6 Movie Franchises That Went On Too Long
We’ll never get tired of watching Bond, James Bond, save the world.
That’s assuming, of course, the next Bond won’t fret over the right pronouns or mansplain to future Bond Girls — sorry, Bond Birthing People.
Some movie franchises maintain our affection for years, if not decades. The “Harry Potter” series, for example, started out solid and ended with a bang with the eighth and final installment.
The “Mission: Impossible” series hit its current formula during part four (“Ghost Protocol”) and remains as good as ever. The “Rocky” saga sputtered with the fifth story, but “Rocky Balboa” and the “Creed” films found it rising from the canvas.
Other sagas show their age, though. The following six franchises typify this cinematic decline. We may have loved them long ago, but they overstayed their welcome.
Indiana Jones
Imagine being the actor who brought Han Solo and “Blade Runner’s” Rick Deckard to life and still having a third iconic character in your hip pocket. Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones starred in three of the most beloved action films of all time. The 1981 gem “Raiders of the Lost Ark” kicked off the franchise, delivering near-perfect thrills in an ode to cliffhanger serials of yore.
“The Temple of Doom” and “The Last Crusade” proved “Raiders” was no fluke, but the franchise went into cold storage for 19 years before Ford snapped his whip once again. Sadly, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” proved as ghastly as its title. And no, we didn’t want Shia LaBeouf to take over for his cinematic pappy.
Three out of four ain’t bad, but Team Indy decided Ford should bring the character back for one more round. The problems with that plan are plentiful. The great Steven Spielberg is no longer behind the camera for part five, and while director James Mangold of “Ford v. Ferrari” fame is a solid replacement, he’s no Spielberg.
Who is?
Even more depressing? Ford is in his late 70s, and while he looks heartier than most septuagenarians it’s hard to square Father Time with the Indy of his youth. The film already suffered a delay due to a Ford injury, and audiences won’t be able to see the results until 2023 at the earliest.
The whole fifth installment feels like a feeble attempt to extend a franchise without having an organic reason for doing so. Can great art spring from such a scenario? It’s possible, but would you bet on it?
Fast & Furious
It
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