What is the best prequel movie ever? (with caveats)

Caporegime
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What is the best prequel ever made featuring primary characters from the earlier movie and set in the same universe?

The caveat here being that it has to be made after the original movie (You can't say 'Empire Strikes Back is better than Return of the Jedi' for example)

Godfather 2 doesn't count because it's a sequel and prequel in one.

Are there actually any really great ones or are they flawed from the outset because there is less dramatic tension to be had if you know where the characters end up?
 
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For me, it’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom… yup, it’s set before Raiders of the Lost Ark!

But is that really a ‘true prequel’? It has its own story and it’s not really connected…

If we’re counting it, then it works precisely for those reasons - it has nothing to do with setting up the events for Raiders. Plus, with it being an adventure romp, it helps that it’s not the sort of film that has dramatic ‘oh what happens next in this big overarching story’ stakes.

^The very worst films for that is the Hobbit films, which spend painful amounts of time discussing ‘this new lurking evil’… gee who could that be :o zzzz.

Rogue One is worth a mention. S’alright, a bit too ‘fan service-y’ for my tastes and otherwise a little dull because the outcome is known (as stated in the OP) even though there are some great characters and dramatic moments. And fair play, seeing Vader in action was enjoyable even if it lacked all subtlety!

Otherwise… Monster’s University was OK, again nothing that had much significance in terms of drama.

… yeah prequels are pretty poo :o :p

Edit: Better Call Saul was good, albeit a TV show. Very indulgent ‘slow pacing’ though, which might be a chore for some people.
 
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Temple of Doom is the one that jumps to mind with those caveats. Also, The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly.

Both work because they don't try to be prequels and most people don't even realise that they are.
 
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With Temple of Doom is that other than the date flashed on screen, there's nothing in there to indicate it's a prequel. People could watch it and have no idea.

I also personally don't like it much :D
 
Your caveat is a pain in the backside :p

Given it's got Vader and Leia in it I'm going to go for Rogue One.

Stretching it again I'm going to say, imo, Alien Romulus as I quite liked that film and it had fake Ash and an Alien in it.

Romulus is a sequel, no?

The initial alien in Romulus is the one that was blown into space from the first film?
 
Batman Begins and X-Men 1st Class are the obvious answers. Does Casino Royal (2006) count? Kinda a prequal, but also a reboot of the franchise. Rise of the planet of the Apes & Red Dragon get a shout out as well.
 
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Batman Begins and X-Men 1st Class are the obvious answers. Does Casino Royal (2006) count? Kinda a prequal, but also a reboot of the franchise. Rise of the planet of the Apes & Red Dragon get a shout out as well.
Batman Begins is not in the same universe as the previous movie, which was Batman & Robin.

Casino Royale is a good one as it's ambivalent (on release) if it's the same Bond
 
I was going to say The Thing , because I love all things The Thing, but that fails on your criteria as it doesnt feature the same characters as the first film....so instead, I will say The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Which despite being the 3rd film, is actually the first film timeline wise.
 
Batman Begins and X-Men 1st Class are the obvious answers.

Are they classed as Prequels or Reboots for a new series in the franchise though, because with every new "origin" story you reboot the series which makes it independent of any previous films in the franchise to me, it's a tough call? Those caveats from Vincent are a bit a problem when it comes to most prequels I think.
 
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