Top 11 Best Movie Sequels

(The shortened opening)

NC: (looking listless; monotone voice) Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic; I remember it so you don't have to. (rolls his eyes) And welcome to Sequel Month. (rolls eyes again) The sequel.

(We hear the sound of pooping in a toilet, then cut to a shot of the NC's head, with a disgusted look on his face, being flushed down the toilet in question, spinning all the while. Surrounding his head are the titles "Sequel Month (the sequel)")

NC: For those who don't recall, there was a theme month called "Sequel Month", where I looked over all the sequels to awful films I've already reviewed. (holds up index finger) Well, you know what? I want some goodness before I start this shit-storm!

(Cut to an image of a poster for Son of the Mask)

NC (vo): You see, sequels have gotten a reputation as always being inferior to the original.

(Cut to a shot of a poster for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen)

NC (vo): And in many respects, they're right. But that doesn't mean...

(Cut to a montage of clips to such movies as the Rocky sequels, The Dark Knight, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Aliens, among others)

NC (vo): ...there aren't some amazing ones out there. There are people who saw part 2, 3 or 4 not only as a way to make more money, but as a chance to continue a story, provide a brand-new angle, or even outdo what the original did to win over so many people. There's plenty of them to look at, and they deserve to be acknowledged as much as possible.

NC: And we're gonna look at the top 11 of them here today! Why top 11? (suddenly becomes worried) Because, by God, I need as many of these as possible. (cheerful again) These are the Top 11 Greatest Movie Sequels!

(Cut to a shot of a futuristic hangar, straight out of Star Wars. The camera zooms in on the opening, which is zooming at light speed, while the video's title zooms out. This will be the interlude footage throughout the video. The number 11 zooms in)

#11
NC (vo): Number 11: Mad Max: Fury Road. The Mad Max movies are known for having some kickass, mind-blowing sequels. The first film (poster of Mad Max) started off as a low budget seemingly exploitation style revenge flick. But as they kept moving on, they turned into apocalyptic bloodbaths, each one getting more stranger and more action-packed. Well, the crowning achievement by many is Fury Road, which, like the other Mad Max films, can be seen as a continuation, a standalone film, or a little bit of both. All the movies have a mix of past themes, imagery, and ideas. Even some of the actors come back in different roles. This takes the exact same thing and cranks it up to a million. This is by far the biggest Mad Max movie with the best eye candy, creative stunts, and visual storytelling. So much of the narrative is done just through the characters' expressions and actions. Which, when you think about it, is very difficult to do. But you just look at any of these people whether they be side characters or main players and you immediately know their backstory. I've done a whole review on this film, so you can check that out if you want more details. But needless to say, it's both totally different from where the film started out, but also a perfect fit for where they naturally, and even unnaturally, seem to be going.

NC: Oh, what a film. What a lovely film!

#10
NC (vo): Number 10: Rocky II.

#9
NC (vo): Number 9: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*. The interesting thing about this one is it's coming off the heels of a movie that, (poster for Star Trek: The Motion Picture pops up) while financially a hit, didn't get much praise from audiences and critics. While not awful by any means, the film seemed more concerned with being 2001 rather than Star Trek. The sequel was a way of seeing if the financial hit of the last film was a fluke or if Star Trek actually had staying power. Thus, it pulled off what many consider to be the best Star Trek film. It incorporated both the ideas of Star Trek and the emotions of Star Trek, focusing on revenge, strategy, life, death, just about anything that makes a grand epic.

(*NOTE: "Khan" is misspelled "Kahn")

NC: And keep in mind, this is at a time when Star Trek was still associated with this.

(A clip of an episode of the old Star Trek show is shown: the infamous fight between Captain Kirk and a Gorn; cut back to The Wrath of Khan)

NC (vo): Everything from the music to the effects to the perfectly over-the-top acting made this a marvel that really would have gone over fine if it just played as an expensive episode. But they didn't just do that; they put all their talent and effort into it, making it one hell of a suspenseful, action-packed, funny, depressing, uplifting, all-encompassing film. It retreaded what made Star Trek so great, but also went where no Trek film had gone before. And it still holds up even to this day.

Kirk: KHAAAAAAAN!!

#8
NC (vo): Number 8: Toy Story 2.

#7
NC (vo): Number 7: Aliens.

#6
NC (vo): Number 6: Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

#5
NC (vo): Number 5: The Dark Knight.

#4
NC (vo): Number 4: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

#3
NC (vo): Number 3: Bride of Frankenstein.

#2
NC (vo): Number 2: The Godfather, Part 2.

#1
NC (vo): And the number 1 movie sequel is... Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.