10) Under Siege 2 No it isn’t as good as the original, but if you’re only going to watch one Die Hard movie on a train, this should be it. 9) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows I don’t know if the second movie was actually better than the first, but I do know that I was surprised I enjoyed it so much. To be perfectly honest, I had a very hard time getting into this new style of Sherlock Holmes film. I went in expecting more “Elementary my dear Watson“, and less “Let’s become action heroes, Watson“. Perhaps I just knew what to expect with the second film, but I had a lot of fun with it. 8) Rush Hour 2 I had just as much fun with the second Rush Hour film as I did with the original. Chris Tucker isn’t working enough these days. I know some find him annoying, but he really was hilarious teamed up with the legendaryJackie Chan. And I don’t care what you think of Brett Ratner, the man gives a fantastic director’s commentary. 7) Blade 2 Perhaps this is the least surprising movie on the list because it was directed by Guillermo del Toro, but I really don’t think Blade 2 gets enough respect as an Action film. With a great cast and a a few good story twists, Blade 2 is far more fun to revisit than the original. 6) Crank 2 : High Voltage If ever there existed a live-action cartoon, this is it. I can’t stress how ridiculous and over-the-top this movie is. It doesn’t take itself seriously for a second, and it’s undoubtedly a film that you’ll never understand until you see it. SO WATCH IT ALREADY! I haven’t laughed this hard at something I didn’t understand in years. 5) Rambo 4 Technically, this movie is called only ‘Rambo‘, and it’s one of the few movies that I jumped online and purchased immediately after watching for the first time on pay-per-view. Stallone’s low(er) budget 4th entry in the franchise is actually my favorite. It’s a brutal unflinching look at a brutal unflinching country, Burma (Myanmar), and it’s not to be missed. 4) Live Free or Die hard Compared to the most recent entry in the Die Hard series, A Good Day to Die Hard, this film is Godfather 2. It’s full of humor and action, and if you consider the first 2 films as one entry (as I do), then this is the 2nd best Die Hard film ever made. 3) The Expendables 2 This movie is exactly what I hoped the first Expendables would be. It’s a bunch of my favorite action stars goofing around, blowing stuff up, and stealing each other’s one-liners. If you wrote off this sequel after seeing the moderately entertaining original, then you’re missing out. 2) Jurassic Park 3 After Spielberg’s over-cooked, over-done, overly-long, overly-dumb sequel to one my favorite films of ALL TIME, I didn’t head into Jurassic Park 3 with much confidence. What I got was an efficiently short, action thrill-ride with dinosaurs! It isn’t as smart as the original, but it’s a lot of fun! 1) Men in Black 3 Boy, did this one catch me by surprise! The original MiB was an incredibly inventive (and funny!) sci-fi comedy that was begging for a sequel. Unfortunately, Men in Black 2 was one of those “be careful what you wish for” sequels. It felt exactly like what it was — a completely unnecessary film that existed only to cash-in on the success of the original. So imagine my surprise when I watch Men in Black 3 and find that it not only captures the magic of the original, but it does so with a genuinely heart-warming story and a magnificent performance by Josh Brolin. I refuse to say anything further as not to spoil the fun. Watch MiB3! In 3D even!
