Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.
No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?
Lists like these are supposed to be fun, and part of what makes them fun is that no two are ever going to look exactly the same. We’re all entitled to our opinions, and rankings are shaped by personal taste, perspective, and life experience. I try not to judge a list too harshly and instead focus on what the person or people putting it together consider worthy of the top spot. Get that right, and the rest is largely subjective.
That being said, last week, the staff at IndieWire released one of the most egregious film rankings I’ve ever seen. But when you decide Magic Mike XXL is the greatest sequel of all time, you’re asking for it. There’s nothing wrong with taking a big swing and putting Magic Mike XXL somewhere high if that’s your thing. But when you put it above some of the greatest films ever made, I have to question what exactly we’re doing here. Considering the site, I expected a certain amount of pretentiousness when I clicked on the list, but even by those standards, some of the choices were… something.
So I thought I’d give this theme a shot myself and, at the very least, attempt to correct what should be one of the easiest categories to get right at the top. Sequels have given us some of the greatest films in cinema history, and the best of them don’t simply live up to their predecessors. They sometimes even surpass them.
Before we get into it, a quick disclaimer: I consider The Lord of the Rings trilogy to be one film and treat the three parts as a single entry whenever I do rankings. My reasoning is that it was filmed as a single production and released in three parts. Since I consider the trilogy one film on my other lists, it would be hypocritical to include The Two Towers (2002) or The Return of the King (2003) as individual sequels here.
That said, here are my ten greatest sequels of all time.
10. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
9. Toy Story 3 (2010)
8. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
7. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
6. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
5. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly* (1966)
3. Aliens (1986)
2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1. The Godfather Part II (1974)
I agree on The Lord of the Rings being one film, and other comparable cases such as Joan the Maid. Also, I wouldn't count things like Three Colors: Red or Noroît to be sequels:
1. Twin Peaks: The Return/Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
2. 2046
3. Model Shop
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
5. The Godfather Part II
6. Babe: Pig in the City
7. Ocean's Twelve
8. Stolen Kisses
9. Before Midnight
10. Bride of Frankenstein