Top 10 Worst Movies Within Their Own Franchise

One of the most memorable action franchises of all-time, the Die Hard films were all critically and commercially successful...that is, until this one. By far the worst reviewed movie of the franchise, “A Good Day To Die Hard” was panned by critics, who focused especially on the weak plot and the implausibility of the action sequences. The biggest complaints, however, were directed at the weak characterization of John McClane, particularly when compared to the other films in the franchise. Fans were especially left groaning at the weak use of his famous catchphrase.

Although somewhat overlooked in the modern era of superhero movies, the first two films in this franchise were both a huge critical and commercial success. The third film took a bit of a step back, but nothing quite like this. Widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made of any genre, both critics and viewers hammered the film for its boring action and terrible special effects. Christopher Reeve later stated that he wished he had never been involved with the film, and fans wouldn’t get to see another Superman movie for nearly 20 years.

This is the only film in the franchise to be directed by William Shatner, which, for the sake of Star Trek fans everywhere, is a huge break, because it is a disaster. The film was intended to be a farewell to the original crew of the Enterprise, but instead was nearly a farewell to the entire franchise. Critics disliked the nonsensical plot and the poorly directed action sequences, with many pointing the finger at Shatner. Luckily, another sequel was released a few years later to give the original crew a far better ending.

The first Home Alone was a huge success and is now considered to be a classic Christmas film. Remarkably, the sequel, which had a very similar plot, has also become a cult classic over the years. “Home Alone 3” decided to introduce a new cast of characters. Instead of Macaulay Culkin’s adorable Kevin, we get a new lead in Alex, and instead of Joe Pesci’s memorable Harry, we get four forgettable villains. Even a screenplay by John Hughes couldn’t save this film, the last in the franchise to receive a theatrical release.

All Sam Raimi had to do was stick the landing and he may have given us one of the greatest film trilogies of all-time. Instead, we have two classic superhero movies and an average one at best. Overstuffed with underdeveloped villains and too many plotlines, the film failed to capture the essence of the first two and made things needlessly complicated. In fact, Raimi has even stated that he considers the film to be terrible. As a result, emo Peter Parker and his dancing shoes would be rebooted a few years later.

Although “X-Men: The Last Stand” has its fair share of critics, it capped off a successful trilogy that paved the way for comic book films to come. Unfortunately, it also set-up this mess. The film does no favours to Wolverine, giving him a generic origin story and awful CGI claws. The worst decision, however, was turning Deadpool into a mute, computer-programmed weapon. Seriously, this film had Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool - and we’ve all seen how successful that can be - and gives us this?

Indiana Jones and aliens? Sounds awesome, right? Wrong. Initially, this film received relatively positive reviews from critics, but time has not been nice to the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. A franchise that was perhaps best known for its practical special effects and great storytelling, this film featured ridiculous scenes like Shia LaBeouf swinging on vines with monkeys and Harrison Ford surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge. A Razzie Award for Worst Sequel only confirms the poor quality of this film.

The first two “Godfather” films set such a high standard in regard to storytelling, character development, and filmmaking, that they ultimately doomed this film. The fact that it was released sixteen years after the second didn’t help in that regard. While the story is by no means terrible, the acting could have used some work. Reviewers were especially critical of Sofia Coppola’s performance as Mary Corleone, with some calling it a fatal flaw that ultimately ruined the film.

One of the most beloved franchises in pop culture history, to say fans had high hopes for this film, released sixteen years after “The Return of the Jedi”, is a massive understatement. However, we are willing to bet that fans didn’t predict the film would focus on galactic trade disputes. Add in stiff acting, terrible dialogue, and a completely unnecessary explanation for how the Force works, and it’s pretty easy to see why this film failed to capture the magic of the original trilogy. Of course, none of this was improved in the sequel, as “Attack of the Clones” was equally as bad.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honourable mentions:

“A View to a Kill” (1985)
“Blade: Trinity” (2004)
“Rocky V” (1990)
“Terminator Genisys” (2015)
“The Cloverfield Paradox” (2018)

Another franchise killer to make our list, this movie is considered by many to be one of the worst movies ever made. Of course, if you’ve watched any of our other lists involving some sort of ranking of the worst movies, you already know that. From batsuits with nipples and codpieces to a Batman Visa card to more puns than you could possibly imagine fitting into one script, this movie did what the Joker never could - kill Batman. That is, until he was revived by Christopher Nolan nearly a decade later.