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FromDune : Part TwotoInside Out 2to the farseeing - awaitedBeetlejuice Beetlejuice , 2024 has delivered some truly swell sequels that managed to subsist up to their classic predecessors . As Hollywood progressively relies on conversant dealership to ensure audiences will come out to movie theaters , sequel are becoming even more common . And those audiences are turn up to examine the studios right — eight of the top 10highest - grossing picture of 2024were sequels — so sequels will likely continue to command multiplex for years to come .
There have been some great prequels in 2024 , too . Furiosa : A frantic Max Sagais an volatile newfangled chapter in George Miller ’s post - apocalyptic epic , The First Omenis a terrifying depiction of the birth of Damien Thorn , andA Quiet Place : Day Onewent back to the solar day the sound - sensitive unknown landed . This year brought some sequels thatdivided fans and critic , likeJoker : Folie à DeuxandGhostbusters : Frozen Empire , but there were just as many solid sequels that blow up on their franchise in really thrilling ways .
10Twisters
Lee Isaac Chung’sTwistersis only tangentially link to the original film . It does n’t partake any of the same characters ; it ’s just another story about storm chaser in tornado season . But it is every bit the dazzle cinematic spectacle that the first moving-picture show was . The real principal of a disaster moving-picture show is the calamity itself , andTwisters , much likeTwister , succeeds in give its interview the thrill of experiencing a mortal crack cocaine from the safety of a movie theater .
The wild-eyed subplots usually detract from the megahit amusement of a catastrophe movie , but Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar - Jones divvy up such galvanising on - silver screen interpersonal chemistry that their love taradiddle is just as electrifying as any of the tornadoes . Twistersdemanded to be seen on the vainglorious screen door . It ’s an oculus - bulge moviegoing experience , just like the first one .
9Paddington In Peru
FromHoptoSonic the Hedgehog , movies about CG fauna wreak havoc on a live - natural process everyman ’s life run to be mediocre , tepid family entertainment . ButPaddingtonandPaddington 2turned out to be two of the greatest movies of all metre . Ben Whishaw ’s affable turn as the titular bear turned him into one of cinema ’s most darling icons , and Paul King ’s earnest charge assure that the flick are witty , fast - paced , and wear their heart on their sleeve .
The 2024 threequel , Paddington in Peru , fell brusk of those two previous masterpiece . It suffer from not induce King in the director ’s chair ; King passed the flannel mullein to first - clip filmmaker Dougal Wilson while he moved on toWonka . But just because it did n’t hold up up to two of the finest films ever made , it does n’t intend it ’s a bad movie . Paddington in Peruis still a fun , heartfelt adventure .
8Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Eddie Murphy reprised one of the most iconic office of his vocation in 2024 . Netflix brought back sharply - witted undercover fuzz Axel Foley for another natural action - packed escapade inBeverly Hills Cop : Axel F — and , gratefully , it turn out much in effect thanComing 2 America . Whereas theComing to Americasequel pale in comparability to the original film , Beverly Hills Cop : Axel Fis easilythe bestBeverly Hills Copmovie since the first one .
The fourth movie sends Axel back to Beverly Hills when his alienated daughter , now a sinewy defense attorney , is aim by a dangerous gang . Murphy recaptures the motormouth energy of his original performance as Axel , much more so than he did in his reprisal of Prince Akeem . Director Mark Molloy recaptures the original film ’s perfect balance of action spectacle and laugh - out - loud glee .
7Sonic The Hedgehog 3
From the “ Ugly Sonic ” disceptation to the COVID-19 pandemic , Sonic the Hedgehoghas face every potential vault in its quest to become a blockbuster movie enfranchisement . And against all odds , it ’s managed to defeat those hurdles and become a smash hitting . Each of theSonicfilms has been salutary than the last . The first pic was an affable action comedy , the 2nd one pushed the gravy holder out with a bit more imaging , optical elan , and videogame lore , and the third one is the best of the bunch .
Shadow ’s storey is surprisingly emotional , and Keanu Reeves brings actual depth to the character . Jeff Fowler ’s direction is more bombastic and assure than ever . And the franchise ’s M.V.P. , Jim Carrey , puzzle double as much time to glow in a dual role as Dr. Robotnik and his grandfather , Gerald .
6Gladiator II
The case could well be made that Ridley Scott’sGladiatordidn’t need a subsequence . It ’s a perfect swords - and - sandals epic poem whose mythical simplicity makes it a timeless chef-d’oeuvre . But there ’s no deny that Scott ’s standalone subsequence , Gladiator II , is one of the most impressive megahit spectacle of the twelvemonth . Scott did n’t just pit gentleman’s gentleman against men ; he cast off them in the orbit with untamed animals like rapscallion , rhinoceros , and even bloodthirsty sharks .
Thanks toDenzel Washington ’s scene - steal turn as Macrinus , Gladiator IIis a lot funnier than the first film . It ’s also a more complex , more compelling political narrative about an iron - fisted tyrant assume the throne of Ancient Rome . Gladiator IImight not be the untouchable magnum opus that its herald is , but it is one of the most passionately entertain big - budget movies of the year .
5Deadpool & Wolverine
Marvel Studios’Deadpool & Wolverineisn’t a verbatim sequel toDeadpool 2 . It does use Deadpool ’s time offense from that motion picture ’s post - credits scene to instigate his conflict with the TVA , but it serves as more of a standalone movie integrating Deadpool into the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Still , it deftly recapture the meta mutant havoc that made those first twoDeadpoolmovies so much playfulness ; the threequel might be even Deadpool - ier than its predecessor .
It was a delight to see Ryan Reynolds ’ Merc with a Mouth back on the big screen , and his team - up with Hugh Jackman ’s Logan — the perfect straight adult male to his buggy funny persona — made him even funny . Deadpool & Wolverineis a delight from start to conclusion . It has some of the big laughs , bountiful action sequences , craziest cameos , andbest soundtrack phonograph needle - dropsof the entireDeadpooltrilogy .
4Alien: Romulus
Wedged betweenAlienandAliens , Fede Álvarez’sAlien : Romulustook the franchise back to its roots . Since delivering two of the majuscule moving picture ever made with its first couple of entries , this serial has had a very bumpy road . The sequels that observe got worse and worse , and the meanwhile has been fill with cheap crossovers and polarizing prequels . But in 2024 , Álvarez deliveredthe bestAlienmovie sinceAliens — and it was long delinquent .
extraterrestrial being : Romuluscombines the good elements ofAlienandAliens . The first one-half of the moving picture is a shivery haunted - house - in - space thriller likeAlien , with shocking gore and tense jump scares . The 2nd one-half is a high - octane action megahit likeAliens , with swarming xenomorphs and acid - tarnish shootouts . Cailee Spaeny is the most badassAlienheroine since Ripley and David Jonsson is the most sympathetic synth since Bishop .
3Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
After 36 years of prediction , Tim Burton finally direct a subsequence toBeetlejuicein 2024 . Legacy sequels do n’t always live up to their predecessor — in fact , they seldom do — butBeetlejuice Beetlejuiceis every bit the macabre delectation that its 1988 harbinger was . It might not be quite as spooky or quite as hilarious as the first one , but it perfectly recapture the life of the original classic .
Michael Keaton dislocate effortlessly back into the role of Betelgeuse , once again steal every picture he ’s in and seizing the consultation ’s tending . Rather than give in to the temptations of CGI and greenscreens , Burton recycle the old - school method of practical sets and exceptional effect that made the first motion picture so immersive and spectacular . Beetlejuice Beetlejuicewas a welcome return to the afterlife that recaptured what made the original majuscule without just rehashing it .
2Inside Out 2
It was incredibly risky for Pixar to make a continuation toInside Out . It was n’t a commercial-grade risk — from Disney ’s perspective , it made perfect financial sentience — but it was sure enough a creative risk . Inside Outis one of Pixar ’s most touching moving picture , with a potent content about the positively charged role of sorrowfulness . It set a very gamy bar for a potential sequel . Inside Out 2could’ve turn out likeFinding DoryandIncredibles 2 , unnecessary improver to their perfect predecessors , or evenCars 2 , an outright disaster .
gratefully , Inside Out 2turned out more likeToy fib 2 . It ’s a suitable successor to the first movie that work up on what came before . It rounds out Riley as more of a three - dimensional , individual character , and introduces a all-encompassing variety of more complex , more ripe emotions — particularly Anxiety , one ofthe greatest movie baddie of 2024 .
1Dune: Part Two
Denis Villeneuve’sDune : Part Twoisn’t a sequel in the traditional good sense . It ’s not a follow - up to a standalone movie that was develop strictly because the first one made enough of a net income for the studio apartment to need more ; it ’s the second half of the story Villeneuve lead off in the last one . It was always the plan to make a 2nd movie to make out Villeneuve ’s challenging , visually sensational adaptation of Frank Herbert ’s literary sci - fi opus .
From Greig Fraser ’s breathtaking cinematography to Hans Zimmer ’s otherworldly euphony , Dune : Part Twohas all the things that madeDune : Part Onesuch a chef-d’oeuvre . But it ’s also a much bigger and bolder flick thanPart One . Part Onewas all build - up andPart Twois all payoff as Paul Atreides reluctantly leads the Fremen into an apocalyptic holy war .
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Warner Bros. Pictrues
