Not every sequel is as great as “The Godfather: Part II” or as bad as “The Next Karate Kid.”

A good sequel needs to remind us of why we loved the original movie, but also contain characters and a plot that justifies revisiting the same world.

Here are 10 sequels Daniel and Sean think are underrated and deserve to be as beloved as their predecessors. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comment section or tweet us @WritersBone.

1. “Die Hard: With a Vengeance”

Daniel Ford: My first reaction was that we couldn’t include something as popular and beloved as the third “Die Hard” movie. As always, Sean made a convincing argument and here it is on our list. He also took advantage of my love for New York City porn. Damn him!

Sean Tuohy: Writer story: So when Jonathan Hesleigh, the writer of “Die Hard: With a Vengeance,” was writing the script in New York City, he read about a tunnel being built just outside of the city. He then went to the Federal Reserve in lower Manhattan and asked for a tour. They allowed him to walk in to the vault--one of the largest in the world—and hold gold bars. Then they told him that the subway messed around with their alarm system, so they are removing it. Well, he writes the script in which the bad guys rob the vault using the subway and take the gold up the tunnel to escape. The FBI got their hands on this and held him for questioning. It turns out that at that time someone could have pulled off that robbery just like in the movie.

2. “The Rescuers Down Under”

DF: I had no idea this was a sequel until later in life. I still haven’t seen the first flick. Why bother? This movie is awesome. The cricket yelling pea soup at the restaurant still makes me laugh. I can hear my mother and brother laughing when we first saw it too. That eagle is also majestic as fuck.

ST: I can remember this movie from one of the first summer camps I went to as a kid. We watched it on a small television in a massive room. The scene where the boy rides the bird still sticks out in my mind. It starts off with a heart-racing scene where the kid free falls and then he’s scooped up by the bird.

The artwork is amazing and even the jokes are really funny.

3. “Batman Returns”

DF: Sean and I cover why this movie is so great in a recent installment of The Boneyard, but we could talk about it for days. This sequel has the right amount of seriousness, camp, and black leather. Plus, Danny DeVito as a pitch perfect Penguin. Michael Keaton’s scowl in this movie is on the short list of best scowls of all time.

ST: As Dan said, we can talk about this movie for days. It’s such a stand out in the Batman movie franchise. It’s a movie that understands itself very well. It can be dark and brooding, but then switch on the camp and humor. Also, who didn’t want an army of rocket-throwing birds?

4. “Airplane 2”

DF: Sean, take over, I’m too busy laughing at Simon turning to jelly.

ST: While Dan is busy rolling on the floor and grabbing his side—and I’ll be joining him soon enough—I have to point that this movie is one of the best comedies ever made. From William Shatner’s scenes as the moon base commander to the “Out of coffee?!?!” scene, Airplane 2 will leave you, well, just like Dan.

5. “Blade 2”

DF: My friend Steve-O and I were on a big vampire kick at one point. We tore through “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel,” and the three “Blade” movies. I’m sure all of this happened during one weekend. The second movie is clearly the best. It has everything you want, villain progression, haunted protagonist, and cool fight scenes that could end up with someone chowing down on someone else’s neck.

ST: My version of "Blade 2" would have had Blade going down to a sun-soaked island to get his groove back with the help of a sexy young vampire. But wisely, the studio didn't listen to me and they instead went with Guillermo del Toro to helm the edgier sequel. The movie is filled with action, awesome fight scenes, and a stone-faced Wesley Snipes. Sadly, they lost their way with the third film...

6./7. “Back to the Future Part II” and “Back to the Future Part III”

DF: I can’t talk objectively about these movies. I spent too much time in a vest carrying around a cardboard hover board for that to happen. I also went through a phase of demanding people call me Marty. And after seeing “Back to the Future Part III,” I wore a black, plastic cowboy hat and forced people to call me Clint. The town dance scene is just fantastic. “The Doc can dance?”

ST: What can you say about these movies that hasn’t already been said? Not much, but I’ll give it a shot here. I made my parents spend hours on the “Back to the Future ride” in Florida. I had the toys, I watched the TV shows, and I even wore some clothes with the logo. But what I always took away from the movies was the relationship between Doc and Marty. Those two faced life and death, one case of incest, and countless bad guys, but always believed in one another.

8. “Homeward Bound 2”

DF: I told myself I wouldn’t cry…dammit. “It’s a thing of beauty when Chance is on duty!” I tear up every time I hear that. Fun fact: Pa Walton (aka Ralph White) voiced Shadow in this one because Don Ameche died in 1993. Also, did Sally Field method act while voicing the cat?

ST: Wait a second. Pa Walton is dead? When did this happen?!?! This is heartbreaking, but I will try and hold back tears on this one. WHY?!?!? Why did you take Pa away?!?!

He had so much to give!!!

DF: Sean, Pa Walton is still alive...the other guy is dead.

ST: Oh, well then. Um, this is a good movie.

DF: Another fun fact about Ralph White. He ran for Congress three times and lost. He lost twice to Sonny Bono's widow.

ST: Wow. How is that not a movie? Pa Walton versus Sonny Bono's widow for Congress. I would watch that!

9. “An American Tail: Fievel Goes West”

DF: Pretty sure my younger brother and I wore out this VHS. Tiger training to become a dog is outstanding, especially the part where he’s strutting around and squeaking at the same time.

ST: I caught this flick at a friend’s house one night. It stands out because it was my first taste of the big ol’ West. Also, right after this, I watched my first “Naked Gun” film.

10. “Ghostbusters 2”

DF: One of the best logos for a sequel ever.

And this movie was so…weird. I remember being way more creeped out by this movie than the original. But how can you not love the scene where they get the slime to dance? And, “You’re not sleeping it with, are you Ray?”

ST: The Ecto-1. Do I have to say more? Yes? Good, because I want to. It was an awesome car filled with an awesome group of guys who put ghosts in their places. I have to say the best scene is watching the Titanic arrive in to port and the passenger debark through the gash.

For posts from The Boneyard, check out our full archive.

The Boneyard will feature the best of Daniel and Sean’s daily email chain twice a week. Yes, we broadened the definition of “best” to make this happen.

Sean: I am going to treat this email chain like a Moran orgy: Anything goes.

Daniel: (afraid to type anything)

Awkward email pause.

Daniel: How important is an ending to a book or movie? Is it the end all be all? Does it depend on the genre? How often does an ending stick out for you for being great? Not that often, right? Is that because it's so hard to stick the landing?

Sean: Endings mean nothing. The ending rarely sticks out for people. Endings may stick out if it was a bad move, a twist, or a very nicely shot scene. Otherwise, endings are nothing. You remember everything that happened before it. For me, the opening scene is where it’s at. You grab your audience and pull them in to your world and then you work at keeping them there. If they are in at the end, you've done your job. The ending matters if you are ending a series of some kind.

The only ending people truly remember is Free Willy because of the scene where the whale leaps over the kid. You think, 'What parent would be okay with this? That whale could drop from the sky and crush that child. Why are his parents not worried?!?!"

Daniel: Ha. You said Free Willy.

I agree. I'm much more inclined toward beginnings. Part of the reason is that I'm so much better at writing them. Setting up a world, a tone, and a character are easier than figuring out how to shut the curtain on all of the above. And twists suck. You have the occasional Sixth Sense or A Beautiful Mind, but what's the shelf life on those movies? I remember being blown away by A Beautiful Mind when I saw it in the theater (even before the twist). It was even one of the first DVDs I ever bought on my own. You know how many times I've watched it since I bought it? Once.But does that make it a bad movie? How much of a factor is re-watchability in how good or bad a movie is? Are Terrence Malick films (What the fuck was Tree of Life about? Seriously, what the fuck?) inherently bad because you can barely sit through one showing, never mind snooze to it on TBS on a Saturday afternoon? But don't those films you can get into channel flicking no matter where you pick up the action have something wrong with them if that's true?

Sean: A little rant on a A Beautiful Mind before I answer. I really enjoyed that movie when I first saw it. Then I read about the real John Nash and found out that during his "episodes" he would go on racist filled rants, he had more than one gay relationship, cheated on his wife who was Cuban and not white like in the movie. Good job Ron Howard! I would have loved to see that movie about a smart guy who goes crazy and starts screaming the N-word while making out with some guy while his Cuban wife watches from the sidelines. Tell me you would not watch the movie! Tell me!

But back to our topic. You’re right that movies with twist endings are only fun to watch the first time when you have no idea what is going to happen. After that, what is the point? You know what is going to happen next. The only other time you can watch a movie with a twist ending is when you are watching the movie with someone who has never seen it before and you watch their reaction to the big twist.

The re-watchable factor shouldn’t judge if a movie is good or bad (Tree of Life, what the hell is going there? How do you go from The Thin Red Line to Tree of Life? How?!?!). What makes a movie re-watchable is the connection you had to the movie when you first saw it. I don't like some movies because it reminds me of a bad date I went on, but others remind me of Friday nights spent my friends. I have a connection with Jingle All The Way because one afternoon my mom and I sat down and watched it together. Is it a good movie? No! It's awful! But if it’s on, I will watch it because I remember how my mom was happy and smiling when we watched it. A connection is what matters.

Would you re-watch an awful movie with someone who has never seen it just to talk about it with someone?

Daniel: I would 100% do that. I'm sure my girlfriend would say that happens all the time.

I love Jingle All the Way for a lot of the same reasons. My younger brother and I used to watch movies and television shows with my mom growing up which included a good number of chick flicks. For instance, One Fine Day. That movie is terrible and inaccurately depicts what it’s like to be a writer in New York City. I made a lot of bad career decisions based off of George Clooney's character. But I’ll always love it forever because I watched it with my mother and it made me fall even more in love with New York City. Plus, Michelle Pfeiffer is still throwing a 95 m.p.h. fastball.

Sean: I brought it up because I do it all the time. It's always good when you can vent your anger of a movie toward someone else who is in the same boat.

I have never seen One Fine Day all the way through. Go back and watch Batman Returns. Pfeiffer is purrrfect. Get it? She plays Catwoman.

It's good to have a connection to a movie like that. Having connection with bad movie or one that’s not your taste to it because of someone in your life makes it great.

On the flip side, you have the movies that are good, but you can’tenjoy because of something bad. I can't watch Black Swan because I saw it with an ex-girlfriend.

Daniel: Pfeiffer is a total badass in Batman Returns. In fact, Batman Returns holds up as a movie so much better than Tim Burton’s first Batman movie. I remember going to the movies and my younger brother and I were wearing matching Batman Returns hats. Some guy behind me told me to take it off. Fuck that guy fir ruining a perfectly good childhood moment. I spent a lot of the movie feeling bummed that guy was a dick.

But the penguin scene at the end blew my childhood mind. Which leads me to admit that I like Batman Forever because my older brother took us to go see it. He said we had to go pick something up for our father and we ended up at the movie theater. I loved every second of that movie. I still do. He took us to see Batman & Robin in a similar fashion, but I don't have the same love for that movie. Sometimes even nostalgia can't overcome a craptastic flaming turd.

Sean: Batman Returns is overlooked. And you are totally right that it stands up much better then the first one. The first one is hard to watch now. There are some scenes that just bleed early 1990s. The second, despite its oddball plot line, is not bad.

I like Batman Forever as well. I understand it's not as "dark" as the first two, but when it came out I enjoyed it and I still like it now. Val Kilmer is not a bad Bruce Wayne or Batman, he was just more detective Batman then action hero Batman. Batman & Robin is…awful. I saw it in theaters and I hated it then and I hate it now. I just can't watch it. It's not Batman.

And that was a really touching story up until the point the guy was a dick to you. Yeah, Robin should fuck that guy.