Is there a better sequel than Terminator 2?

The Dark Knight

The Empire Strikes Back

Empire Strikes Back.

And if you're into "it's so bad it wraps around and becomes hilarious" films, Troll 2.

People who grew up with the original will probably flay me for this.

Bladerunner 2049 was a better movie than Bladerunner. It took everything that was great about the original and improved upon it.

The original is a masterpiece. That said, I loved the sequel and have rewatched it multiple times. However, I don’t know if it is because I love the film or just anything Ryan Gosling is in 🤤😅
- Drive?
- The first movie I saw with Gosling was Lars and the Real Girl. I didn't get his appeal then, but I do now. I should watch that movie again because as weird as that movie is, I think his performance is stellar.
It is great.
- The story / writing is pretty bold too. It's nothing new by modern standards, but it was probably relatively novel in 1982.

Shrek 2

You know what, thread closed. What a perfect movie.

Bending the rules a bit here. I know it is not a true sequel, but it's part of a trilogy. Hot Fuzz is better than Shaun of the Dead. Also, except for the second film, I think the Mission Impossible series just gets better with every entry.

For a while, Mission Impossible kept getting better, but Dead Reckoning was absolute dog water and it killed all my interest in the franchise forever.
I know it is not a true sequel, but it’s part of a trilogy. Hot Fuzz is better than Shaun of the Dead.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree here.
I liked MI2 better than MI:III
it's been a while since I've seen them, so I can't really remember why.
- About two years ago, I watched all six, as there were then, over the course of a couple of weeks. For me, the second film stands out as being the weakest.
  I think I need to watch Dead Reckoning (formerly part 1) again as I was slightly disappointed seeing that.

Godfather 2

Paddington 2

Evil Dead 2, though it’s arguably a re-telling vs a sequel.

I don’t think there’s a better movie sequel than Terminator 2. It’s the reason why it’s still an ongoing franchise today.

Would people still watch the first Terminator if it wasn’t for Terminator 2?

I like Terminator 1 a lot more than T2.
It's much more grim-dark with horror elements. I would even go as far as saying there are subtle cyberpunk motifs in T1. There is also a modicum of character development. Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese) does a great job.
T2 feels more like a teen's summer action movie in comparison. It lacks that edge and is overly sentimental.
I will note that growing up I liked T2 a lot more than T1.

Wrath of Khan

Mad max 1 was a revenge cop story nobody watched outside Australia

Mad max 2 was the apocalyptic Mad max everybody know

Godfather II. The first is honestly kind of hokey and people are really stupid when they are trying to be clever. GF II has higher levels of tension and the execution of everything is smarter. And Robert DeNiro just slays playing young Marlon Brando.

Short Circuit 2

Dune, Part Two

I was going to say terminator3 but then I realized you were serious.

I'll have to say Escape from L.A. It is not usually mentioned and I think it is better than the first part

Critters 2

Toy Story 2? My other answer would be Godfather part II, but it's been so long since I saw it that I don't know if I agree with that commonly-held opinion.

Hate on Michael Bay and his Transformers movies all you want, but there is only one movie with more robots that turn into more things than cars, more explosions, more ridiculous destruction, more awesomeness, more movie than 2007’s Transformers, and that movie is Transformers: Age of Extinction.

A giant robot that turns into a semi-truck painted with red flames, wielding a sword while riding on the back of another giant robot that turns into a flame-breathing T-rex robot. It’s unparalleled in the stupid dumb action movie genre.

Empire Strikes Back
Star Trek II

I saw another comment that spurred my thinking. There are (how many?) sequels in the Terminator series that have only been increasingly worse all because Terminator 2 was so good.

The same goes for Star Wars. Empire Strikes Back is a damn good movie by any measure. I’m confident none of the Star Wars movies since have managed to even come close, and I’d even say the only ones really worth watching are the first, the second, and the immediate prequel (Rogue One)

I qualify a good sequel as a movie that can be enjoyed without having to watch the previous. Not that the previous isn't important, just not required.

Terminator 2 clearly fits into this category. As do a lot of sequels. Here is my short list:

Terminator 2
The Dark Knight
Finding Dory
Toy Story 2
Spider Man 2 (Toby Maguire)

Do Casino Royal or Rogue One count for anyone?

Superman II

Superman lll
- Is slightly better than IV but can't touch II. Terence Stamp's Zod is one of the great superhero movie villains.

Dead snow 2. First one was so bad it was good, the second one was actually incredibly.

Hot shots! Part deux.

cars 2. Nothing better than a spy movie where the protagonist is literally a car

The Two Towers?

Technically a prequel, Mike Flannigan’s Ouija: Origin of Evil far exceeds the original by every measure.

Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Blade Runner 2049 would be my picks.

Leprechaun 4?

I won't go so far as to say this is better than Terminator 2, but Gremlins 2 is such a great sequel. Some people are turned off by the zaniness, but I love how it's basically a parody of unnecessary sequels and that they just swung for the fences with it.

Terminator 3

I may say unlike the movies, Terminator Zero Series is very good!. It is animated, but story telling is sooo good there.

probably since the First movie sucked aswell

Inside Out 2

This is 40 as sequel to knocked up.