With the recent Hulu release of Prey, fans are pleased with the newest addition to the Predator franchise as the origin story finds the Predator hunting the Comanche tribe hundreds of years ago. Though the response has been positive thus far, sometimes it can be difficult to satisfy viewers of major movie franchises.
Some sequels are so terrible that it ruins the entire franchise for fans. Whether the story becomes weak and ineffective or canon characters are completely rewritten, the way a fan views a franchise can be drastically changed with a single bad movie. These movies frustrate fans and change their perceptions of what are otherwise great movie franchises.
Shrek The Third
Shrek the Third finds Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots seeking a teenager to convince him to become king after King Harold’s death, so Shrek doesn’t have to rule the kingdom. With additions to the voice cast including Justin Timberlake, fans dislike the forced storytelling. Reddit user na2awesome describes the movie as “sinful.”
Lacking the humor from the previous movies, Shrek the Third isn’t charming and is an unnecessary addition to the franchise. The plot shows how Shrek is still stuck in his ways despite showing growth previously. There are fewer clever references to fairytale stories, leaving a generic animated movie as the final product.
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
As the fourth installment in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the weakest in the series. Despite Harrison Ford returning as the titular adventurer, the plot is a jumbled mess with the inclusion of aliens, Russians, and nuclear explosions. Movie fan donaldtrumpshearts it doesn’t live up to the magic of the previous movies, writing, “the first movie my dad took me to was Temple of Doom.”
The addition of one-dimensional performances from Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf doesn’t help the movie. The dialogue is subpar, giving Ford cheesy one-liners, and it seems as if there were too many script ideas to narrow down so every idea was included. However, some fans still consider Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to actually be underrated.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Star Wars fans have plenty of opinions on the eighth movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As Luke Skywalker trains Rey in ways of the force, fans are unimpressed by the storyline that changes everything from the previous films including Luke’s behavior. Fan GreatJanitor explains, “The Last Jedi wounded my love of Star Wars.”
From Rey’s perfect skills with no training to the reappearance of Snoke making the original trilogy meaningless, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has plenty of egregious scenes that fans cannot simply forget. The story leaves audiences with more questions than answers with errors that do not fit the franchise universe and, for some fans, ruins the movies completely.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the fourth film in the series starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Unfortunately, it is one of the weakest in the franchise. This Redditor explains the movie is so bad it’s “to the point where my friends and I joke that it doesn’t even exist.”
It is the first film to not include Orlando Bloom or Keira Knightly but adds Penélope Cruz to star alongside the infamous pirate. However, there isn’t enough character development throughout the movie for the audience to care about who is saved by the Fountain of Youth. The story feels forced rather than a natural continuation of the previous films.
Alien Resurrection
As the fourth movie in the franchise, Alien Resurrection is disappointing with a weak concept as the military attempts to breed aliens. The suspense from the previous films is nonexistent. Movie fan quarkly95 explains, “Resurrection was like a parody of the franchise, the tone just took a random dive to the left.”
As the main character Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is a clone, her personality is a far cry from the character audiences love, and the characters are unlikable. With wise-cracks and corny dialogue, Alien Resurrection is an unnecessary sequel that takes a different approach to the Alien universe that audiences never asked for, complete with a ridiculous human-alien hybrid born to the Ripley clone.
Jigsaw
Jigsaw is widely considered one of the most brutal villains, but the character is not the same following John Kramer’s death. Jigsaw is the eighth installment in the Saw series when the series reaches for new material. Movie fan The68Guns explains the movie was so bad that “I didn't even stay for the big twist.”
With a new apprentice presented who was never mentioned in the previous seven movies, the script doesn’t make much sense. There is significantly less gore, and the traps aren’t as interesting as the ones created by the real Jigsaw killer. The traps are no longer meant for redemption, but for revenge. Jigsaw isn’t as compelling as the predecessors with a rushed revenge story and subpar acting.
Eternals
With an ensemble cast including Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, and Gemma Chan, Eternals fell flat with fans as the 26th addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. Despite having beautiful visuals, the plot is confusing. The Eternals claim to not meddle with humans but clearly intervene throughout history which has led audiences to question why they did not help with Thanos and why newer Marvel movies have not addressed the giant head and hand sticking out of the ocean.
Marvel fan bumpymacaroon writes, “I mean come on it was truely awful not even Angelina could save it.” There is little character development to make audiences care about what happens to the characters. With plot points that are difficult to follow, Eternals fails to be entertaining and acts as filler content in the franchise. Audiences can skip this movie and it wouldn’t make a difference.
Fast & Furious
Fast & Furious and all subsequent movies destroyed the franchise, according to some fans. As Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) work together to avenge Letty’s murder and apprehend a drug lord, the movie isn’t believable. With plenty of full-throttle car chases, there are multiple exaggerated scenes including a scene when Dom jumps from one car to the next at 80mph in a mine shaft.
Fan VoidInMyHeart explains, “it started to get hilarious of how more and more unrealistic it became.” The unrealistic action sequences detract from the overall storyline, making it feel meaningless. The story is underdeveloped and tries to turn the actors into action stars instead of utilizing acting talent. From the fourth film onward, the action becomes more and more unrealistic for viewers.
The Matrix Revolutions
The third installment in the Matrix franchise ruins the series for some fans. According to GaryNOVA, The Matrix Revolutions “put that franchise 6 feet under.” Picking up where the previous movie left off, the movie finds Neo and Zion fighting against the machines and Agent Smith. Unfortunately, the movie isn’t as creative as the previous films despite the beautiful visuals.
The story isn’t as captivating with dialogue that cannot be followed, no spectacular climax, and an overall boring story. There’s a reason The Matrix Revolutions disappoints fans of the franchise. It adds nothing to the story but feels like an unnecessary addition with repetitive ideas that could have been included in the second film.
Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation is the fourth installment in the Terminator franchise but hardly the most enjoyed. Though it had potential, it fell flat with excessive explosions and special effects that are over-the-top accompanying a confusing storyline. Movie fan StarmanJay writes that it “was hardly enjoyable from beginning to end, and it was clear then that they didn't know what to do with it anymore.”
The movie doesn’t star Arnold Schwarzenegger in his iconic role but attempts to unsuccessfully continue the story. The movie could have been better if it had stayed true to the original movies while introducing well-developed characters in a logical story. Fans of the franchise should pass on this movie.