I'm not adding any poll. Just want to hear as many good and bad films as possible.

That being said, let's talk about two elephants in the room....

Considering how popular and groundbreaking the original Star Wars (or A New Hope) was, it would be unthinkable to expect that George Lucas could make an even better film, especially since he wasn't directing the sequel.* But The Empire Strikes Back was, and it made such an impact that decades later Empire magazine readers voted it the greatest FILM of all time. Let's put aside the question of whether it's better than The Godfather or whether either of those films deserve to be called the greatest of all time. I think the reason why Empire is better than A New Hope is that it is a darker film, and is willing to do things you normally don't see in a feel-good blockbuster. The very thing that makes this movie great also enfuriated fans (or at least me) at the time because we realized that we would have to wait three whole YEARS to see Han Solo get rescued** and Luke face off against Darth Vader, whom we now knew was his father.*** But after seeing how things got wrapped up a little too neatly in Jedi, I can now more appreciate the things about Empire that drove me crazy at first.

The other elephant? Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Making a better film than Star Trek: The Motion Picture was relatively easy, but I don't think even the most die-hard Trekkie (or Trekker) expected Khan to be THIS good. In the first movie, Kirk seemed a bit like a middle aged @$$hole wanting to relive his glory days. (Can't help but feel REALLY sorry for Captain Decker in that film.) In this one, he's more initially reluctant and is more of the Jim Kirk that I remember---and love---from the original series. I won't say that this film should have won Best Picture over E.T., Gandhi, or Tootsie, but it is a great film in and of its own right. I probably should watch this film again now knowing that the actor who brought Spock to life really is dead now.

*Sadly, after watching the prequel episodes I-III, all of which WERE directed by George Lucas, I think that a major reason why Empire eventually turned out to be so great was that Lucas let somebody else do the actual directing.

**Of course, according to Cracked, the whole reason Han Solo was frozen in carbonite in the first place was because George Lucas didn't know whether Harrison Ford---who was about to star in Raiders of the Lost Ark---would be resigned for Jedi. By the way, the fan who wrote that 200-page letter was wrong. Luke had every bleeping reason to get revenge and the title to the last movie should have stayed the same. To me, Revenge of the Jedi and Return of the Sith makes more sense.

***It's sad that my generation will be remembered as being the last one that was surprised, even shocked, to find out that Dark Vader was Luke Skywalker's father. More people are willing to keep their mouths shut about spoilers for the Saw series than they are for the most successful science fiction film series of all time.

My favorites --

Empire Strikes Back
The Dark Knight
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade
Rocky II
Aliens
T2: Judgement Day
Spider-Man 2
X2
Days of Future Past
Winter Soldier
Avengers 2
Iron Man 3

Least favorites --

Matrix Revolutions
Blade Trinity
Hangover 2
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Spider-Man 3
X-Men: Last Stand

The Dark Knight was indeed one of the greatest sequels of all time.

The Road Warrior is another one that is often cited as a sequel that surpassed the original.

Billy Jack is better than The Born Losers. And it was probably the inspiration for Terror Assaulter.

Best:Bride of Frankenstein

Worst:Jaws 2

Not worthy of the originals:

2010: The Year We Make Contact
Blues Brothers 2000
To Sir, With Love II

I'd go further and say it was not only the best film of 2008, but also the best film of the decade. But I still wouldn't rank it ahead of Empire.

(For that matter, as good as Empire was, I think Raging Bull which came out the same year was a better film.)


I know that there are worse sequels, but Ghostbusters 2 was one of the most disappointing films I have ever seen.

There are too many awful sequels for me to list, so I'm just gonna list the ones off the top of my head that I think are truly great, or at least really really good . The ones I mark with an asterisk (*) I think are actually better than the original film.

Also only going to go with a film's FIRST sequel for consideration here.

The Bride of Frankenstein (*)
The Empire Strikes Back (*)
Star Trek II (*)
Aliens (*)
Spider-Man 2 (*)
X2: X-Men United (*)
Terminator 2 (*)
Toy Story 2
Die Hard 2
Before Sunset
The Dark Knight (*) (* to my *---I think TDK is generally a greater film, but I still actually enjoy Batman Begins more)
Blade II
Captain America-The Winter Soldier (*)
Dawn of the Dead
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (*)
the second Bourne movie, the name of which I can't remember (*)
Temple of Doom
Batman Returns (*)
Psycho II (probably won't find a ton of agreement here)
Scream 2 (ditto)

I'll also add that I think Wes Craven's New Nightmare, a very different kind of sequel to the original Nightmare on Elm Street, is a nifty film.

One film that isn't as bad as people make it out is Halloween III: Season of the Witch. John Carpenter wanted the Halloween series to become a series of horror film that took place around the holiday, and not necessarily a series about serial killer Michael Myers. Fans wanted Michael Myers. After this film, Carpenter (and the studio) never made the mistake of making another "Halloween" film that didn't have the slasher in the William Shatner mask.

Years later, when The Don and Mike Show would repeatedly play the "Silver Shamrock" song in this movie during the Halloween season. Don't know if that helped revive interest in the movie itself.

A bad movie that I never saw, but heard about. Highlander was a popular film, and the studios wanted to make a sequel with co-star Sean Connery. Never mind that Connery's character was killed during the film. From what I heard, Highlander 2: The Quickening makes a very good argument that he should have stayed dead.

I love Halloween III, one of my "guilty pleasure" movies. I still try to view it at least once a year around the holiday.

Make no mistake, Halloween III is NOT as good as Halloween, nor would I call it a classic horror film. But it's isn't terrible either. If you like horror films, it's OK. If you don't, then it's a bad film---but don't knock it unless you've seen it.

I am so glad I never heard of this film (TV special)...
there is a guardian angel protecting me...
lol

I really should kick myself for not thinking of The Bride of Frankenstein. Maybe it's because I haven't seen it in a while, but not only is that film considered better than Frankenstein, but many of the things casual horror fans think as iconic to Frankenstein came from that movie rather than the original.

I'm going to off on a slight (T)Eddy™ tangent, but you don't have to read it. I'm putting it in spoilers.

Mike Myers absence is why I didn't like it. I did like the idea behind it, but as a kid I was just brassed off The Dark Shadow wasn't in it so I never gave it a chance. Now, ironically I would have liked the idea of an anthology movie series. I might rewatch it again at some point.

Trick 'r Treat meets my Halloween anthology needs, even if it is contained to a single movie.

Still hoping for a sequel, though.

I remember dragging a friend of mine to see Exorcist II: The Heretic and then spending the rest of the day apologizing.

Caddyshack II