Worst2First: My Top Ten Franchises That Have Gone Too Long

Worst2First: 

My Top Ten Franchises That Have Gone Too Long

This weekend will find two films being released that have been a part of long film franchises.  "Star Trek Beyond" is the third film in the newly rebooted "Star Trek" series, which boasts an amazing thirteen films.  While there's several that weren't that great, the new reboot has re-introduced audiences to the crew of the Enterprise and delivered exciting, thrilling adventures.

Then, there's "Ice Age: Collision Course."  This is the fifth film in an animated franchise that should've ended after the first, as each successive film has made less than its predecessor.  Sometimes, you need to know when to give up on a franchise.

In honor of this, I've listed my top ten franchises that have gone on too long, Worst2First (meaning the "First" is indeed the worst of the worst).

**There will be no spoilers.**

#10

X-Men Franchise

Total Films: 9

Best Film: Deadpool

Worst Film: X-Men: The Last Stand

The X-Men film franchise is as enigmatic as the films themselves.  There's the "original" trilogy of "X-Men," "X2: X-Men United," and "X-Men: The Last Stand."  Then there's the rebooted "First Class," "Days of Future Past," and "Apocalypse."  Finally there's spinoffs featuring Wolverine ("X-Men Origins" and "The Wolverine") and the Merc with a Mouth Deadpool.  While "X2" and "DOFP" are excellent in their own right, it's "Deadpool" that steals the cake as the best in the franchise, while the critically panned "The Last Stand" holds the distinction of being the worst.

#9

Terminator Franchise

Total Films:  5

Best Film: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Worst Film: Terminator Salvation

"Terminator" is the film that really propelled Arnold Schwarzenegger to international super-stardom, and giving him the classic line that's as famous back then as it is today: "I'll be back."  Famed director James Cameron directed the first two films, which are widely considered to be the best of the series.  "Terminator 2" was released in 1991, and twelve years later "Terminator 3" was released, and it was a big disaster.  "Salvation" followed, and it's the only film in the franchise to not star Schwarzenegger (although there's a very badly done CGI version of him in the film), and was a mess from start to finish.

#8

Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise

Total Films: 4

Best Film: Curse of the Black Pearl

Worst Film: On Stranger Tides

Whoever thought a film based off a ride at Disney would come to be one of the most successful in history?  In 2003, "Curse of the Black Pearl" rocketed to theaters, resulting in massive financial and critical acclaim, and earning Johnny Depp an Oscar for his performance as the eccentric, offbeat Jack Sparrow.  The film was a brilliant mix of humor and good old swashbuckling action, and the sequel wasn't that bad either.  Then there was "At World's End," which was extremely long but still had some of the passion of the franchise.  That all died with "On Stranger Tides," which featured Penelope Cruz and eliminated longtime cast members Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, and the film suffered greatly for it.  With "Dead Men Tell No Tales" coming out next year, it will be the make-or-break for the franchise and hopefully it will somehow regain the luster the original had.

#7

Transformers Franchise

Total Films: 4

Best Film: Transformers

Worst Film: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Growing up, Transformers was the best animated television show and toy line ever.  I loved everything about it, and when I learned Michael Bay was making a live-action version, I was overly excited.  Maybe that's why I have fond memories of the first film, even if it wasn't that great.  I still loved seeing Optimus Prime (featuring the original actor who voiced the animated series) on the big screen, and there wasn't anything overtly negative about it.  Then, with each successive sequel, my love for the series grew dimmer.  Shia LaBeouf was a staple in the series, but even he opted out of the fourth film, replaced by Mark Wahlberg, who you could tell really didn't care about the film due to his wooden, uninspired acting.  "Age of Extinction" was way too long, and boasted the arrival of the Dinobots - only to feature them for about twenty minutes and have them portrayed as just dinosaurs that didn't talk (Grimlock angry!  Grimlock don't speak!  Grimlock king!).  Even though Michael Bay said he was finished after the third (yet he came back for the fourth), he's returning yet again for the upcoming "The Last Knight" (a title you can easily make fun of), and by now I've been burned by Bay so many times, I'm not even pretending I'm excited for this one.  Fool me once, shame on me.  Fool me twice, three times, four times, five times...shame on you.

#6

 Paranormal Activity Franchise

Total Films: 6

Best Film: Paranormal Activity

Worst Film: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

When it was released, "Paranormal Activity" was hailed as a revolutionary breakthrough in small, independently filmed horror.  Personally, I didn't find it all that terrifying, but I appreciated what they were doing with it.  It was the little movie that could.  The new "Blair Witch."  The next big thing.  Which of course meant there had to be sequel after sequel in time for Halloween.  While the two sequels after the original were alright, the series really went downhill with the fourth onward.  The worst is "The Marked Ones" because it was its only spinoff, and tried so hard to incorporate it into the mythos of the entire series, but just ended up being a confusing mess.

#5

Scary Movie Franchise

Total Films: 5

Best Film: Scary Movie
Worst Film: Scary Movie 5

"Scary Movie" came out at the apex of the new brand of horror films, and served as a spoof of those films, making fun of the likes of "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and the like.  "Scary Movie 2" was also a huge success, and crowd-pleasingly funny.  Both films were done by the Wayans Brothers and both earned well-deserved R-ratings.  However, after the second film, the Wayans wisely decided to not continue with the franchise, and it was instead picked up by different directors who took the series in a whole new direction.  They still spoofed horror movies, but in a way reminiscent of "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun" (they even starred the amazing Leslie Nielsen), but the watered-down PG-13 ratings caused a hit in the box office, and proved that spoof movies weren't as funny as they were back in the 80s.  The series finally ended with the fifth installment, and was as unfunny as they come.  Hopefully, we'll never see a resurrection of this franchise anytime soon.

#4

Saw Franchise

Total Films: 7

Best Film: Saw

Worst Film: Saw V

In the 2000s, there was a new type of horror known as the "torture porn" horror.  This featured people enduring the worst kinds of torture imaginable, and included films such as "Cabin Fever," "Hostel," and "Saw," which featured a man named Jigsaw who concocted the most elaborate, gory traps ever seen (many taken from real-life historical events), and tested the victims to decide if their lives were worth saving.  The film was more than just torture for the sake of torture - Jigsaw allowed each victim a way out, it just depended on how badly they wanted to live.  The first film revolutionized cinema, and spawned an almost-equally amazing sequel.  With the third film, it looked like the series would wrap up, but since it still made money they decided to continue the franchise that ultimately made it a parody of itself.  While the sixth installment wasn't bad, the fourth, fifth and seventh were almost insufferable, and now, after a long hiatus, they're planning an eighth film.  No doubt it'll serve as another torturous outing for anyone who dares to see it.

#3

American Pie Franchise

Total Films: 8

Best Film: American Pie

Worst Film: The Direct-to-DVD Sequels

The original "American Pie" was their generation's coming-of-age film, featured a standout ensemble cast including Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eugene Levy, Thomas Ian Nicholas, January Jones, Tara Reid and Shannon Elizabeth, and caused millions of viewers to never look at a steaming hot apple pie the same again.  It was crude, humorous and memorable, and spawned two film sequels that weren't great, but not necessarily bad either.  Instead, the reason this series is so high on the list is due to the four direct-to-DVD sequels that tarnished the legacy of the series forever.  Eugene Levy is the only main actor to return for these films, which features Steve Stifler's younger brothers as they go to band camp, run the naked mile, enroll at Beta House and finds the Book of Love.  None of these films were remotely funny, memorable, or even served a point.
 

#2

Bring It On Franchise

Total Films: 5

Best Film: Bring It On
Worst Film: All the Others

In 2000, the cheerleader movie "Bring It On" surprised audiences by its almost self-defecating humor, well-thought-out characters, and inspiring routines.  It made stars out of Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford and Gabrielle Union, and was an overall success.  Thankfully, the series never saw the cinematic light of day, but it did spawn four direct-to-DVD sequels, and each of them were equally awful.  Despite having some big name celebrities (Ashley Benson, Hayden "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" Panettiere, Solange "Beyonce's sister" Knowles, and Christina Milian), none of the films had the same heart, humor or drive that the original had.

 #1

Alvin and the Chipmunks Franchise

Total Films: 4

Best Film: None of Them

Worst Film: All of Them

The original "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie earned a mind-boggling $217 million dollars, which of course caused it to spawn several sequels (even more mind-bogging is the fact that the second one grossed $219 million), and none of them were really funny or even fun to watch, but rather excruciating.  Obviously I wasn't the intended target audience, but there's been several films that are geared for families that also reach out to different types of moviegoers, but with this series it seems intent to focus on a very small collection of people, and it's obvious that the popularity is fading fast - the last film earned a measly $85 million during its box office run.  It's time to set these chipmunks back into the wild, and hope they never find their way back home again.