lethal to non-lethal? He started out being non lethal and the movie was too cowardly to have him actually kill anyone before he became more humanized by interacting with john, they were clearly pandering to child friendly bs with that.The first movie is a nearly perfect film i can rewatch endlessly. The more I rewatch the second film its gimmicky nature by contrast to the first is increasingly glaring. Idk why you're saying the second one was darker. The first movie ends with judgement day being inevitable. It's more raw and gritty in its aesthetic and tone. The second movie relies way more on falling back on comfortable sentimentality that everything will be okay in the end. Even aesthetically the first film is way darker. With Arnold as the protagonist in the 2nd movie theres never any real sense of danger but in T1 every moment feels so tense whereas in the 2nd movie the tension is always brief as the artificial gimmicky nature of the structure of the movie douces the intensity in comparison to the first where it was this constant feeling of impending doom that almost never let's up. Arnold was way better as the creepy robot antagonist than as the protector. The only thing better about the second movie is Sarah Connor's progression, outside of that everything is lower quality.
The first film is classified as sci-fi horror. T2 is sci-fi action. Personally love them both for what each represents. The same pattern exactly happen in the Alien franchise. 1st one is the definition of horror sci-fi. Second one is sci fi action. Third one, I’d rather not talk about it.
@@gpapa31 I like Aliens but I feel like Aliens is nowhere even remotely in the ballpark of Alien, I watched them back to back recently and Alien is so amazing I'm confused how anyone can convince themselves Aliens is better. T2 being action sci-fi doesn't somehow magically erase the issues I have with it in contrast to the first film. They both have horror action elements, T1 just does it better.
@@SupermanChampionOfTheOppressed I will agree with the Alien franchise. The first one is on a totally different league that no other sequel after that has managed to even remotely approach. On the Terminator franchise I will respectfully disagree. And that comes from someone that prefers the first one to the second one as well. But not because I believe is a better film but because I like the sci fi horror more than the action genre. It’s purely down to to taste and not quality. I also love that is much darker. I couldn’t see any horror elements on the second one btw. I guess there some but mild and few. Mainly is a summer popcorn blockbuster high caliber action film and at that is easily one of the best ever in my book. But hey, that’s just taste. :-)
@gpapa Alien3 would be qualified as scifi drama or scifi tragedy imo. I know I am in the minority, but I really love Alien3 (the assembly cut), I like it just as much as Aliens, perhaps even a little bit more 😊 Alien still is the best one imo.
Love Temple of Doom. While I don’t think it’s better than Raiders, I certainly think it’s better than Crusade. That film felt like a carbon copy of Raiders in terms of tone.
The director's cut of the first Star Trek is superior to the theatrical release in every way, and those that disparaged the original for all the reasons mentioned here, will be pleasantly surprised and really enjoy the director's cut.
My favorites: Empire Strikes Back Toy Story 2 Blade Runner 2049 Mad Max: Fury Road Kill Bill Vol. 2 Before Sunset Spider-Man 2 Paddington 2 Terminator 2: Judgement Day Honorable mention to The Suicide Squad for being the most improvement ever from the original to the sequel.
Well the 2 obvious ones which everyone says but is really true is Godfather 2 and Empire Strikes Back. But for me The Good, The Bad And The Ugly should take top prize. Technically, it is a third installment in a trilogy.
One thing about the first two Godfather films and how they compare to Star Wars IV & V: Godfather Part II and Empire Strikes Back both have so much plot movement happening with so many characters in the first half, which I felt is good for the story, but it takes away a bit from the flow and aesthetic that their respective first parts have. They both serve bigger plot haymakers to the audience than their first parts though, which I think a general audience is more drawn to the plot and story, so getting more of that in Godfather Part II and Empire Strikes Back pleases them a bit more. A New Hope has more of a complete monomyth allegory that needs no support from any following Star Wars film, so that makes me pick it as my favorite Star Wars and Parts I & II of the Godfather are literally the first and second half of the book, so they're pretty much on equal ground for me as being one 6 1/2 hour movie.
Blade runner 2049 , The Godfather part 2 , back to the future 2 isn’t as good as the original for me but I think it’s really underrated . Spiderman 2 for me remains the best spiderman live action movie imo , the dark knight , empire strikes back obviously other than that it’s slim pickings
Yeah, _Terminator 2 : Judgment Day_ might be my pick for greatest action film ever made. It comprehensively satisfies both my head and my heart, and remains endlessly rewatchable. (Oh and shout out to the audaciousness of _Die Hard with a Vengeance_ - my favourite of the franchise.)
Y'all are underrating Drunken master 2 massively. Also, thank you for noticing how good Sarah Conner is as a character. By comparison she's not that great in the original one as you say. Linda Hamilton is perhaps the most persuasive female action star I can think of; When she kicks the ass of two men and takes another hostage it's totally believable. I also think that Arnold's terminator character is very well written, and I even like John Conner despite him being the "90s cool kid".
I think there's a bit of a bias towards Godfather 2 simply because it's such a great film in its own right, but I agree, it's not better than 1. There are no scenes in it anywhere near comparable to Brando/Pacino's last conversation, Brando's death, and a dozen others. 2 is a more than worthy successor, but it's a notch or two below 1.
I still remember that fateful summer of 1991 when I first saw T2. think it was the first movie I can recall that I immediately got into character as a kid. My obsession for it was borderline psychotic the minute I stepped out of that theater! 😂 Monumental blockbuster action film.
Better movies than the originals *Annabelle creation* *Gremlins 2 the new batch* *ouija origin of evil* *the conjuring 2* *childs play 2* *the Devils rejects*
Aliens wow I loved the original movie but aliens for me is as good as if not better than the original. I’m in the minority on this one but I prefer the terminator to t2 I love t2 for me it just lacks the poetry of the original
Midriff !! midriff !! midriff!!! midriff!! Hey deepfocuslens you have really long fingers no doubt from musician parents Play us a song, you're the pianpwoman 🥳
@@michaelbledstein7515 Community posts don't seem to show up in notifications, I think you just have to keep checking every day to see if there's a new one.
Scream 2 came out less than a year after the original and is near perfect. I wish the franchise would have deviated from Sidney after the first sequel and instead commented on the rise of American malice more. The whodunnit aspect would have been more interesting with reality-based motives. However, the social commentary in Scream 4 will never be topped (the “I don’t need friends, I need fans” speech by the main killer in early 2011 before social media became fully toxic was so beyond accurate and predictive) so at least some good came out of the direction they chose to go in after they made changes to Scream 3 because of Columbine.
Yeah the original Scream 3 screenplay (or at least treatment) had Stu Macher from the first movie return as the killer. Who knows, maybe he returns as the killer of Scream 6 😊
I don’t know if it was (that’s subjective) but it was absolutely EPIC on IMAX. One of the best blockbuster movies I’ve seen and certainly tops the first which is iconic.
As a low budget sci-fi suspense-action movie, Terminator was incredibly cool for its time, but also it was very thin in so many ways. T2 absolutely improved on the original- except for the CGI. I hated that for some reason also.
I’ve always thought the effects in T2 aged reasonably well, particularly if it’s the theatrical cut we’re talking about here. It’s OK to have trouble with it, but it definitely broke ground. I still prefer the original film. I like Kyle Reece, and I enjoy the action staging, especially the police station shootout.
@@matthewjordan7297 Maybe I need to go back and watch it again. For some reason I just remember hating the oozing blob of metal trope that was around before CGI became more advanced. I guess that was in improvement on the polygons that came before..
Yeah it is. Empire was able to turn Star Wars from the greatest movie of all time into the greatest movie franchise of all time. And then Return of Jedi, although not a masterpiece like the first 2, is still very close to being a masterpiece & stuck the landing so well that the only trilogy that even comes close to Star Wars as a whole is Lord of the Rings.
I like this review for the most part, but how is it humanly possible as a film lover to say the effects in T2 are bad??? That is just ridiculous, I get it we are all entitled to our opinions, but that is laughable at best, that the pioneering visual effects made in one of the most important films of all time look bad. If not for T2 then I can promise you without a doubt Hollywood looks a hell of a lot different today. It’s like saying Black Sabbath’s pioneering heavy metal music from the early 70s doesn’t hold up to modern metal music. Sorry but I got to call you out on that one 😂
Right Yeah.. I used to love Back to the future 2.. But after seeing it numerous times over the years.. Oh And I saw it twice at the cinema when it was released.. What an experience That was. So many mistakes in it though.. Well it is a time travel movie. But So many mistakes.. Yet Still entertaining. I think these days I prefer part 3. In regard of Jaws 2.. Yes.. I actually like Jaws 2.. Watched it on dvd a couple years back now.. Yeah fun.. Not as good as the original.. And the original being within my top 4 favourite movies. Never got into the Indiana Jones hype.. At all. I by passed it. I remember when everyone else was into Temple of doom and Raiders.. I just wasn't connected to that in anyway.. And mainly because of the hype. I remember not feeling entertained by Indiana Jones at all. Couldn't even tell you a scene from it.
Civilized white man And most of foreigners still living in huts, standing on dirt, wearing loin cloths That's why But it's stupid It's a period piece It's not supposed to be 2000s India It's supposed to be in the 40s or before in a poor area of tyr country People always find reasons to get angry because they are angry with their own lives
They're all stupid and completely missing the movie set up For example short round is not White or America neither I think And hes dressed more modern than Indiana , wearing modern clothes and caps for the time And in the movie intro they are NOT in America or any white country in Europe And Its extremely civilized With night clubs with singers and pianos, cocktails and tuxedos More civilized than we ever saw America in the Indians Jones movies The set up is We cannot have magical spiritual stuff happening in a modern civilized city Thousands of children cant go missing in a modern city without the government doing something about it If its modern, the movie and what the movies are about cannot happen All of this magical mysticism can only happen in places were people still practice and live by the mysticism The more uncivilized = the more people practice mystic rituals More modern = more atheistic Indi requires those set ups so his encounters with the supernatural CAN happen People are idiots Deepfocuslens give me a like for being smart :(
The Godfather Part 2 is best Hollywood movie ever, Al Pacino give best lead actor role ever with Gina Rowlands in The Woman Under the influence 2 best Hollywood acting yes better than Streep in Sophie
Temple of Doom is a terrible sequel (yes I know it’s a prequel, who cares, it sucks) to a great movie. The things that really kill it are Kate Capshaw, who is annoying, badly written and an unrealistic romantic choice for Indy…and the dark, dark tone. I don’t mind a good horror movie, but not so much a really sad (and racist) horror movie in the middle of an Indiana Jones adventure. The action simply isn’t very good when it does happen, and some of the special effects shots look terrible, especially when you consider the usual high quality of ILM. I have friends that love this movie but they’re insane too. Look at all the great set pieces of “Raiders”-the opening with the cave, the fight in the bar, the chase in Cairo, the snake crypt escape, the fight with Marion in the plane, the truck….I mean come on. “Temple Of Doom” has maybe about ten minutes of action/thrills in the whole movie. Spielberg himself doesn’t even like the movie. The prosecution rests.
T2 is best action sf movie ever,The Terminator is masterpice in sf horror genre, Indiana Jones only first is very good movie, The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2 are 2 best Hollywood movies ever, move Indiana Jones and replace with Alien and Aliens yes Cameron directed this movies but this is only director
T2 had to grow on me. I didn't like it for a long time. No one wanted to see a 'nice' terminator. I still don't like ESB. It was depressing and I didn't want to see a green talking hand puppet. As tired as it is to say, best sequel (of blockbusters anyway) is probably Aliens. That said, space is fake. It's all propaganda for The Great Deception.
So you didn't particularly like The Terminator?And the T-1000 just didn't do it for you. Hmmm. Ok. Well...listen to me very closely, dear. GIVE UP BEING A MOVE CRITIC TODAY! YOU ARE INSANE! YOU NEED TO GET THERAPY! AND RIGHT NOW! I am 57 years old. The only thing I've ever heard anyone say in regards to the T-1000 is that they were completely blown away by those effects. And as an avid movie goer, I can confidently say that there has never been anything like it since. T2 remains the greatest action adventure film ever made. And The Terminator, before it, brought the whole genre to a new level. So, if I were you, I would start with Prozac, then work my way up to Effexor, and possibly start leveling out with Abilify. No more criticism for you! And by the way, when can we see YOUR script? I can't wait.
The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse, obviously! 😄🍻 Bride Of Frankenstein The Creature Walks Among Us, not as good as the original but almost as good imo 😊 Orpheus (by Cocteau) if you count that as a sequel (to The Blood Of A Poet)
