Summary
- Some movie franchises continue beyond their perfect endings, resulting in disappointing sequels that tarnish the legacy of the franchise.
- Money often drives the decision to continue a franchise, regardless of whether it should have ended on a high note or not.
- Franchises like Home Alone, Jurassic Park, and Toy Story should have stopped at their respective second or third installments, as they provided perfect climaxes that were later overshadowed by unnecessary continuations.
Sometimes, movie franchises continue when the previous sequel would have been a more than adequate finale. Of course, some movie sagas knew exactly when to end. The likes of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy, and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy ended perfectly, for example. However, not every franchise gets the memo regarding ending on a high note, with some of the best movies of all time receiving disappointing sequels.
When franchises get it wrong, and the subsequent installments are awful, it’s incredibly frustrating. More often than not, the reason they continue is financial – studios see an opportunity to make more money and take it, regardless of what it does to the franchise in question’s legacy. Essentially, money talks in the world of filmmaking, and stories that should have ended sometimes receive an unnecessary continuation.
10 Home Alone
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York are among the best Christmas movies ever. However, the franchise now has six movies when it should have ended with two. The four subsequent sequels include three unrelated films, two of which were made for television, and a recent installment confirmed to take place in the same universe as the first two movies courtesy of a cameo from the adult Buzz McCallister. Home Alone 2 ended perfectly, with Kevin McCallister having survived a final encounter with criminals away from his home, reunited with his family, made a new friend for life, and typically caused mayhem with his room service bill.
9 Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
- Release Date
- May 19, 1997
- Director
- Steven Speilberg
- Cast
- Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Pete Postlethwaite
- Rating
- pg-13
Jurassic Park is widely regarded as one of the most fantastic movies ever. Rightly so – it’s wondrous, with great performances and amazing special effects that brought dinosaurs to life like no other film. Its sequel depicted the island where the dinosaurs were bred and ended with John Hammond admitting his mistakes and “Site B” being declared a nature reserve where the dinosaurs could continue to live uninterrupted. Since then, four further Jurassic Park movies have been made, with the whole affair getting shallower, less impactful, and more ridiculous with every installment. It reached a climax with the terrible Jurassic World Dominion, and it should never have got that far.
8 Toy Story
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3
- Release Date
- June 18, 2010
- Director
- Lee Unkrich
- Cast
- Jodi Benson, Ned Beatty, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack
- Rating
- G
While Toy Story 4 was terrific, and Toy Story 5‘s story can be great, there’s no denying that Toy Story 3 gave the franchise its perfect climax, and it should have stopped there. The first three films had the lovable toys belonging to Andy, and Toy Story 3 rounded that off in unbeatable fashion. Andy is heading off to college and is too old to play with toys, so he donates them to a young girl, Bonnie. Andy introduces his precious toys, one by one, to Bonnie before heading off to college with his toys watching, ready to start their new life with her. It is a flawless ending.
7 Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade
The first three Indiana Jones movies are among the most beloved in cinema history. The third installment, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, ends with Indy defeating his Nazi enemies, rescuing his father, finding the Holy Grail, then allowing it to be lost forever. That, in itself, is perfect, but the fact he then gets to, quite literally, ride off into the sunset with his dad and allies while John Williams’ iconic score plays is the icing on the cake. It should have been the end, and the fact two more came when Harrison Ford was, in truth, too old made the unnecessary continuation even worse.
6 Fast & Furious
Furious 7
Furious 7
- Release Date
- April 3, 2015
- Director
- James Wan
- Cast
- Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Luke Hobbs, Dwayne Johnson, Dominic Toretto
- Rating
- PG-13
Paul Walker’s untimely death was a tragedy. He passed away during the filming of Furious 7, making it his final role, resulting in the film being reworked and CGI being used to give him a fitting send-off. The movie ends with his character, Brian O’Conner, driving alongside Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, before going their separate ways. After acknowledging Brian would be better off at home with his family, Diesel’s voiceover says Walker will always be with him and always be his brother. It breaks the fourth wall, giving both Walker and O’Conner the perfect goodbye. The Fast & Furious franchise should never have continued without him.
5 Superman
Superman II
Christopher Reeve’s Superman remains the most iconic live-action version of the Man of Steel, having appeared in four movies as the character between 1978 and 1987. However, that franchise should undoubtedly have stopped after two installments. Not only did its quality drop after that, with Superman III a lousy comedy and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace just a terrible film, but the ending to Superman II was terrific. Granted, it has the silly memory-wiping kiss just before it, but what followed is perfect. Clark Kent gets revenge on the bully Rocky, replaces the American flag on the White House, promises to remain Earth’s protector, and then flies into space.
4 Friday The 13th
Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
Being called “The Final Chapter” is enough reason for the fourth installment in the Friday the 13th franchise to have been its last – and it was meant to be before studio intervention – but it also had a suitably conclusive climax. Corey Feldman’s Tommy Jarvis rams a machete into Jason Voorhees’ head, effectively splitting it in two, before hacking away at him relentlessly when he still displayed signs of life. To make the ending even more perfect, Tommy showed signs of Jason’s evil influence being passed onto him, adding intrigue to the proceedings. It was great. Sadly, it continued with a copycat killer, followed by zombie Jason, which got silly.
3 Halloween
Halloween II
Halloween II (1981)
- Release Date
- October 30, 1981
- Director
- Rick Rosenthal
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Stephens, Dick Warlock
- Rating
- R
The original Halloween’s ending left Michael Myers’ fate uncertain. Sure, he’d walked away from his fall from the Doyle house balcony after being shot several times, but his injuries could’ve ultimately led to his death. Nobody knew for sure. Halloween II provided the finality needed, with Michael engulfed in flames and collapsing after Sam Loomis sacrificed his life to put him down for good. While it’s not a great movie, Halloween II is beloved, which is always a good way for a franchise to bow out. However, multiple sequels – one unrelated and several that are convoluted and take the franchise into multiple timelines – have made the whole thing a mess.
2 Alien
Aliens
Aliens
- Release Date
- July 18, 1986
- Director
- James Cameron
- Cast
- Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, William Hope
- Rating
- R
The Alien franchise now includes four original quadrilogy films, two crossovers with the Predator franchise, and two prequels. However, it should have stopped after the second installment. Aliens did the seemingly impossible by equalling its predecessor. There’s an argument to say it even bettered it. It’s certainly more action-packed than Alien, albeit without being as terrifying. Most importantly, its ending is flawless. It sees Ellen Ripley killing the ultimate alien in the Xenomorph Queen, then going into hypersleep and heading back to Earth with Newt, Bishop, and Hicks. The villain is defeated, and the heroes get their rewards. There was no need for anything else.
1 Terminator
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Release Date
- July 3, 1991
- Director
- James Cameron
- Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong
- Rating
- R
The Terminator franchise is a complicated mess. Not only has its chronology become highly convoluted, but it’s also had some poor installments and box office failures. Terminator 2: Judgment Day was the perfect ending, and that’s how it should have stayed. It’s as good as The Terminator, with terrific action and amazing special effects that hold up today. Its ending, when the T-800 self-terminates, redeems an iconic character and allows Sarah and John Connor to look forward with hope. That all went to hell with the sequels, none of which came close to the quality of T2.