The result of COVID-19 meant that many of the most anticipated blockbuster titles were pushed from 2020 to 2021. Although audiences still proceeded with caution, theatrical attendance was on the rise as fans anticipated these major titles. Combine the films pushed from the following year with the films already slated for release, and you get a stacked lineup featuring two years worth of movies.
Not all of the major sequels delivered; films like Halloween Kills, F9, Coming 2 America, and Space Jam: A New Legacy fell short of expectations. There were also some titles that were pushed to the following calendar year, including Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7. However, there were still many great sequels this year that justified returning to their universes.
Here are the top seven best sequels of 2021, ranked.
7. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
2018’s Venom was a bit of a mixed bag that was confused tonally and conceptually. Some expected the spinoff starring one of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains to be a dark, gritty origin story, but Tom Hardy incorporated a surprising amount of physical comedy to his performance as Eddie Brock. It was unfortunate that for every ridiculously over-the-top sight gag (such as Eddie jumping in a lobster tank), there’s laborious expositional scenes reminiscent of The Amazing Spider-Man films.
Thankfully, the sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage completely committed to the wackiness, shedding nearly all sense of gravity and simply giving Hardy the chance to get weird. The film is essentially a romantic comedy about Eddie’s struggling relationship with his symbiote, and new director Andy Serkis packs in such insane moments as Venom freestyling about free love at a nightclub. Woody Harrelson matches Hardy’s energy with an equally “out there” performance, and a great post-credit sequence helped top off a superhero movie that’s thankfully only 90 minutes long.
6. The Matrix Resurrections
The Matrix franchise has been endlessly debated since the original trilogy concluded in 2003. While The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were initially met with a cool reception, many have defended their continuation of the canon in the years since. There was fear of what a fourth film would become, but thankfully, Lana Wachowski didn’t opt for a safe, corporate pleasing route with The Matrix Resurrections. The fourth installment of the science fiction series is essentially a sequel that questions its own existence.
There’s always a fear that a “legacy sequel” will simply recreate past iconic moments, which The Matrix Resurrections does. What distinguishes it is that the film itself is a critique of nostalgia and rebooting, and raises questions about fans’ relationship to the series by questioning who should have ownership. The action is as exciting as one would expect from Wachowski, but there’s also more attention paid to developing the relationship between Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie Anne-Moss) than previously seen in the series.
5. Ghostbusters: Afterlife
After Paul Feig’s 2016 Ghostbusters film began a new continuity that took place outside of the original two films, Jason Reitman’s new sequel offered something completely different – a return to the original timeline. While many were looking forward to the return of Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, and Ernie Hudson, Ghostbusters: Afterlife thankfully featured new characters that could stand alongside the original heroes. The grandchildren of Harold Ramis’s Egon Spengler, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), were established as interesting characters before the nostalgia-heavy final moments.
It wasn’t just the cast that was different; Afterlife transitioned the series from New York City to the small town of Summerville, Oklahoma, and seeing ghosts create chaos outside of a metropolitan area offered more opportunities for creative sequences. The tone was slightly more serious than the original films, leaning into the influence of Stranger Things, but a good deal of comedic relief comes from Paul Rudd’s relationship with Egon’s daughter, Callie (Carrie Coon), and Logan Kim’s breakout character, Podcast.
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home
There was no doubt that Spider-Man: No Way Home would be exceeding box office records even during a worldwide pandemic. The film became the first in two years to gross over $1 billion and will more than likely be making its way into the top ten highest-grossing films of all time worldwide after becoming the 10th highest-grossing film of all time, domestically. There’s a reason that the third Tom Holland film has become a sensation, and it’s not just for its jaw-dropping third act reveals. Ironically, the film that focuses on the multiverse is the most focused examination of Peter Parker’s heroism within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Peter has always been an engaging hero because, at the end of the day, he’s simply a geeky kid who is trying to do the right thing. The consequences within Spider-Man: No Way Home all come from Peter’s empathy; he asks Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to erase memories in order to protect his girlfriend and best friend, MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), and inadvertently unleashes the five villains when he thinks he can save their fates. It’s great to see Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Thomas Hayden Church, and Ryhs Ifans return to their roles, and Dafoe in particular is having a blast chewing the scenery.
3. A Quiet Place: Part II
One of the reasons 2018’s A Quiet Place was so successful was that the story was completely focused and small scale. Few details about the origins of the alien species are shared with the viewer, and the emotional weight of the film rests entirely on the relationship between parents, Lee (John Krasinski) and Evelyn (Emily Blunt), and their children, Regan (Millicent Simmons) and Marcus (Noah Jupe). The audience learns as much about the creatures as the characters do, and the film was not weighed down by endless exposition.
A Quiet Place: Part II doesn’t break from that trajectory, starting immediately after the first film ended as the family struggles with their heartbreak. The flashback sequences feel necessary, as they establish Regan’s growth into a leader within the group, and show how fragmented humanity has become. Cillian Murphy’s role as the reclusive loner Emmet helped flesh out the moral greyness of survival, as he fears both the alien invaders and fellow survivors that could betray them.
2. No Time To Die
It’s safe to say that No Time To Die was the most anticipated James Bond film in history. The film had been pushed back several times even before the pandemic, and Daniel Craig’s last time as 007 concluded the most serialized run of the franchise. In the spirit of Star Trek VI- The Undiscovered Country or Avengers: Endgame, No Time To Die is an epic love letter to Craig’s run that wraps up his story after the disappointing Spectre.
Bond films like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Casino Royale were successful because they embraced the romantic side of the character, and the relationship between Bond and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) is authentically handled in a more modernized love story than any of the more problematic earlier installments. Not only did Craig deliver his strongest work to date, but Bond’s supporting cast of Q (Ben Wishaw), Moneypenny (Naomi Harris), Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), and M (Ralph Fiennes) were also given heartfelt conclusions. Rami Malek’s villain, Lyutsifer Safin, actually had a compelling motivation; his lines to Bond about “playing god” help to question the character’s questionable morality.
1. The Souvenir: Part II
Joanna Hogg’s 2019 film, The Souvenir, is one of the most perfect and heartbreaking romantic films of the 2010s. In the vein of classics like 8 ½ or All That Jazz, the film was inspired by the filmmaker’s personal experience as an emerging artist. Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) struggles to find her voice as a director as she leads a chaotic relationship with the drug addict Anthony (Tom Burke). Picking up right after the first film, The Souvenir: Part II begins as Julie uses the events of the first film as the basis of her next film project.
Hogg brilliantly explores how art is used as a coping method; Julie is unsure of how to explain her feelings, and by crafting a narrative, she’s able to process her heartbreak. Julie is forced to relive painful memories and struggles as her crew questions the decisions of her “fictional characters”. Once again, Swinton-Byrne delivers a remarkably open performance which is only heightened with the supporting performance of her real-life mother, Tilda Swinton. The insights into the film production process and the satisfaction of seeing Julie’s vision lived out make The Souvenir: Part II the most satisfying sequel of the year.
