10 Best Sequels of the 2000s, Ranked

Some of the greatest sequels ever made were released in the 2000s.

There were also a lot of sequels that failed to live up to their franchises in that time period, but the ones that did have withstood the test of time.

Watch With Us has taken an extensive look back at that decade and chosen the 10 best sequels of the 2000s.

Note that only sequels were eligible for this list. Reboots like Casino Royale and Batman Begins were left out because they were fresh starts rather than continuations.

10. ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ (2007)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was conceived as the end of a trilogy, and it considerably ups the stakes for Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who was lost at the end of the previous film. Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and the crew of the Black Pearl literally go to great lengths to retrieve Jack from the afterlife, and that’s just the beginning of the movie.

For its time, this was the most expensive movie ever made, with a budget of around $300 million. The money shows up on-screen in some of the biggest action sequences of the series. That includes a battle between two ships in the middle of a raging storm. This felt like the final movie of the franchise, even though two additional films were later made.

9. ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ (2003)

Everyone had such high hopes for The Matrix sequels, given that the first one is easily among the best sci-fi action films of the previous decade. Wanting to take the burgeoning franchise even further, The Wachowskis may have gotten a little too esoteric with their back-to-back sequels. Some of it works really well, including the amazing fight scene in the Chateau, the Burly Brawl of 100 Smiths (all played by Hugo Weaving) and the freeway chase. That’s where The Matrix Reloaded comes to life.

Neo (Keanu Reeves) is basically the Superman of the Matrix in the first sequel, but he’s haunted by visions that predict the death of his lover, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss). The machines have also launched an assault that may finish the last human city on Earth. In the middle of this chaos, Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Neo and Trinity get the chance to bring the war to an end if they can find and rescue the Keymaker (Randall Duk Kim) and go beyond the Matrix as they know it.

8. ‘The Bourne Supremacy’ (2004)

The Bourne Identity went a long way towards turning Matt Damon‘s Jason Bourne into a modern James Bond. The first sequel, The Bourne Supremacy, went even further, as Jason and his girlfriend, Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), discover that their new lives have been compromised. Like any great sequel, this one ups the stakes for Bourne as he’s framed for a crime and pursued by both the CIA and the Russian Federal Security Service.

Action is where the Jason Bourne movies thrive, and this film has some truly thrilling sequences. The story also fills in some of the gaps of Bourne’s past while also reintroducing Julia Stiles‘ Nicky Parsons, his unlikely ally in the CIA.

7. ‘Kill Bill: Volume 2’ (2004)

Quentin Tarantino may describe Kill Bill as a single movie cut in half, but it’s still a sequel, no matter how he justifies it, especially since Tarantino teased Kill Bill: Volume 3 for several years before ultimately abandoning the idea. Kill Bill: Volume 2 works very well as a standalone sequel that builds on its predecessor’s tale of bloody revenge.

The opening moments reveal how the Bride (Uma Thurman) reunited with her ex-lover, Bill (David Carradine), shortly before the massacre he ordered at her wedding rehearsal. In the present, the Bride still has to defeat Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) before she can get a chance to confront Bill himself.

6. ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004)

There were numerous Harry Potter sequels in the 2000s, but the one almost universally recognized as the best was the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Before he went on to win four Oscars, director Alfonso Cuarón brought a more impressive cinematic flair to the Wizarding World.

Gary Oldman plays the titular prisoner, Sirius Black, who has escaped from Azkaban prison. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is convinced that Sirius betrayed his late parents and that he’s Black’s next target. This film also introduces the Dementors, one of the creepiest creations in the entire franchise. Their presence alone gives this story more of an edge than the two previous films had.

5. ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ (2007)

The Bourne Ultimatum had some welcome surprises in the way that it weaves together with The Bourne Supremacy. Jason Bourne (Damon) and Nicky Parsons (Stiles) once again found themselves in the crosshairs of the CIA. The agency’s new Deputy Director, Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), needed to silence both Jason and Nicky to hide the existence of his new covert operation, Blackbriar.

It shouldn’t be surprising to hear that the third Bourne film had frantic and intense action, especially as Jason contended with an assassin, Paz (Édgar Ramírez), who had been sent by Vosen to kill him.

4. ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002)

The success of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was no fluke, as exemplified by its direct sequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. J.R.R. Tolkien‘s fantasy trilogy was designed to be told in three parts, and director Peter Jackson delivered on a higher level than anyone expected. The Two Towers by itself could be considered one of the greatest fantasy movies ever made, and it’s not even the best film in the trilogy.

From a technical standpoint, the CGI and motion-capture performance of Gollum (Andy Serkis) is stunning. The eyes and facial expressions of Gollum feel like they have hidden depths rather than an uncanny valley. Gollum plays a large role in this installment as he leads Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Austin) deeper into enemy territory. Meanwhile, their friends Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) face a hopeless struggle to defend the people of Rohan.

3. ‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)

Spider-Man 2 may have set the bar a little bit too high for superhero sequels, few of which have come anywhere near the quality of this film. One of the ways that director Sam Raimi pulled this off was by making the story deeply personal for Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). Being Spider-Man has cost him his chance with Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and alienated his best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco). It’s also done a number on Peter’s plans to graduate college and have a life of his own.

That’s why the disappearance of Peter’s powers is something he embraces. It gives him the chance to claw everything back. Unfortunately, there’s no rest for Spidey as Peter’s new mentor, Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), is transformed into his new nemesis, Doctor Octopus. That’s one battle that Peter can’t avoid, whether he has powers or not.

2. ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)

Out of all of the movies on this list, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the only one to have won Best Picture on its way to sweeping every Academy Award it was nominated for at the Oscars. “Epic” is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but no other fantasy film has achieved the same stunning scale as Peter Jackson’s finale.

The theatrical cut is over three hours, and the extended edition is even longer than that. Regardless, Jackson takes all the time he needs to give Frodo (Wood), Sam (Austin), Aragorn (Mortensen), Gimli (Rhys-Davies), Legolas (Bloom) and the rest of the Fellowship the endings that they deserve.

1. ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)

Christopher Nolan didn’t invent the darker take on Batman, but he was the first filmmaker to fully embrace that side of the character in live-action. Batman Begins successfully revived the franchise after it had been run into the ground during the previous decade. Nolan’s time with the character peaked with his second film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight. It wasn’t nominated for Best Picture, but the outcry from that snub helped convince the Academy to expand the nominees from five to 10 in that category.

The late Heath Ledger did win a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his unforgettable turn as the Joker. He’s the one foe that Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) has no answer for. Bruce is pinning his hopes on District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), whose crusade to clean up Gotham City may allow Batman to retire. That would let Bruce romantically pursue Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is currently dating Harvey. But there’s no escape from the Joker’s malevolent chaos, and not even Batman will emerge unscathed from his wrath.