The Home Alone series is a franchise that has certainly had its ups and downs. The first two movies are easily regarded as the best of the series, and they are the only two with Macaulay Culkin. The first one was the quintessential starter movie about a kid named Kevin McCallister getting left at home by accident when his parents fly to Paris for Christmas vacation. He wakes up to see that he is, in fact, home alone, so he goes around his house looking for everyone. While he is doing that, two men, Harry Lime and Marv Mechants (who are played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern respectively) are scoping out his house to rob it.

Home Alone 1 is a basic film about the struggles of a kid trying to defend his homestead from intruders and he gets left home alone by the parents of the year. He has to deal with two grown men who want to hurt little boys, who learn about him when he stops them from robbing the children’s toy store. They then decide to kill him.  The next day Marv and Harry are robbing a house, and when they leave they about hit poor Kevin. They realize who he is and follow him back to his house, which is the house they were scoping out at the beginning movie. They decide to come back when it gets darker. Kevin realizes this, and he makes a plan.He needs buy supper, so he goes to a convenient store and he buys some mac and cheese, among other things. Some scenes pass by and the Wet Bandits at the time (this is subject to change in the next movie), arrive and they try to get in, but Ol’ Kevin McCallister is already set up and ready. This kid goes Billy from SAW and puts down a bunch of traps that would probably kill the burglars, but it’s a PG movie. The movie ends when he gets a grown up’s attention who happens to be the old man that he was scared of at the beginning of the movie. He saw the man in a church, which is when Kevin realized that he was very cool and radical, so they became BFF’s. This is when the mom comes home to find Kevin, who is just chilling.

The second movie is where this franchise became god tier status, and where I really fell in love with it. Home Alone 2, which is one of the best Christmas movies of all time, starts with the McCallister family, who are getting ready for their annual family vacation. Unlike last time, they have Kevin. They make their way to airport and everyone is rushing because they are late. Fortunately, the McCallister’s manage to catch the flight. Kevin, who was following his dad to the plane, finally gets on there, but he doesn’t get on the right plane. He boards a flight that is heading for NYC while his parents are heading to Miami, Florida. He realizes that he isn’t with his family, a few scenes go by, and he meets the woman he is scared of, the BIRD LADY, who is actually really nice and she loves birds. The Wet Bandits are here, and are now known as the Sticky Bandits. They see Kevin and OH BOY IS IT REVENGE TIME. He finds the Plaza Hotel, and he sets up shop. The Sticky Bandits are on the prowl, and they find young Kevin. He is ready, however, and he sends them through his “Little Game.”  They catch him, but he gets saved by the BIRD LADY. The Sticky Bandits get arrested and the whole family comes to see Kevin in the end.

So the movies are very similar via plot, but, when you watch them, you can tell the difference. The second one is just a masterclass of a film.