Best sequel in movie history.

[Shadowdancer]

Godfather II is the best sequel of all time. Period.

Aliens, T2, X2, Predator 2 (P2?), Blade 2 (B2?), Empire Strikes Back, Bride of Frankenstein, Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life and Sanjuro are all good sequels.

Star Trek IV and Star Trek VIII are the best sequels in that franchise.

 

[Silver Moon]

Mark lists the cast of Preditor I as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura and Sonny Landham. Now I'm familiar with Schwarzenegger and Ventura but which states were the other three the Governors of?

 

[Eternalknight]

I'll chuck another vote in for Terminator 2.

 

[Tonguez]

Agree with above

also add The Prophecy sequels

 

[LoneWolf23]

Disney's Aladdin: The Return of Jaffar. Mostly because it lead into the Aladdin TV series, which I feel was one of the best Fantasy Animated series ever aired.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Mark lists the cast of Preditor I as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura and Sonny Landham. Now I'm familiar with Schwarzenegger and Ventura but which states were the other three the Governors of?

LOL! That's great!

As for the topic...hm...DEFINATLY Empire Strikes Back at the top...followed closely by X2, Wrath of Khan, T2, and pretty much everything else mentioned already.

 

[Kai Lord]

Problem is tTT doesn't stand on it's own and thus can't truly be considered a separate movie.

Nothing in the definition of "sequel" states "and it must stand on its own." That's not what a sequel is. Its a follow-up, a continuation. Regardless, its a separate movie. With its own title, release date, and eligibility for awards. Sorry, that's just the way it is.

And of course it stands on its own, every bit as much as the original Star Wars did. It began "in media res" and ended with a major victory against the forces of evil, with the major dark lords still yet to be vanquished. So even by your incorrect definition of what constitutes a sequel, it qualifies.

Of course it's not good enough to be the greatest sequel of all time either.

It was a toss up between that and ESB, but since LOTR enthusiasm is currently at its strongest, I thought I'd give the nod to TTT.

 

[mojo1701]

Star Trek: VIII - I really liked the story, and of the whole "First Contact" thing period.

Star Trek: X - Loved it. Loved the battle, loved the escape from the Scimitar, loved the Argo. Data's sacrifice was a real tear-jerker. I screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" in the movie theater. I am now banned. Thanks a lot...
(I haven't seen any of the Kirk-era ones. Haven't had the chance to. I'm too young for them. Must... catch... up.)

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Epitome of Star Wars, IMO. I'm a fan of all of the movies, but this one stood out.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - I don't care: It's a sequel, since it was marketed as such.

American Wedding - up there maybe with the first one, but certainly better than the second. Where was Oz?!!

 

[John Crichton]

And of course it stands on its own, every bit as much as the original Star Wars did. It began "in media res" and ended with a major victory against the forces of evil, with the major dark lords still yet to be vanquished. So even by your incorrect definition of what constitutes a sequel, it qualifies.

The only thing that I disagree with here is that TTT stands on its own. In order to understand it you really need FotR or it makes for a very confusing film. Star Wars stood perfectly on its own with an ending that didn't need a sequel. While they are all separate films, I do believe that the LotR movies are unique in that they are simply one very long film that require all the other parts for proper viewing (unlike many sequels where the story could have simply ended with the last movie). However, this does not invalidate TTT from the list of great sequels, as you have already said.

 

[John Crichton]

Star Trek: X - Loved it. Loved the battle, loved the escape from the Scimitar, loved the Argo.

Spoiler

Data's sacrifice was a real tear-jerker.

I screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" in the movie theater. I am now banned. Thanks a lot...
(I haven't seen any of the Kirk-era ones. Haven't had the chance to. I'm too young for them. Must... catch... up.)

Spoiler warnings, man. Spoiler warnings...