Once an original movie has established a fictional world, characters to inhabit it, and an engaging premise for them to take part in, it's only natural to escalate things in a sequel. All the groundwork has been laid, so great sequels usually take the opportunity to hit the ground running. As such, some of the best sequels out there are often faster, more explosive, and even more exciting than their predecessors.
The following 10 movies demonstrate this exceptionally well, given they seriously bump things up in the action department. These sequels all count as exciting action movies, while the movies they follow either weren't action movies or had noticeably fewer action sequences. To see how a sequel can truly up the stakes compared to what's come before, all the movies below are worth watching.
'Aliens' (1986)
The first Alien from 1979 might be a very suspenseful watch, but it wouldn't be accurate to call it an action movie. It takes place on a single spaceship and features a sole alien who outwits and hunts down crew members who weren't exactly well-equipped to deal with such a threat.
Aliens, on the other hand, replaces much of the first movie's horror with action. Here, there are numerous aliens to deal with, but thankfully, the human characters are better equipped this time around. Most of the main characters are marines who can match the aliens in combat, leading to more frequent physical clashes. A great horror movie followed by a great action movie makes it easy to understand why the first two movies in the Alien series are so beloved.
'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991)
With Terminator 2: Judgment Day, James Cameron further demonstrated his skill in making sequels that were bigger and (arguably) better than their predecessors. Similar to how Aliens was more action-packed than Ridley Scott's Alien, Terminator 2 was significantly more explosive than Cameron's own original Terminator, from 1984.
While the first film feels more like a horror/thriller than an action movie, focusing on two humans who have to survive a futuristic robot's relentless attacks, Terminator 2 puts the series firmly into the action genre. The stakes are grander, the gunfights and chase sequences are more frequent, and there are even two futuristic robots now, who are at odds: one Terminator on the humans' side, and a villainous one who wants them dead.
'Cars 2' (2011)
Cars is a fairly grounded animated movie, all things considered. It may eventually build to a big car race near the climax, but for much of the movie, the protagonist, Lightning McQueen, is stuck in a small town, forced by its residents to repair the damage he caused to their road before he can leave.
Cars 2 is an entirely different beast altogether. There are far more racing scenes, and McQueen isn't even really the main character. That "honor" goes to Mater, who gets mixed up in an espionage plot that feels a bit like James Bond, except everyone is an animated car. It's... an interesting direction for the series; maybe you can at least give it that.
'Army of Darkness' (1993)
The Evil Dead trilogy moves in an interesting direction, when it comes to the genres that each movie tackles. The first is a fairly straightforward horror movie, while the second balances horror and comedy fairly evenly, which is then followed by the third movie - Army of Darkness - which is a slapstick comedy/action movie set in medieval times.
Somehow, it genuinely works, and Army of Darkness is just as much of a blast as the first two Evil Dead movies, even while not being nearly as scary (by design). There are also plenty of comedic action set pieces, featuring fights on a huge. This contrasts with the earlier films, which would only have a handful of foes for the heroes to fight.
'Rambo: First Blood Part II' (1985)
Pop culture will probably tell you that the Rambo series is one with tons of over-the-top action, featuring a near-invincible hero - played by Sylvester Stallone - who takes down dozens of enemies with ease. Pop culture is partially right, in this regard, as the Rambo films from 1985's First Blood Part II onward are all explosive action movies.
However, the 1982 original, First Blood, isn't nearly as over-the-top. It could be described as a thriller, but it's mostly focused on being a character drama about a traumatized Vietnam War veteran and the persecution he faces in a small town. The series began to focus on big action setpieces and plenty of explosions after the first movie's release, but it does still stand in stark contrast with what Rambo eventually became.
'Destroy All Monsters' (1968)
In the first Godzilla movie, there were no extra monsters for the titular giant lizard to fight. He was treated as a devastating force of nature that didn't seem to be maliciously targeting humanity, though did ultimately pose a threat to it. As such, that film's conflict centers on the people of Japan trying to find a way to stop the monster before he destroys too much.
An incredibly entertaining and over-the-top movie like 1968's Destroy All Monsters therefore shows how the series shifted after 1954. While it wasn't the first Godzilla movie to feature plenty of action, it did put more monsters in a single movie than had even been seen before, making it clear that the Godzilla series was going to lean more towards action and spectacle than darkness and horror.
'Top Gun: Maverick' (2022)
The first Top Gun does feature some limited action sequences and plenty of shots of planes zipping around the sky very fast. That being said, it's hard to label it an "action movie" - in fact, it's hard to label it as anything. There are brief exciting moments, but not nearly as many as were featured in its sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
Structurally, Top Gun: Maverick builds to one extended, action-packed climax, whilst the first movie doesn't quite have the same forward momentum or intense, satisfying ending. It's just one reason why Maverick is seen as the better movie, even while it does have the 1986 original to thank for getting the ball rolling.
'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' (1982)
Viewers probably couldn't help but compare the Star Wars movies to the Star Trek movies in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each were mammoth sci-fi series', with the first Star Trek movie coming out in 1979, and the first Star Wars in 1977. Similarly, Wrath of Khan came two years after Star Wars' first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back.
Perhaps the writers behind Star Trek wanted to keep up with the more action-packed Star Wars, which could explain why Wrath of Khan was faster-paced, more exciting, and had more intense drama than the first film. Even if its surprisingly emotional climax was somewhat underdone by a later resurrection, it still showed that Star Trek was willing to be action-packed and exciting, potentially revitalizing interest in the long-running series in the process.
'Superman II' (1980)
The first Superman movie from 1978 is a wonderfully quaint superhero movie. It's genuinely far more wholesome and down-to-earth than you'd expect, with Superman getting into very few physical confrontations, and the "action scenes" instead focusing far more on Superman saving people or averting disasters than fighting bad guys.
Superman II, on the other hand, features villains who can match Superman physically, leading to a good deal more combat than seen in the first movie. It's not darker necessarily, but it is more violent and features more fighting. This differentiates it from the first Superman, which is one of the rare superhero movies that isn't really an action movie.
'Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior' (1981)
The Mad Max series began with a 1979 revenge thriller that had a post-apocalyptic setting. It had some violence and death during its climax, but otherwise, wasn't exactly an action movie. Perhaps the budget was too small, or George Miller just wanted to focus on the world-building and the title character's origin story.
From its first sequel (The Road Warrior) onwards, the series became far more action-focused. The Road Warrior has plenty of large-scale car chases, crashes, and explosions, increasing the limited action of the first movie multiple times over. Then things would of course get even more action-packed and explosive come 2015, with the film's spectacularly over-the-top fourth movie, Mad Max: Fury Road.