The appeal that movie sequels bring to the audience can never be overstated. To know the characters and wait to see what fate has in store for them is what gives sequels their anticipation. In this list, we bring you 8 movie sequels that not only did justice to their respective first parts but went beyond too.
Christopher Nolan’s reimagining of the characters, his very grounded approach towards the protagonist and the antagonist , Heath Ledger's goosebump-worthy performance as The Joker, and the way Nolan brought them face to face will forever be remembered as one of the best creative choices ever made by any filmmaker in history.
Tom Cruise's partnership with director Joseph Kosinski gave us perhaps the perfect sequel we deserved for waiting 36 years. Real-time action sequences featuring jets with Cruise and the other actors flying them were something that blew our minds, right? The perfect tribute to the legacy of 1986’s Top Gun directed by Tony Scott.
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather: Part II shows the lives of both Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) with depth, doing full justice to its predecessor as well as adding to the grittier and darker vibe of the cult classic franchise loved by cinephiles all across the globe.
Before Sunset, the second in the Before trilogy, shows Céline and Jesse, played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, roaming the streets of Paris while getting to know about how each of them has been since they last met (events of 1995’s Before Sunrise). The movie is a slice of life that couldn’t taste better.
2011’s Don 2 takes Shah Rukh Khan’s titular character to Berlin where he takes on the European criminal market. A great movie full of twists and turns, it really outdid its predecessor and set the bar high for its now-in-pipeline successor, especially with the way SRK portrayed the character, giving it a menacing side.
Rajkumar Hirani’s Lage Raho Munna Bhai is the apt sequel to 2003’s Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. Full of humour as well as morals, the sequel’s take on Gandhigiri is still fresh in the minds of the audience. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi’s portrayal of Munna and Circuit and their chemistry can never be recreated by any other actor. P.S- The role of Munna Bhai first went to Shah Rukh Khan.
Neeraj Vora’s Phir Hera Pheri has not only stood the test of time but stands tall as a part of India’s pop culture and meme culture. The stellar cast featuring Akshay Kumar as Raju, Suniel Shetty as Shyam and Paresh Rawal as Baburao will forever be remembered as the iconic trio of Hindi cinema.
From acting to script to songs, Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 did full justice to its predecessor and gave us a prolific actor in Nawazuddin Siddiqui whose role as Faizal Khan was widely praised. Needless to say, the rest of the cast too was bang on. And the result was a sequel that turned the franchise a cult classic.