HBO Max has a massive line-up of catalogue titles, many of which came from Warner Bros. And within that massive line-up there are quite a few movies that you can get everything you need to in one viewing. In other words, if you rewatch A Minecraft Movie, Bad Santa, or Beetlejuice Beetlejuice it’s not because you missed details within a labyrinthine plot as much as you just wanted to see them again. But what about the movies that do possess such a complex plot, where crucial little details can be missed or where there’s so much plot the jokes or scares may land a little better the second time?
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Those are the movies that follow, those with a lot stuffed in one package and, because they’re so fun or engrossing or entertaining, they’re easy to watch more than once. You may even like them more the second time than you did on first watch.
7) The Suicide Squad
To a degree The Suicide Squad is one of the most influential DC movies ever made. It was the true (though unofficial) start of the DCU. For one, its narrative is being expanded in the DCU now, albeit in a different timeline, and two, its financial failure did not deter Warner Bros. from giving James Gunn the keys to the DC superhero kingdom.
It’s also a movie some might find overwhelming on the first watch. It starts with a beach-set battle scene, featuring a few characters fans already knew from Suicide Squad. Then it goes over to the all-new characters we’ll be following, and, through Harley Quinn, the two groups eventually merge after she gets her own 20-minute or so subplot. It’s a lot of movie in one package, and its flow is better appreciated on a second viewing.
6) The Big Lebowski
It’s hard to imagine a comedy film with more plot stuffed in that the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski. It may be the genre’s defining cult classic, and what’s interesting is that its rabid fanbase tend to respond to various elements about the film.
When first watching the film, you’re wrapped up in Jeff Bridges’ iconic work as the Dude. Then the plot just keeps coming with twist after twist and the occasional trippy dream sequence. With subsequent viewings, the whole picture becomes more cohesive.
5) Blood Simple
While we’re on the Coen brothers topic, their debut film, Blood Simple, also benefits from repeat viewings. In fact most of their films do, be they comedic or more straightforward crime thrillers, like this one.
This is a movie where, the first time, you’re not quite sure who to trust. None of the characters seem like perfect people, but as the narrative unravels it’s readily apparent some are far worse than others. With a second viewing you can follow its curveball plot developments and betrayals with a bit more focus.
4) Superman
With a breezy pace, committed performances, a fun tone, and a few cameos, James Gunn’s Superman was a fantastic kickstart to the DCU. It’s a fun movie with an in medias res structure that allows it to stand apart from most superhero projects.
With the second viewing of the film, the audience is able to get a full grasp on what Lex Luthor’s complex (but not overwhelmingly so) plan was. It’s a worthy stream, too, considering Superman is even better the second time.
3) No Sudden Move
Most gangster movies have a substantial runtime, but the plot of Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move is absolutely labyrinthine. It starts as a gangster movie before switching to an on the run movie before ultimately becoming a revenge tale.
This is the type of movie where on the first viewing you find yourself entranced by the pair of lead performances by Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro. On a second viewing, you get a better sense of the motives of the characters that surround them.
2) Inception
Like Interstellar, The Prestige, and Tenet, Inception is a Christopher Nolan science fiction movie that truly demands a second viewing. And because Inception is so character-focused throughout most of the runtime, it’s an easy rewatch because those we follow are interesting individuals.
When it comes to rewatching Nolan sci-fi movies, Interstellar benefits the most. The Prestige‘s twist was the most predictable of the aforementioned film and Tenet remains fairly incomprehensible no matter how many times you watch it, but Inception definitely is more understandable on viewing two. Back when it was on the big screen it was hard to grasp every detail of the story because viewers were so wrapped up in its world and the dynamic between Leonardo DiCaprio’s Cobb and Marion Cotillard’s Mal
1) Seven
Admittedly, Seven isn’t for the faint of heart, so there are plenty of viewers out there who aren’t going to watch it once much less twice. Furthermore, it’s never better than it is the first time, though now that its ending is so meme-ified there basically is no going into it fresh.
There are a few things that happen when you watch Seven a second time. You get an even greater appreciation for the fact that this takes place in an unnamed city. In the first viewing you’re focused on the mystery while, in the second viewing, you get a little more wrapped up into the world. Then there’s the fact that you’re watching it knowing full well what is going to happen to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Tracy Mills, which makes her diner scene with Morgan Freeman’s Detective Somerset all the more devastating.
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