Top 5 Science Fiction/ Adventure Sequels Ever

Movies are great. But sometimes a movie will come along that is just spectacular. Ground-breaking. Inspiring. Industry shattering. And so naturally, when it does well at the box office, the studio wants to follow up with a sequel. And let’s be honest, the sequels are rarely as good as the original.

But every now and then, the astonishing happens: the sequel is better than the original.

Since science fiction and adventure are where I live as an author, let’s take a look at the five best science fiction or adventure sequels ever made.

#5 – Aliens

The original Alien was a huge success, a science fiction horror movie like no-one had ever seen. It started out as a space twist on a creepy tomb search in the finest The Mummy tradition and then led to a terrifying sci-fi version of the classic “trapped in a remote location with a monster” as the poor humans get picked off one by one by the horrific xenomorph. Fabulous stuff, and one of Ridley Scott’s finest works. I had the misfortune of watching it on VHS when I was about 6 years old – and it scared the sweet bejeezuz out of me.

But then, a few years later, along comes James Cameron, saying, “Hold my beer.” Aliens is in one way a great follow-on to the original and yet also something completely new. Cameron’s sequel respects the horror motif of Scott’s original, with a mysterious, abandoned base where everyone is missing. But instead of sending the SF equivalent of truckers to deal with the problem, we get the Colonial Marines! These are professional warriors with the best gear and attitudes to match. This sort of action/sci-fi movie could easily have descended into absurdity, but the strength of the acting performances carried it through. Think of the memorable lines:

Vasquez: Let’s rock!!!

Hudson: Game over, man, game over!

Ripley: Get away from her, you bitch!

Each one of the marines stands out as a distinct character, and while most of them are destined to die we care for every one of them. There’s treachery, courage, love, sass and sheer badassery galore.

But kudos also to the first act of the movie, which shows Ripley being saved and her trying to recover from the trauma. Her nightmares are terrifying and believable. Sigourney Weaver delivers a savage, low-key depiction of a woman lost and alone in an uncaring future. This early drama is one of the most realistic follow-ups to any horror movie character (I mean, who wouldn’t be traumatized?) and establishes a grounded tone that keeps the later action gritty and heartfelt.

Aliens is a cult classic, but it also did very well at the box office.  It managed the difficult trick of staying loyal to its famous predecessor while offering something completely new.

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#4 – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

This movie is a little different from the others in this list because it was preceded not only by a film but also by a beloved TV series. And it leaned into both of these connections.

The original Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the leap to the big screen of the USS Enterprise and her crew, and it was bound to be a commercial hit just for the sheer number of eager fans lining up to see it. But, let’s be real, it wasn’t the finest big screen outing for the franchise. It was epic, it had great moments, and that opening sequence with the Klingons stands as one of the finest sci-fi space battle scenes in movie history. But the movie was also kinda slow and a little cerebral. Not necessarily bad things, but the final result didn’t quite stick the landing.

But then, just a few years later, the makers of Star Trek did everything right. Wrath of Khan is powerful, character-driven drama that combines outstanding space battles with real human emotion, pain and sacrifice. Bringing back Khan Noonian Singh, a charismatic villain from a single episode of the TV show, was a masterstroke, as was getting Ricardo Montalban to reprise his role. Khan is a brilliant, cunning maniac out for vengeance and the threat he brings is chilling.

Of course, he’s countered by the great James T. Kirk. But in Wrath of Khan we see a more mature Kirk, who regrets his own advancing years, questions his abilities and is forced to confront shadows from his past. Far from the swinging swashbuckler of the TV show, Kirk displays maturity and wisdom along with his peerless panache.

The match-up between Kirk and Khan is epic – two titans who are well-matched and who have a personal vendetta against each other. The drama reaches its emotional peak with the famous exchange:

Khan: I shall leave you as you left me… as you left her. Marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet. Buried alive… Buried alive.

Kirk: KHAAANNNNN!!! KHAAANNNNN!!!

And if the titanic battle between Kirk and Khan wasn’t enough, the climax of the movie brings a tragic surprise. There are few dying moments more heartfelt, and praise to Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner for their acting chops. Wrath of Khan is in every way a tragedy, but it is so powerful the audience can’t help but be lifted by it.

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#3 – Terminator 2

The original Terminator was the breakout movie for young filmmaker James Cameron and it could easily have been lost amidst all the over-the-top action movies of the 1980’s. It starred cheese-fest regular Arnold Schwarzenegger and a few unknown actors in the lead. But Terminator was something special: not only did it lean more into the horror genre than the action genre, it offered a powerful warning against the dangers of AI, and it was carried by the incredible performances of Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton and, yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

So, how to make a sequel? Terminator 2 exploded onto screens 7 years after the original and expectations were high. And it delivered in every way. First, the big twist that the Terminator is now a good guy and there’s an even more powerful machine on the hunt. Second, Sarah Connor is reinvented as a badass, psychopathic warrior (and a loving mother). Third, the budget and special effects are delivered on steroids, with the liquid metal villain a breakthrough in movie FX technology. The action sequences, the plot, the music… everything was a notch upward.

Terminator 2 is an example of a sequel that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel – it just takes everything that was great about the original and makes it better. It also shows deep respect to the original, not trying to retcon anything but building on what was laid out before.

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#2 – Top Gun Maverick

Okay, I confess, this movie is the reason why this list isn’t the Top 5 Science Fiction Sequels. Some might argue that elements of this movie nudge into sci-fi, but… whatever, action-adventure it is.

So the original Top Gun was an iconic film, but it was never followed up. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture the studios churning out lamer after lamer sequel of hot shot fighter pilots playing beach sports and saving the day, but thankfully that never happened. Top Gun existed for decades in splendid isolation, a perfect, fun, cheesy romp that was both a total representation of pop culture at the time and something completely original.

And then, 34 years later, the sequel arrived. It was remarkable simply for the things it was NOT. It was not a reboot. It was not an homage to 80’s action films. It was not anything we were expecting. It was a very well-written, well-acted, well-directed character piece that picks up the life of Pete “Maverick” Mitchell 34 years later. Tom Cruise gives the performance of a lifetime, ageing an iconic character and showing us a mature, melancholic Maverick at the end of his career. The man who was once an unstoppable, arrogant over-achiever is now a sidelined pariah who manages to keep flying only because of his longtime friendship with the first movie’s antagonist, Iceman.

The rich character development shows how Maverick is estranged from the son of his former wingman Goose – a bittersweet subplot that ties the two movies together, honoring the first while giving the second a deeper journey. The romance is also remarkable for how unlike it is to the romance in Top Gun. In the first movie, Maverick is basically a skirt-chaser who charms his way into his instructor’s bed. But in the second movie, Maverick re-connects with an old flame in a slow, believable and endearing way. The second movie has subtle depth that is in keeping with the style of the 2020’s, just as the first was cheesy and over-the-top in the style of the 1980’s. The movies have very different feels but are clearly connected.

Don’t get me wrong. The action sequences in Top Gun Maverick are second-to-none, with new methods of filming in actual F-18 cockpits providing ground-breaking visuals. And there’s no shortage of pilot machismo throughout the story, but it’s all told from Maverick’s point of view, as the elder statesman of the fighter community. There’s a nuanced maturity to how the story unfolds.

Top Gun Maverick is just about the perfect action-adventure movie. It would stand on its own, but is much, much richer because of its predecessor.

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#1 – The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars was the biggest movie that had ever happened. It stayed in theatres for multiple years, and was the summer blockbuster hit two years in a row. No other movie ever – not Gone with the Wind, not The Godfather, not Titanic, not Endgame – accomplished that kind of enduring success. Star Wars redefined how movies were made. How could a sequel ever measure up to it?

There were many copycats to Star Wars, most of them terrible, and there was probably pressure from the studio to just make “more of the same”. But thankfully George Lucas remained firmly at the helm of his creation, even self-financing his second movie to ensure he could make it the way he wanted. And the world of movies is a better place for it.

The Empire Strikes Back is a triumph of film-making. It perfectly captures the overwhelming sense of wonder that so enamored fans of Star Wars, introducing fans to new, bigger, bolder vistas in that galaxy far, far away. It stays true to the first movie’s clear sense of good and evil, but it dares to delve deep into the Dark Side of the Force and show us what evil really is. It takes our beloved characters and enriches them, plus it introduces us to Yoda, one of the most famous (and quoted) movie characters of all time.

Empire takes everything that was good in Star Wars and makes it better, but it doesn’t stop there. It expands the galaxy’s horizons, it soars to the highest of heroism and plumbs the depths of tyranny. It delights, it educates and it shocks. The reveal of Luke’s parentage stands as one of the biggest surprises in movie history, and the ragged ending leaves us begging for more. Empire brings dissonance to the Star Wars saga, which is only matched by the harmony of its sequel, Return of the Jedi.

As the middle act of a three-act story, The Empire Strikes Back was in the most challenging narrative position, but it owned its place as the dark chapter and delivered in spades. In a pantheon of outstanding movies, The Empire Strikes Back still stands as one of the very best. And as a sequel to a magnificent movie, it is without rival.

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Bennett R. Coles is an award-winning, best-selling author and ghostwriter of science fiction and space fantasy series. His newest novel, Light in the Abyss, is now available here.