In terms of polar opposites think Star Wars and some (not all) of its sequels and spin offs. Many prefer "Empire Strikes Back" to "A New Hope" few would admit to liking the prequels ("Phantom Menace" et al). Sadly there are too many examples of bad sequels. For this author, each installment of "The Matrix" progressively disappointed, so much so that I couldn't bother with the games, graphic novels or animated series.