MovieChat Forums > Short Circuit 2 (1988) Discussion > That Rarity...A Superior Sequel! Any Ot...

That Rarity...A Superior Sequel! Any Others?!

posted 10 years ago by decmcg
5 replies | jump to latest

While like many I LOVE the original "Short Circuit" (and although the IMDB general rating would disagree), HAVE to say I find this film the rarity that is... a superior sequel!!

Of course it helps that the original writers were back on board (with an obvious LOVE of their main character i.e. Johnny 5) and that we have such a stalwart as Kenneth Johnson directing... but have to say that I found this a sweet, fun, joyous and so much more enjoyable and entertaining sequel above what came before!

While they say a sequel rarely ever betters its original... to the likes of "Empire Strikes Back", "Godfather 2" and "Superman 2" I might add "Short Circuit 2" to be held up to negate this!?

Anybody got any other (of those rare occasion) sequels you might note that improve on their former counterparts to support this argument?!!

[–] Hendry_William_French 10 years ago

It's certainly a lot more livelier than the original. I don't know if it's superior but at worst it's on the same level.

I think the original went a bit deeper in terms of exploring the idea of life in a machine and the characters of Stephanie and Guttenburg (is it newton Crosby?) were more developed than the ones in this, plus it reminded me of ET a lot just with a robot instead of an alien. I also liked the setting of Astoria, Oregon over the city, too and the action scenes (with the other number 5s especially) were a bit better.

That said Short Circuit 2 is a very endearing film with a nice cast and a better music score. I love the ending with Johnny 5 chasing down the criminal with that 'I need a hero' playing. They kinda turned him into a comic book character in this. I certainly laughed a lot more at this than the first.

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[–] neardarkp 10 years ago

Terminator 2
Aliens

[–] queencat18 10 years ago

Karate Kid Part 2 and Back to the Future Part 2 were both better than their predecessors.

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[–] Wombstar 9 years ago

I still think the original is slightly better, I like the military backdrop which gives the film a little more edge and seriousness about it. Part 2 suffers from a really rubbish finial showdown and Oscar is a terrible character.

Also, the music in the first film is so much better.

Those claiming Aliens, T2, back to the future 2 and Superman 2 were superior to the first films are talking gibberish. They're all great films but like most sequels they've been dumbed down slightly, more kiddie friendly and lack some of the magic.

Anyway, I love Short circuit 2 but I just rate the first one slightly better.

[–] Hilwo 9 years ago

Short Circuit 1 is basically Police Academy with a robot. As much as I love Ally Sheedy, I much prefer Short Circuit 2.

As for the other movies, Back to the Future 2 and Aliens... Though with Terminator it is most definitely the first movie for me.

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