The Godfather Pt. 2 The Dark Knight Blade Runner 2049 Spider-Man 2 Before Sunset Toy Story 2 The Empire Strikes Back Lord of the Rings: Two Towers For a Few Dollars More Three Colors: White
Naum Rusomarov almost brings tears to my eyes. truly powerful. I always remember trying to recreate the action sequences with my brother and our tricycle...the practicality of it all made it seem so real. T2 is truly amazing in every sense of the word.
The Godfather: Part 2 expanded on the themes and story of the original while also developing the character of Michael to become a truly heartless person. That's why it's my favourite sequel
Christian Tompkins the family doesn’t really fall with Michael in part 2. It ends with him on top, and all his enemy’s eliminated. So the second movie is us watching Vito and Micheal rise to power simultaneously.
@Christian Tompkins I feel that the loss of the core values of the family could be called its "fall" but it was also a rise as michael got rid of all of his enemies to take a position of dominance - It cost his soul though
The first key to a good sequel is that it follows a story archetype that is different to the original, but equally as strong. The second is how well it stands up as a stand-alone film. The third is a progression of adversity for protagonist/s in terms of scale. You need at least 2 out of 3 to be a good sequel.
@aussiebear22 Say it more. I write females and i portray many ways but never as wanna be males. I got a short story regarding SJW. About how one messes up a film.
@Lady Wander Harry Potter has 8 sequels. It can be done if done right. The only info we know is that the Avatar sequels will be a generational family saga.
If you want to know how brilliant James Cameron is, compare Terminator 1, 2, and Aliens to every other Terminator and Alien sequel. He's that much more brilliant than your average writer/director which is something like 10x.
Aliens was super suspenseful. All the characters had their own personality, and it made the movie so damned good as we the audience were so invested in them.
With this video, Michael, you've managed to do the impossible. You've given me actual hope that James Cameron will do something interesting with Avatar 2.
@@0sm1um76 Have to agree, a lot of these really great directors aren't putting out great films anymore, looking at your Spielberg, Cameron, Ridley Scott etc
I knew I'm in for an exciting ride the moment I saw they killed them back in 92, absolutely genius, few films are willing to challenge the expectations, usually only European or art films do so. Movie franchises are not tv shows (I hope that's going to change for Tv shows though, )each film has to be taken as its own entity within its own universe, since I was a kid I've learned to watch things that way and it made life full of miracles and surprises. In Alien 3 Newt and Hicks stop existing from the previous film, they are different people, the same Ripley, the same any character in any sequel. I was in shock when I found out there were some people attached to other films when watching films in front of them. Living in the present moment literally prevents from paying attention to what happened in a different film.
Dawn and War for the Planet of the Apes don't get as much love as I think they should, each film improved off the last. Definitely some of my favorite sequels in all of film!
I checked out of War in the third act. The callbacks to the original series coupled with how weak the characterizations of the human villains were killed it for me. Such a great buildup to an anticlimax.
I personally think Toy Story 3 is one of the rare example that could still inject new lives to the franchises, the sequel literally pinpoints all the point that you mentioned on your video. Keep up the good work.
I think Toy Story 2 was the real game-changer, and Toy Story 3 is the satisfying victory lap - straightup the “shit just got real” Empire Strikes Back / “ok this is epic” Return of the Jedi dichotomy all over again. Toy Story 2 has the best second act and but Toy Story 3’s third act feels like a properly finale. The way the best trilogies ought be.
I think that's because Cameron, much like Spielberg, knows *how* to use CGI. No matter how much the effects become dated, the T-1000 is a robot, so he's supposed to look a little artificial.
@@fellaist1 Have you seen Gemini Man!? The CGI looks horrible and fake. I wouldn't say the CGI was better back then, but they combined these effects with practicals and worked around their limitations. Today’s directors rely way too much on green screens and CGI effects.
@@GamingKick I get what you're saying, and most of that has to do with the studio. The it's not the directors or even the VFX companies fault for the poor CG. The reason James Cameron has such good effects is because he has his on company and they spend as much time as they need to get it perfect. Studios only pay companies a certain amount of money to do effects, they don't really care about effects as long is it looks mostly done. You could even talk to people who workin in VFX, they'll tell you how dissapointing it is to have to stop working on something that's incomplete. But that's business at the end of the day, has nothing really to do with anyone on set.
Agreed. I'm looking forward to Avatar 2. Not because I'm a big Avatar fan, but because it will be directed by the same man who directed Aliens and Terminator 2
Dude it better be fucking good considering James Cameron has spent nearly a quarter of a century in this universe. We’ve literally lost out on over 2 decades worth of James Cameron films. The movie industry desperately misses him!
Ever since I first saw it, Aliens has been my favorite film of all time. Just a week ago, I showed my 14 year-old son T2 and thought, "Wow, is this film as good as Aliens?" Well, no, but I realized it's on the same level. Crazy coincidence (for me, at least) you putting out this video right now. This was genius - thanks so much. And very much looking forward to the podcasts on these two movies.
I rewatched the two of them too fairly recently (a few months ago) so I had the same reaction. This is one of my favorite LFTS. I think T1 has fewer flaws than T2, so maybe is a more "perfect movie". But damn T2 hits some really emotional beats, and for that I think I like it more.
Along with John Carpenter's "The Thing" and "They Live", James Cameron's "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" were some of my inspirations to become a storyteller in the form of an author. To have a vision and create it, whether in the form of a novel, film, a song, or art, requires a great amount of dedication, which you can see in the work of many directors, authors, musicians, and artists. Writing a book is a challenge, and I knew the sequel would have more. However, that is what makes the process intriguing.
I like to watch Die Hard and follow it immediately with Die Hard: With a Vengeance, as if it’s a direct sequel. I don’t watch any other Die Hard movies. I pretend they don’t exist. I HIGHLY recommend this approach for this reason. Die Hard is a seminal 80s action film. It’s actual sequel (Die Harder) is okay. It’s basically just a retread. Very little new information is gained about the character and it’s pretty unbelievable that the same poor shlub would be in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ TWICE. Imagining DH3 is actually the direct sequel fixes it. First, it’s the same director so it feels continuous. Second, McClane isn’t chosen by accident. Simon is Hanz’s brother. There is a revenge aspect. The story is continuing naturally from the first film. BUT, it does what Terminator 2 does, it changes up the circumstances. It asks questions the audience didn’t know to ask. What you John be like in an open space, all of New York? What would he be like with police support? What would he be like with a partner? What if the black guy is actually the racist one? (That last one is a joke but a good gag in an 80s buddy cop movie) It continually puts John in unfamiliar circumstances to see how the same character would deal with them. I humbly suggest all of these series, Aliens, Terminator, and Die Hard, are best viewed as being only two movies. Franchises which are really perfect pairs.
@@distinguishedallureproduct879 That's pretty true with a few rare exceptions, although "good" is pretty subjective. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The Bourne Ultimatum. The Return of the King. Logan.
Right, I do think the Premise of the story staying the same but how you tell it makes the difference Michael was talking about here is what made those trilogies stand out...I just think that it is also while majority fail because they went too far away from the originals
11:05 raised the bar... “James Cameron doesn't do what James Cameron does for James Cameron. James Cameron does what James Cameron does because James Cameron is... James Cameron." The Ballad Of James Cameron: ♪♫♬ His name is James, James Cameron the bravest pioneer. No budget too steep, no sea too deep Who's that? It's him, James Cameron. James, James Cameron explorer of the sea with a dying thirst to be the first. Could it be? Yeah that's him! James Cameron's ♪♫♬
You are even more correct than I ever realized: James Cameron is an unparalleled story and film genius. Not only is his writing stellar but separately his INSTINCT for story is simply off the charts.
To me Aliens has the GREATEST last 30 minutes in action movie history. It starts the moment Ripley decides to go back to rescue Newt. Everything in those 30 minutes is so damn badass. Newt goes in, the count down being announced over the loud speakers, the constant fumes and smoke, almost no dialogue, only sound effects and the great set design, the lift scene, the alien queen appears on the ship, the metal suit. Goddamn! I can talk and talk so much about those 30 minutes of this movie. Also both T2 and Aliens are my all time favorite action films. Mad Max Fury Road comes pretty close to these two masterpieces. The setup and execution in these movies are a treat to watch.
The term "forced" in this context is kind of a misnomer. If T2 and/or Aliens came out today, the usual manbabies would throw a fit about the "anti-male agenda" and how the films are "feminist propaganda" and how the T-800 has been "cucked" (because he takes orders from a woman) and blah blah blah and so on (I don't even want to imagine the kind of venom they'd spew re: the character of Vasquez). And yes, they'd call it forced. 100% Guaranteed.
@@enigma19833 I actually agree we would have some people like that who would cry and complain but I guess what I mean to say by not seeming forced is that the characters feel real, they went through struggle and they came out badass because of it instead of just "I'm good at everything just because" type of character. Also another kinda common thing is to have female characters talk down to male characters and they didn't do that in T2 or aliens, they just acted like real people
@@enigma19833 He's right though. Kill Bill, for example, focused on several female characters and no one complained about it being propaganda because it had nothing to do with that. They were just well-written characters, it didn't matter that they were women or men. The cultural shift has brought with it a new wave of "Girl Power" characters-like Rey and Captain Marvel-that come off as more cringe-worthy and boring than interesting and developed. And for some reason, there are people who think having a woman express her femininity or a man express his masculinity in a "traditional" manner is wrong, which is why we get these wannabe-male female characters. And before anyone calls me a misogynist man-baby, allow me to play my gender card: I'm a woman. Anyway, those are my two cents.
Thank you for clearing this ( 1:55 ) out for me. I always had a trouble truly grasping what Truby meant with Designing Principle. I had no one confirming what I thought it was. Now I have!
All great sequels have something in common: They all pushed the story forward into new territory and continued the evolution of the characters instead of simply repeating the first film. The Dark Knight, Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II, Aliens, T2, Toy Story 2, Star Trek 2, Spider-man 2, BttF 2, etc...
I always have a ton of respect for how well research Michael's videos are. Not only that, he takes many of the same sources (his collection of screenwriting books) and applies them in new and creative ways. Top notch, once again!
You should make a sequel (!) to this one showing how this same principles can be badly used, with issues such as power creep and contradicting core elements of the previous films.
Man I have to say, it's like everytime I get burned out and or stuck on writing a script or short story...you pop up with a video that explains where I need to go or try with my stuff...Genuis man, even better that your name is Michael as well
Back here after Avatar 2, it's insane how James Cameron has maintained the essential ingredients of the first film and used your highlighted recipes to make a better sequel. Well done and you really have cracked the code of James Cameron. I wonder what he will do in Avatar 3,4 and 5 tho he probably will have to push himself more...
Haven't watched yet. Its yom kiper here in Israel and I just got home. Its 13 past midnight. Scrolled for something with the night snack before bed. Saw the title. I'm a huge JC fan and specialy T2. Didn't realize it lftsc but clicked anyway. Heard the "hi, I'm Michael". Immediately paused. Dude you got me excited!
A few years ago, I went back and watched the original trilogy. My takeaway was nostalgia made the first and third movies seem way better than they actually were. But episode 5 even better than I remembered.
@@0sm1um76 Amen! 5 elevated 4 beyond what is was (which was already pretty fucking good). It expended this Universe, the lore, and the character's relationships on a masterful level :)
Here the thing, Empire while yes is a good sequel, its more of a Part 2 (or 5) of a whole, a continuation. Aliens and Terminator are good movies that have great continuations that stand on their own almost without the other movie surrounding it. Sequels that don't really much end saying "don't worry, everything will be answered in the next movie"
You have outdone yourself, Michael! You've taken my two favorite movies of all time and analyzed the hell out of them! Thank you so much for your videos. Brilliant!
I have a baby daughter and now I cry at anything mother/child related in film. Literally tearing up right now watching Ripley carry Newt. Interestingly, though, it took me a good 4-6 months before I felt love for my daughter. Before, it was just a dutiful-type feeling towards her (plus she was REALLY cute lol)
As a non fluent english speaker, I'd like to thank sincerly the person who subtitled this video. I would hace understood but no as much as with the subtitles. It permits to a lot of people arround the world to see and understand your videos! It kinds of generalize the culture for all.
This is a huge stretch for T1 and T2 and it only accentuates that the second is essentially a remake placing it alongside Alien and Aliens where the switch from horror to war film does substantially reconfigure the film.
I think you're just projecting your own opinion. This video already outlines how it evolves the character arcs from the first. Not changing the genre hardly makes it a remake.
Good analysis of why these films manage to be sequels that compel viewing for their own special qualities: they're confident about exploring new terrain , and they force us to invest in their protagonists beyond just wanting to see them kick ass and survive again. Cameron's move of giving us heroic versions of the villainous android or cyborg from each original film is such a clever move, too, generating suspense about their motives until late in the sequel.
A James Cameron Predator film would have been FREAKIN' EPIC... The Matrix is not quite his style I think. And I was just about to comment that Total Recall is more like something the director of Robocop would do, but decided to look it up just in case and yep, same director, lol, oops.
Glad someone said it. :) Saw it once, think it's great. Very underrated. The mystery route in the sequel was better than the philosophy route in the original, in my opinion.
@@Willbo-ft6oy Yes! I feel the exact same way. :) The original looks and sounds great, with a meaningful conclusion but, beyond that,... Doesn't offer me much. :)
Sarah Connor was such a wasted character, introduced in T1, Developed in T2, only to get killed off camera in T3. So much potential, for such a badass character.
To be honest, I'm not sure that there is much story left to tell for her character. The reason why Linda Hamilton chose not to come back for T3 was because she felt that her character had already peaked in T2 in terms of her development. Of course she changed her mind and returned for Dark Fate because I guess she had some bills to pay.
Excellent video. I remember seeing both of these films when they were first released & it's amazing how well they each hold up. How Hollywood has never learned from these films on how to do a sequel right is beyond me.
Great vid!, I've been waiting for someone to address how difficult the art of sequels in Hollywood is and how Cameron nailed it, twice! I do think there's more to point out here though, e.g. that the Desire lines take on an upgrade as well from the first films where they're simply trying to escape, and in the second they're trying to destroy. This applies more to T2, where at the midpoint shift, Sarah's goal becomes no longer escape/survival but to destroy the future, taking the 'there is no fate but what we make for ourselves' philosophy/theme and applying it to prevent Skynet. T2's themes as a whole are also a lot grander, dealing with authority, society, man's nature, parent to family, etc, as they are in Alien. Nice vid as always though!
Everytime someone asks me about my top 3 sequels I answer: Aliens, Terminator 2 and The Empire Strikes Back. Those are by far the best sequels of all time.
Blade Runner 2049, The Godfather Part II, Mad Max Fury Road (if you can count that), Terminator 2, somewhat farther down the line comes The Dark Knight
To quote Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scream 2, "You got a hard-on for Cameron." Now can anyone tell me why film geek Randy gets Ripley's quote wrong in that scene?
Very good, I'm in the middle of writing a follow up to something I wrote about a year and a half ago. This just takes it back to simplistics and clears your mind!
What's the best sequel ever made? Let me know your thoughts!
The Dark Knight, no competition.
mad max fury road
Shrek 2
The Godfather Pt. 2
The Dark Knight
Blade Runner 2049
Spider-Man 2
Before Sunset
Toy Story 2
The Empire Strikes Back
Lord of the Rings: Two Towers
For a Few Dollars More
Three Colors: White
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Just to point out one thing: the OST in Terminator is phenomenal.
Naum Rusomarov almost brings tears to my eyes. truly powerful. I always remember trying to recreate the action sequences with my brother and our tricycle...the practicality of it all made it seem so real. T2 is truly amazing in every sense of the word.
intimacy... yah yah yah yah
Music? Other day made mp3 from the themes of 1 and 2.
The original or the sequel?
Great video here about the T2 soundtrack, from a technological perspective. th-cam.com/video/nnpYowxlwsU/w-d-xo.html
The Godfather: Part 2 expanded on the themes and story of the original while also developing the character of Michael to become a truly heartless person.
That's why it's my favourite sequel
Christian Tompkins the family doesn’t really fall with Michael in part 2. It ends with him on top, and all his enemy’s eliminated. So the second movie is us watching Vito and Micheal rise to power simultaneously.
Christian Tompkins okay now that it has been put that way I agree with you now. That’s interesting.
@Christian Tompkins I feel that the loss of the core values of the family could be called its "fall" but it was also a rise as michael got rid of all of his enemies to take a position of dominance - It cost his soul though
The first key to a good sequel is that it follows a story archetype that is different to the original, but equally as strong. The second is how well it stands up as a stand-alone film. The third is a progression of adversity for protagonist/s in terms of scale. You need at least 2 out of 3 to be a good sequel.
Death Of Apollonia
The love of his life .
"How to do great female characters" could also be a title. These two ladies are among my favorite film characters of all time
Agreed, and just like WW, they work WITH men, as their equals, rather than intentionally make the men look dumb. Their genders don't define them.
And then afterwards Hollywood immediately forgot how to make great female action heroes, and we're still waiting for them to come back.
For real. Unlike today even James sadly - no SJW.
@aussiebear22 Say it more. I write females and i portray many ways but never as wanna be males. I got a short story regarding SJW. About how one messes up a film.
And they didn't have to show their tits.
The fact that they were both made by James Cameron speak to the volumes of how he takes his time in developing stories.
he's a genius
And that is exactly why the Avatar sequels would be spectacular.
@Lady Wander Harry Potter has 8 sequels. It can be done if done right. The only info we know is that the Avatar sequels will be a generational family saga.
If you want to know how brilliant James Cameron is, compare Terminator 1, 2, and Aliens to every other Terminator and Alien sequel. He's that much more brilliant than your average writer/director which is something like 10x.
@@jmz8210 but harry potter would be better if it was a series instead of movies, it is written in a way that every book could be a season
10:37 - if I live to be 100, I will never hear Ripley say that line without getting goosebumps
I'm hyped for Avatar 2, not because of Cameron's track record with Avatar, but because of his track record with sequels.
Same here
He'll make Avatar look like the new Star Wars... which it is. Remember. No one could take the Star Wars saga seriously today without Empire.
Avatar 1 was so, so bad. Idiocracy is real.
@@fcukugimmeausername where are you coming from man?🤦♂️
@@chinmaysharma9424 Avatar 1 was a really, really bad movie. Like, so dumb.
Vasquez in Aliens is John’s foster mother in Terminator 2.
🤯
And she's the Irish mother reading her kids a bedtime story while Titanic is sinking.
Fun fact: the actress had heavy make-up and coloured contact lens to look hispanic in Aliens.
Also plays a 3rd class passenger in Titanic!
@@SectorVectors Holy sh*t my mind was blown twice in 5 seconds
Aliens was super suspenseful. All the characters had their own personality, and it made the movie so damned good as we the audience were so invested in them.
With this video, Michael, you've managed to do the impossible. You've given me actual hope that James Cameron will do something interesting with Avatar 2.
Not I...
And hopefuly with Alita part 2.
At least on the writing side
Ever since Titanic, Cameron hasn't been the same...
@@0sm1um76 Have to agree, a lot of these really great directors aren't putting out great films anymore, looking at your Spielberg, Cameron, Ridley Scott etc
My daily prayer as well 🙏
It's such a punch in the gut when Newt is expositionally killed in a line of text being typed on the screen at the beginning of Aliens 3
They really botched the hell out of the Alien series.
Like cattle branding a super model in the face and shipping her to Guantanamo bay.
I've always pretended Aliens 3 never existed.
@@lou1958 So did David Fincher
Javier Angeles
Wasn't really his fault though.
I knew I'm in for an exciting ride the moment I saw they killed them back in 92, absolutely genius, few films are willing to challenge the expectations, usually only European or art films do so. Movie franchises are not tv shows (I hope that's going to change for Tv shows though, )each film has to be taken as its own entity within its own universe, since I was a kid I've learned to watch things that way and it made life full of miracles and surprises. In Alien 3 Newt and Hicks stop existing from the previous film, they are different people, the same Ripley, the same any character in any sequel. I was in shock when I found out there were some people attached to other films when watching films in front of them. Living in the present moment literally prevents from paying attention to what happened in a different film.
Two of my all time favorite films. Seen them both too many times to count, and they are still just as amazing as the first time.
Dawn and War for the Planet of the Apes don't get as much love as I think they should, each film improved off the last. Definitely some of my favorite sequels in all of film!
Absolutely agree. The second one was especially amazing, although I wasnt ready for the third. Fantastic trilogy
For me, Dawn felt cliched, War was better, but the ending and circumstances left me gutted.
I checked out of War in the third act. The callbacks to the original series coupled with how weak the characterizations of the human villains were killed it for me. Such a great buildup to an anticlimax.
I love that trilogy. Andy Serkis is a god
Agreed. I absolutley love those movies.
My favorite sequel ever made is Empire Strikes Back.
Also, it’s been a while. Good to have you back, Michael.
My favorite sequel is The Dark Knight. It came out to theaters on my seventh birthday. I really wish that I could have seen it back then.
Aidan Yelsma Oh yeah, The Dark Knight is one of my all-time favorite movies.
I personally think Toy Story 3 is one of the rare example that could still inject new lives to the franchises, the sequel literally pinpoints all the point that you mentioned on your video. Keep up the good work.
Toy Story 3 sure showed up Terminator 3 and Alien 3. But Toy Story 2 is still the best of that franchise.
Until Toy Story 4 that is
I think Toy Story 2 was the real game-changer, and Toy Story 3 is the satisfying victory lap - straightup the “shit just got real” Empire Strikes Back / “ok this is epic” Return of the Jedi dichotomy all over again.
Toy Story 2 has the best second act and but Toy Story 3’s third act feels like a properly finale. The way the best trilogies ought be.
The CGI in Terminator 2 still looks better than most modern films
I think that's because Cameron, much like Spielberg, knows *how* to use CGI. No matter how much the effects become dated, the T-1000 is a robot, so he's supposed to look a little artificial.
I assume that this is a joke cuz its just not true, but i see your point
@@fellaist1 Have you seen Gemini Man!? The CGI looks horrible and fake. I wouldn't say the CGI was better back then, but they combined these effects with practicals and worked around their limitations. Today’s directors rely way too much on green screens and CGI effects.
David Fincher has been expertly utilizing CG since the mid 90's.
@@GamingKick I get what you're saying, and most of that has to do with the studio. The it's not the directors or even the VFX companies fault for the poor CG. The reason James Cameron has such good effects is because he has his on company and they spend as much time as they need to get it perfect. Studios only pay companies a certain amount of money to do effects, they don't really care about effects as long is it looks mostly done. You could even talk to people who workin in VFX, they'll tell you how dissapointing it is to have to stop working on something that's incomplete. But that's business at the end of the day, has nothing really to do with anyone on set.
Respect to the days when they made sci-fiction films, not the cgi films
This is why I have faith that the Avatar sequels are about to be amazing
Agreed. I'm looking forward to Avatar 2. Not because I'm a big Avatar fan, but because it will be directed by the same man who directed Aliens and Terminator 2
Wrong the first avatar is possibly the worst James Cameron movie. Which means the sequels are guaranteed to be trash
@@nickblood7080 No, Piranha 2 is the worst James cameon movie
Totally agree! I can't wait!
Dude it better be fucking good considering James Cameron has spent nearly a quarter of a century in this universe. We’ve literally lost out on over 2 decades worth of James Cameron films. The movie industry desperately misses him!
Ever since I first saw it, Aliens has been my favorite film of all time. Just a week ago, I showed my 14 year-old son T2 and thought, "Wow, is this film as good as Aliens?" Well, no, but I realized it's on the same level. Crazy coincidence (for me, at least) you putting out this video right now. This was genius - thanks so much. And very much looking forward to the podcasts on these two movies.
I rewatched the two of them too fairly recently (a few months ago) so I had the same reaction. This is one of my favorite LFTS.
I think T1 has fewer flaws than T2, so maybe is a more "perfect movie". But damn T2 hits some really emotional beats, and for that I think I like it more.
T2 is near perfect as an action film. However, I think Aliens, especially Aliens: Special Edition is the perfect sci-fi film.
@@0sm1um76 Both movies are absolute classics. I Like terminator 2 more but terminator 1 is still fantastic
Aliens is overated, T2 shits all over it.
@@peterlenham6904 LOL
James Cameron has made 2 of the best sequels ever.
You forgot about Godfather part 2
@@PolishGod1234 2 of not 2
Alien 3 and Terminator 3 - How NOT to make a sequel
Haha From Aliens & T2 all the way to Alien 3 & Terminator 3 haha Word to that!
thats why cammeron refuse to do trilogies in the future haha
TomLion Alien 3 - how to kill a potentially great movie with multiple rewrites and executive meddling (and still make a somewhat cool movie).
It could be a companion piece to this video. Some might say a sequel ;).
Along with John Carpenter's "The Thing" and "They Live", James Cameron's "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" were some of my inspirations to become a storyteller in the form of an author. To have a vision and create it, whether in the form of a novel, film, a song, or art, requires a great amount of dedication, which you can see in the work of many directors, authors, musicians, and artists.
Writing a book is a challenge, and I knew the sequel would have more. However, that is what makes the process intriguing.
I like to watch Die Hard and follow it immediately with Die Hard: With a Vengeance, as if it’s a direct sequel.
I don’t watch any other Die Hard movies. I pretend they don’t exist. I HIGHLY recommend this approach for this reason.
Die Hard is a seminal 80s action film. It’s actual sequel (Die Harder) is okay. It’s basically just a retread. Very little new information is gained about the character and it’s pretty unbelievable that the same poor shlub would be in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ TWICE.
Imagining DH3 is actually the direct sequel fixes it. First, it’s the same director so it feels continuous. Second, McClane isn’t chosen by accident. Simon is Hanz’s brother. There is a revenge aspect. The story is continuing naturally from the first film. BUT, it does what Terminator 2 does, it changes up the circumstances. It asks questions the audience didn’t know to ask. What you John be like in an open space, all of New York? What would he be like with police support? What would he be like with a partner? What if the black guy is actually the racist one? (That last one is a joke but a good gag in an 80s buddy cop movie) It continually puts John in unfamiliar circumstances to see how the same character would deal with them.
I humbly suggest all of these series, Aliens, Terminator, and Die Hard, are best viewed as being only two movies. Franchises which are really perfect pairs.
Including Casino Royale and Skyfall.
I'M FINALLY ABLE TO BE A PATRON AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! TAKE IT, TAKE IT ALL!
🙌 very much appreciated!
@@LessonsfromtheScreenplay (Also, this video is amazing as always!!!)
"Take it, Take it all!!". The Hulk. 🤗
Get away from her you bieach
I feel like this really needed another couple minutes on why those franchises weren't quite so successful with their third iterations.
Hopefully Michael is making a sequel to this about why third versions are never as good as the first 2
@@distinguishedallureproduct879 That's pretty true with a few rare exceptions, although "good" is pretty subjective. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The Bourne Ultimatum. The Return of the King. Logan.
Right, I do think the Premise of the story staying the same but how you tell it makes the difference Michael was talking about here is what made those trilogies stand out...I just think that it is also while majority fail because they went too far away from the originals
That's a whole different video, really. Betcha LFtS is already preparing that.
@@alexnurse3498 I wouldn't be surprised if he was but at the rate he publishes videos it'll be 2021 before we get that follow up and I'm impatient.
11:05 raised the bar...
“James Cameron doesn't do what James Cameron does for James Cameron. James Cameron does what James Cameron does because James Cameron is... James Cameron."
The Ballad Of James Cameron:
♪♫♬ His name is James, James Cameron the bravest pioneer.
No budget too steep, no sea too deep
Who's that?
It's him, James Cameron.
James, James Cameron explorer of the sea with a dying thirst to be the first.
Could it be? Yeah that's him!
James Cameron's ♪♫♬
This popped up on my notifications and I nearly SQUEEEEEE'd out loud in my office. Love your content!
Thanks! Sorry co-workers!
You are even more correct than I ever realized:
James Cameron is an unparalleled story and film genius. Not only is his writing stellar but separately his INSTINCT for story is simply off the charts.
To me Aliens has the GREATEST last 30 minutes in action movie history.
It starts the moment Ripley decides to go back to rescue Newt. Everything in those 30 minutes is so damn badass. Newt goes in, the count down being announced over the loud speakers, the constant fumes and smoke, almost no dialogue, only sound effects and the great set design, the lift scene, the alien queen appears on the ship, the metal suit. Goddamn! I can talk and talk so much about those 30 minutes of this movie.
Also both T2 and Aliens are my all time favorite action films. Mad Max Fury Road comes pretty close to these two masterpieces. The setup and execution in these movies are a treat to watch.
I think the last 30 Minutes of Alien are far superior to Aliens
@@doncorleole2356 Dude, this a vid about Aliens/T2, if your just going to be that guy who says "Alien is the better movie" then why are you here?
@@arielperez5885 I replied to a comment that specifically is about Aliens lol
FINALLY. Someone seriously analyzes the MASTER of movie sequels.
Is no one gonna point out how James Cameron also writes badass female characters while making them not seem forced.
The term "forced" in this context is kind of a misnomer. If T2 and/or Aliens came out today, the usual manbabies would throw a fit about the "anti-male agenda" and how the films are "feminist propaganda" and how the T-800 has been "cucked" (because he takes orders from a woman) and blah blah blah and so on (I don't even want to imagine the kind of venom they'd spew re: the character of Vasquez). And yes, they'd call it forced. 100% Guaranteed.
@@enigma19833 I actually agree we would have some people like that who would cry and complain but I guess what I mean to say by not seeming forced is that the characters feel real, they went through struggle and they came out badass because of it instead of just "I'm good at everything just because" type of character. Also another kinda common thing is to have female characters talk down to male characters and they didn't do that in T2 or aliens, they just acted like real people
@Nathan Barnes Case in point.
@@enigma19833 He's right though. Kill Bill, for example, focused on several female characters and no one complained about it being propaganda because it had nothing to do with that. They were just well-written characters, it didn't matter that they were women or men. The cultural shift has brought with it a new wave of "Girl Power" characters-like Rey and Captain Marvel-that come off as more cringe-worthy and boring than interesting and developed.
And for some reason, there are people who think having a woman express her femininity or a man express his masculinity in a "traditional" manner is wrong, which is why we get these wannabe-male female characters.
And before anyone calls me a misogynist man-baby, allow me to play my gender card: I'm a woman. Anyway, those are my two cents.
@@enigma19833 Womanbabies always whining about imaginary oppression while living the most privileged lives in first world countries. Get out of here.
Thank you for clearing this ( 1:55 ) out for me. I always had a trouble truly grasping what Truby meant with Designing Principle. I had no one confirming what I thought it was. Now I have!
All great sequels have something in common: They all pushed the story forward into new territory and continued the evolution of the characters instead of simply repeating the first film. The Dark Knight, Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II, Aliens, T2, Toy Story 2, Star Trek 2, Spider-man 2, BttF 2, etc...
I always have a ton of respect for how well research Michael's videos are. Not only that, he takes many of the same sources (his collection of screenwriting books) and applies them in new and creative ways. Top notch, once again!
The Dark Knight
Godfather Part II
The Empire Strikes Back
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Aliens
The Road Warrior
...Paddington 2
Just to name a few...
Paddington 2? Someone has been watching Patrick H Willems. :)
@@Oxymrn Agreed haha
Toy Story 2
Evil Dead 2
Avengers Infinity War
Avengers Endgame
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Spider-Man 2
All fantastic sequels. I'd also throw in LOTR: Two Towers and Spiderman 2
Kung Fu Panda 2
Oh man, i love both characters. I admired their strength and fierceness before i know what superheroes are.
You should make a sequel (!) to this one showing how this same principles can be badly used, with issues such as power creep and contradicting core elements of the previous films.
Man I have to say, it's like everytime I get burned out and or stuck on writing a script or short story...you pop up with a video that explains where I need to go or try with my stuff...Genuis man, even better that your name is Michael as well
Back here after Avatar 2, it's insane how James Cameron has maintained the essential ingredients of the first film and used your highlighted recipes to make a better sequel. Well done and you really have cracked the code of James Cameron. I wonder what he will do in Avatar 3,4 and 5 tho he probably will have to push himself more...
yes! Avatar 2 is even better than the first one! it's more on character development and emotional
Haven't watched yet.
Its yom kiper here in Israel and I just got home. Its 13 past midnight.
Scrolled for something with the night snack before bed.
Saw the title. I'm a huge JC fan and specialy T2. Didn't realize it lftsc but clicked anyway.
Heard the "hi, I'm Michael".
Immediately paused.
Dude you got me excited!
Phenomenal job. Yours is still my favorite channel.
It's so good that the video feels short.
How to Sequel: Empire Strikes Back
It'll be The Empire Strikes Back of How to Sequel video essays
A few years ago, I went back and watched the original trilogy.
My takeaway was nostalgia made the first and third movies seem way better than they actually were. But episode 5 even better than I remembered.
@@0sm1um76 Amen! 5 elevated 4 beyond what is was (which was already pretty fucking good). It expended this Universe, the lore, and the character's relationships on a masterful level :)
Here the thing, Empire while yes is a good sequel, its more of a Part 2 (or 5) of a whole, a continuation.
Aliens and Terminator are good movies that have great continuations that stand on their own almost without the other movie surrounding it.
Sequels that don't really much end saying "don't worry, everything will be answered in the next movie"
The Dark Knight
I love how you have the number of your vid in the top right corner in the intro so you can tell if its old or new
Thanks for the heart !!
I love your content
Two of my favourite movies ever!!
WHY DID I NOT KNOW I NEEDED THIS??? my 2 favourite sequels of all time by my favourite director of 2 of my top 10 franchises of all time.!!!
James Cameron is one of the greatest artists of all-time. Period.
When Michael uploads, work productivity plummets by 60%
Michael has only made 48 videos in the past 3 years. Truly a man of quality over quantity.
You say “only,” I see “48” and think “dear god how have we made that many in three years!!!”
Stunning analysis of 2 of my favourite movies. Thanks Michael!
Please do 'In Bruges' next. It's one of the most underrated films of the 2000s, and in my opinion, also one of the best.
I watched T2 again today for the first time in ages. How apt that this popped up in my feed.
Also, you CAN'T go wrong with the James Cameron blue cinematography.
You have outdone yourself, Michael! You've taken my two favorite movies of all time and analyzed the hell out of them! Thank you so much for your videos. Brilliant!
Let's hope Avatar 2 will be as perfect as Aliens and T2 !
Aliens is my favorite film of all time. Glad to find an essay giving me reasons why :)
classic flicks indeed from a great director!
6:40 The chills I'm getting from this split screen..
How I wish this had been a movie they'd done. Weaver vs Hamilton
His name is James, James Cameron, the bravest pioneer. No budget too steep, no sea too deep. Who's that? It's him, James Cameron.
What an epic comment.
James, James Cameron, explorer of the sea. With a dying thirst to be the first. Could it be! Yeah that's him, James Cameron.
hahaha
sound design in his sequels are so iconic. not many action movies have the music and sounds to match the intensity of these classics.
James Cameron A.K.A. The God of Sequels
I have a baby daughter and now I cry at anything mother/child related in film. Literally tearing up right now watching Ripley carry Newt. Interestingly, though, it took me a good 4-6 months before I felt love for my daughter. Before, it was just a dutiful-type feeling towards her (plus she was REALLY cute lol)
If there's someone that can pull of a sequel, than it's James Cameron. That's why I have high hopes for the next Avatar.
As a non fluent english speaker, I'd like to thank sincerly the person who subtitled this video. I would hace understood but no as much as with the subtitles. It permits to a lot of people arround the world to see and understand your videos! It kinds of generalize the culture for all.
Also Jenette Goldstein has memorable supporting scenes in both.
Jeez, Michael. Never thought my day started with knowledge, nostalgia, and heart warmth. Another great essay!!!!
Happy 70th B-Day Sigourney Weaver!!!
Brilliant points made. Now I've gotta watch both movies again!
This is a huge stretch for T1 and T2 and it only accentuates that the second is essentially a remake placing it alongside Alien and Aliens where the switch from horror to war film does substantially reconfigure the film.
I think you're just projecting your own opinion. This video already outlines how it evolves the character arcs from the first. Not changing the genre hardly makes it a remake.
fascinating to see creative genius of James Cameron.... Great work Michael!!!
Best sequels ever made: The Godfather Part II, Blade Runner 2049, Aliens, Terminator 2, Empire Strikes Back
Spot-on.
I think Mad Max 2 deserves to be in there.
And(further down the list) Dawn of the Dead, 10 Cloverfield Lane(relative to the original, albeit not a typical sequel), Christmas Vacation.
@@DoubleMonoLR I will give those a re/watch.
I'd also add Mad Max: Fury Road. Love that you included BR2049.
Good analysis of why these films manage to be sequels that compel viewing for their own special qualities: they're confident about exploring new terrain , and they force us to invest in their protagonists beyond just wanting to see them kick ass and survive again. Cameron's move of giving us heroic versions of the villainous android or cyborg from each original film is such a clever move, too, generating suspense about their motives until late in the sequel.
He also wrote the screenplay (with Stallone) for yet another sequel, “Rambo: First Blood Part II”.
was it set in america ?
You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this video, Mike.
Just imagine if James Cameron directed a sequel for:
- Predator
- The Matrix
- Total Recall
That would be amazing. Such a shame Cameron did not work more with Arnold. Lots of wasted potential there.
Or “Planet of the Apes” instead of Tim Burton.
Steel Here, yess! Especially predator
A James Cameron Predator film would have been FREAKIN' EPIC... The Matrix is not quite his style I think. And I was just about to comment that Total Recall is more like something the director of Robocop would do, but decided to look it up just in case and yep, same director, lol, oops.
Not the matrix, but yea, the other 2
Aliens & T2. Two of my favorite “four greatest action movies of all time.” The other two are the 1st Die Hard & Predator. 👍🏾
Speaking of sequel. Blade runner 2049 is a masterpiece and was a big surprise
Glad someone said it. :) Saw it once, think it's great. Very underrated. The mystery route in the sequel was better than the philosophy route in the original, in my opinion.
@@cristiansaucedo4707 The philosophy in the sequel is one of my favourite parts!
@@burgesssam What was it again? Saw it 2 years ago, don't remember the philosophy of the sequel.
IMO, Blade Runner 2049 is like 10x better than the original. I'm just not a fan of the og Blade Runner.
@@Willbo-ft6oy Yes! I feel the exact same way. :) The original looks and sounds great, with a meaningful conclusion but, beyond that,... Doesn't offer me much. :)
Love the transitions between watching movie clips and the quotes that pop up in the buttom!
Sarah Connor was such a wasted character, introduced in T1, Developed in T2, only to get killed off camera in T3. So much potential, for such a badass character.
To be honest, I'm not sure that there is much story left to tell for her character. The reason why Linda Hamilton chose not to come back for T3 was because she felt that her character had already peaked in T2 in terms of her development. Of course she changed her mind and returned for Dark Fate because I guess she had some bills to pay.
Great analysis of Cameron's work. he's a great storyteller who raises the bar with pretty much every film he makes.
This makes me think about what Cameron will bring for the Avatar sequences that he has been working on for a decade now.
Vasquez from Aliens is actually the foster mom in T2 :D
This is definitely my favorite TH-cam channel
Incredible episode dude! Your episode on raising the bar raised the bar on your show! :)
Is it weird that I get teared up just seeing clips from T2? What a great movie.
Toy Story 2 took the basic ideas of the first one and heavily expanded on it.
Dude, I'm so used to watching T2 in DVD quality that seeing it look this nice is messing with my head
Dude you'd have gotten a thumbs up for either one of these titles alone. Two of them? I think I'm just going to have to sign up on Patreon.
You sir are nice! Love your breakdowns in your video essays. I’ve learned so much, looking forward to the next one!
Cameron needs to direct "The Greasy Strangler 2".
Excellent video. I remember seeing both of these films when they were first released & it's amazing how well they each hold up. How Hollywood has never learned from these films on how to do a sequel right is beyond me.
boy...i have nothing both are 10/10 classics
his absolute masterpieces
don't care about titanics or avatars box office
A lot of people will say that Titanic is Cameron's magnum opus...
but I'd go with Terminator 2!
@@abjames3098 yepp and Aliens following it closely
Great vid!, I've been waiting for someone to address how difficult the art of sequels in Hollywood is and how Cameron nailed it, twice! I do think there's more to point out here though, e.g. that the Desire lines take on an upgrade as well from the first films where they're simply trying to escape, and in the second they're trying to destroy. This applies more to T2, where at the midpoint shift, Sarah's goal becomes no longer escape/survival but to destroy the future, taking the 'there is no fate but what we make for ourselves' philosophy/theme and applying it to prevent Skynet. T2's themes as a whole are also a lot grander, dealing with authority, society, man's nature, parent to family, etc, as they are in Alien. Nice vid as always though!
Everytime someone asks me about my top 3 sequels I answer: Aliens, Terminator 2 and The Empire Strikes Back.
Those are by far the best sequels of all time.
Blade Runner 2049, The Godfather Part II, Mad Max Fury Road (if you can count that), Terminator 2, somewhat farther down the line comes The Dark Knight
Thank you for the hard work to make this analysis
To quote Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scream 2, "You got a hard-on for Cameron."
Now can anyone tell me why film geek Randy gets Ripley's quote wrong in that scene?
9:25 Still blows me away that this was cut from the film
This is why I'm excited for Avatar 2. No one does sequels like James Cameron.
Very good, I'm in the middle of writing a follow up to something I wrote about a year and a half ago. This just takes it back to simplistics and clears your mind!
So what we know for sure is that the Avatar sequels are going to be fantastic