Submitted by MitchCumsteane t3_zomvu4 in movies
I am unsure any sequel is truly better than the first movie. I would argue that Godfather and A New Hope are best in their series.
The Godfather and its sequel should truly be considered a single film, as they represent Puzo's effort. But if you had to pick one, I would argue that the first is better.
The reason for that can be seen in Star Wars. While Empire is certainly more action-packed, the first film was such a quantum leap in quality of space movies. Its set and craft design was simply never seen before. One could argue that Alien is also far and away better than Aliens.
Similarly Lost Ark is great as it introduces the universe. But I wonder if Last Crusade measures up. It doesn't really have any dead scenes. We won't speak of the two other films that feature a sidekick. They don't measure up.
But can it be said that Last Crusade is as good as, or even better than, the original?
EDIT:
I need to recognize Wrath of Khan is without a doubt a certain case of sequel > original. The first movie was trash.