Hollywood's 8 Most Ridiculous Movie Franchises That Just Won't Quit
Hollywood needs to learn that sometimes, it's okay to let go.
Fast & Furious
When it comes to film projects that should have been shut down a long time ago, one always involuntarily thinks of the good old Fast & Furious film series. Despite the fact that in the early 2000s the film instantly became a real classic, imbued with the spirit of the time, now it looks more like a mockery or some kind of unfunny joke. Just think about it, nine films have been released so far, and in 2023 we are expecting the tenth one. Talking about the plot is just meaningless, the whole franchise sits on top of irrelevant special effects, strained family values and the enthusiasm of Vin Diesel.
Probably should have stopped after the tragic death of one of the main actors, Paul Walker. But as we all know, Brian, played by Paul, appeared in Fast & Furious even after his death.
Halloween
John Carpenter's Halloween is widely regarded as the progenitor of the new horror genre — slasher. The long-running series about Michael Myers was filmed in several different eras, and because of this it had to constantly change to account for the trends of the day. The director of the films wanted Halloween to be an anthology where the Michael storyline would have ended in the second part, but the story ended up making a circle starting anew with the third film.
The constant desire to be relevant has screwed up the franchise. This is especially true of the newer installments, the last of which came out this fall.
Indiana Jones
As hard as it is to say, Indiana Jones also makes this list. The problem with this franchise is somewhat similar to that of Halloween — too much of a stretchy plot. The first part came out in 1981 and the last one is expected in 2023, which means that the series covers more than 40 years.
But has there ever been a really good Indiana Jones sequel? Maybe The Temple of Doom? Because The Last Crusade turned out to be pretty bland, and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull seemed pointless, especially since the main character was not in the same shape as before.
The problem is that Indiana Jones is systematically veering off the path of the action movie toward family cinema. And that is what they want to change in the upcoming, fifth installment. Harrison Ford's character is going to return to the roots of being the loner hero. What can we say? Looking forward to the new movie in 2023.
Pirates of the Caribbean
No one particularly expected anything from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which came out in 2003. After all, the film was based on Disney's theme park attraction, and pirate movies have traditionally grossed a large box office. But to everyone's surprise the first film made an insane $650,000,000 and was an absolute hit. The images of the main characters are so ingrained in the minds of the masses, that anyone can probably remember the walk of Jack Sparrow or the moment of that first meeting of Elizabeth and Will.
The first two sequels seemed more than worthy, but starting with On Stranger Tides the franchise has noticeably deteriorated. Does it have to do with the departure of Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom? Definitely yes. In the fourth part, the storyline was sucked out of thin air, and Pirates of the Caribbean completely lost public interest.
At this point, we know that the sixth installment of the franchise is also due to see the light of day. Rumor has it that Margot Robbie, Robert Downey, Jr. and even possibly Johnny Depp himself may be involved.
After
Perhaps in this case, it would be correct to say that this series should never have existed at all. After is a teenage drama about a diligent girl and a rebel that came out of the One Direction fan fiction. Originally, in Anna Todd's books, the main male character was Harry Styles, but his name was later replaced for obvious reasons.
This romcom has gathered a huge fan base, which actively sponsors the new installments of the franchise. Now four parts have already been released with the first one being made only in 2018.
Traditionally, in 2023, we are again waiting for a new chapter of their relationship. Is it bad that so many people watch fan fiction adaptations? Of course not, sometimes it can even be entertaining. But if you look at the phenomenon of the series’ popularity as part of the culture, it is not exactly a perfect example of a healthy relationship. The franchise often romanticizes toxicity, and in the realities of today's world, that is simply not acceptable.
X-Men
Another example straight out of the 2000s. As inconsistent as the original X-Men films were, mutants got a fitting ending in Days of Future Past and James Mangold's acclaimed Logan. In the former the plot reached its logical conclusion, while in the latter the main character got his own finale and a bit of long-deserved attention.
However, given the current trend toward comics being a mainstream set by Marvel, 20th Century Fox continued to make movies in this series. It all went wrong with Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix only made matters worse. And that's not to mention the attempt to modernize the universe with the release of The New Mutants in 2020.
Ice Age
Ice Age is probably the saddest example in this list. Blue Sky Studios created something unique when they released a feature-length animated film in 2002 about a child who is found by a company of a lonely mammoth, an ever-fun sloth and a confused saber-toothed tiger. The film generated such a stir that it was able to gross an unthinkable amount of money at the time — $380,000,000 on a budget of $60,000,000. It was a wild success. Many of the phrases became iconic, there was a sharp jump in demand for toys, while the squirrel Scrat stole the heart of the public.
In three years a second part was released and it was as successful as the previous one. Three more years — a decent third one, and then everything went downhill. With each new movie the plot became more and more absurd, as there were less and less themes to cover. The number of silly jokes increased exponentially, and the overall balance of good topics that even adults could enjoy shifted towards catering to a more younger audience.
Transformers
The Transformers movie franchise is one of the most profitable in Hollywood history. The plot is as simple as possible: the evil Decepticons are awakened, and the noble Autobots have to fight them to save the planet. It's clear that Michael Bay, director of the first four installments, has found a gold mine for himself. Each film is essentially a copy of the previous one, the conflict is always the same, and the ending leaves little impression.
Transformers is a visual attraction that is enjoyed for the most part by children. Megan Fox was added to the first films for adults, but after conflicts with the director over her over-sexualization, the actress left. Whether she did the right thing or not is hard to judge, since Dark of the Moon grossed over a billion dollars at the box office. But if you think about it, this is the part where the soul (if it was ever there at all) left the franchise forever.