10 Movie Franchises That We’ve Had Enough Of

"Money, money, money." Some Hollywood franchises might as well replace every spoken word of English with this phrase and the final product would basically be the same. Same depth of plot, same character interaction, same mindless movies... While some recent blockbusters such as Avengers and Inception have demonstrated that intelligent film making can be successful, Hollywood just doesn't know when to let go sometimes, even if the franchise in question is awful. Mainstream movie producers are like those clingy exes who refuse to let go, long after the magic has died and no one else even remembers what the fuss was about in the first place. It seems like there are more franchises around than ever before and those that did eventually end are being resuscitated for a new generation of gullible cinema goers. A few such as Alien and Blade Runner have potential if handled right, but some of these franchises should have just been strangled at birth and thrown into the nearest dumpster. And those that started off well, but went downhill? They just need to be put down and taken out of their misery, like a bland Old Yeller. If I could assassinate these films, I'd... ok. You get the point. Anyway, read on to discover 10 movie franchises that need to die. Those who wish to agree or disagree or even just say meh are welcome to do so in the comments section below. 10) Transformers Easy target perhaps, but Transformers certainly warrants a mention, as this horrendous clash of CGI metal and brainless scripting is now more popular than ever, thanks in part to Marky Mark's appearance in the latest instalment. I have nothing against mindless entertainment, but Transformers has been numbing brains for far too long now and it just needs to stop. Unfortunately, the studio is now discussing the possibility of developing a cinematic universe based around the robots in disguise, potentially even crossing over with the G.I. Joe series, which another franchise that narrowly missed out being included on this list. 9) The Human Centipede The early 2000's saw a new wave of horror rise, affectionately referred to as 'torture porn' or 'gorenography.' Movies like Saw and Hostel enjoyed huge success at first, but interest in these films waned after the initial shock factor wore off, prompting some directors to escalate the gore to a whole new level. And that's where The Human Centipede came in. The idea of sewing people together mouth to anus was never going to have legs to stand on beyond its crazy premise, but somehow, here we are, watching the trailer for the trilogy's final instalment (check it out above). Think it was bad enough when the crazed surgeon sewed three victims together in the first film? Prepare to be morbidly curious/astounded/nauseated by the 500 strong centipede revealed in the third film. What's next? 1000 people? A human millipede? Methinks it's time to squash the life out of this one before anyone even considers writing a script for number four. 8) Fast & Furious Some may balk at the inclusion of the Fast & Furious franchise on this list, but hear me out. Yes, Furious 7 is breaking records all over the place and critical acclaim for the series is at an all time high, but that's exactly why the franchise needs to end. We're currently seven movies in and now that Paul Walker has died, choosing to end the series would make Furious 7 a fitting tribute to his posthumous performance in the film. Plus, how often does a franchise end on a high? Almost never, making this the ideal time to let things conclude... except that's not how Hollywood works. Now that Furious 7 has made a bucket load of cash, it seems likely that number eight will soon be on its way... and nine... and ten. 7) Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger himself recently admitted that Terminator Salvation sucked, thanking God that he declined a role in the critically maligned instalment, but the Austrian brickhouse is now back in the upcoming sequel Terminator: Genisys. If you could determine a movie's quality based on its title alone, Genysis would be the most expensive movie to ever gain a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but time will tell whether the latest Terminator can appease the fans or not. Either way though, Hollywood has had numerous stabs at this franchise and has unequivocally failed every time since James Cameron left after number two. Maybe it's time for this tired, ageing series to take a bow before audiences become completely lost with all the alternative time lines and paradoxes. Let Arnie go back to California and do what he does best... fighting allegations of sexual misconduct. 6) Tron The original Tron looks dated as hell now, but back in the day, the special effects used to bring the Grid to life were the most cutting edge out there. Despite not being a hit upon its initial release, Tron eventually gained a cult following that ultimately led to a sequel titled Tron: Legacy. Unfortunately, the legacy is set to continue as Disney have recently announced that Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde are returning for another sequel that follows on from the events of the previous movie. While these films look undeniably great, the Tron franchise is thin on the ground plot-wise, making a continuation of the story pointless at best. 5) The Bourne Series The original Bourne trilogy was a huge success, both critically and commercially, so of course, Hollywood couldn't help itself when it came to continuing the franchise, extending the series beyond the original three novels. With Matt Damon out of the picture, leading man duties fell to Jeremy Renner for the fourth movie in the series, The Bourne Legacy. Renner does an admirable job in the lead role and the film itself isn't bad, but the dip in quality between the third and fourth movies unfortunately resulted in mixed reviews. Despite this, Universal Pictures are keen to move ahead with sequels featuring not only Renner, but Damon's return to the franchise as well. While this is exciting news for fans of Bourne, the initial conceit feels somewhat stretched out now and with no literary sources to draw upon, it's unlikely that the future sequels will match the high standard set by the original trilogy. 4) The Expendables The surprise success of The Expendables led to two sequels that increased the body count tenfold, and now that both numbers four and five have been green-lit, we could be looking at a full blown apocalypse by the franchise's conclusion. That's not all, though. Open discussion of a female centric spinoff titled The Expendabelles has also been doing the rounds, and there's even talk of a TV show being produced by Fox. None of this sounds ridiculous in the slightest, right? Who would have thought that recruiting creaky old has-beens into a movie with plenty of guns and pretty explosions would create a franchise this big? Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Taylor Lautner take the lead in Expendables 9. It would be such a shame to let that talent go to waste... 3) Paranormal Activity Horror. The one genre you can count on to end things once an idea becomes too tired or over-used... said no one ever. Paranormal Activity may seem tame compared to other franchises like Friday the 13th (twelve instalments and counting), but this relatively new series started to lose its appeal early on and yet, there's now talk of a sixth instalment being produced. Unless they have an unusually strong premise, found footage films can lose their appeal quickly, and that's particularly true of the Paranormal Activity franchise as it's begun to recycle the same ideas over and over. 2) Pirates of the Caribbean No one expected a movie based on a Disney theme park ride to take off like it did, but Pirates of Caribbean smashed box office records upon its release and continued to do so with each subsequent instalment in the franchise. However, as the money stacked up, the quality inevitably dipped, reaching a new low with the abysmal fourth entry in the series, On Stranger Tides. Quality or lack thereof doesn't mean a lot though unfortunately, not when the Hollywood machine is in full swing. Fans of the franchise have had to wait a few years since the last instalment, but they're in for a treat now, as Dead Men Tell No Tales will finally be making its way to cinemas in 2017. The plot involves Jack Sparrow once again searching for some random artifact on the high seas, over acting and mugging for the camera every step of the way. Even the most diehard Johnny Depp fans must be getting tired of this schtick by now and for everyone else, it's become crushingly disappointing to see the once amazing actor churn out mediocre film after mediocre film. On second thought, I'm actually fine about Pirates of the Caribbean producing one more instalment, as long as it involves Sparrow dying a horrible death at the end. An overblown death scene... at least that would finally give Depp a semi-valid reason to ham it up for a change. 1) Spider-Man Without Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man trilogy, superhero movies probably wouldn't be as popular as they are today, yet it's hard to deny that the third instalment was less well received than the others. Too many villains, too much crappy dialogue, too much emo dancing... Spider-Man 3 was slammed by the majority of critics, prompting Sony to rethink their flagship franchise. Cut to a few short years later and an unnecessary reboot that came far too soon after the original trilogy. The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel certainly had their strong points, including a standout performance from Andrew Garfield as everyone's favourite web slinger, but the new movies ultimately failed to live up to the studio's high expectations. An obvious silver lining to this was the unprecedented deal that Sony made with Marvel, reverting all rights to Marvel Studios. Fans everywhere rejoiced at the idea of Spider-Man finally coming home and interacting with other members of the MCU, something that Marvel are clearly keen to capitalize on, as they plan on featuring the webslinger in a number of upcoming movies, starting with Captain America: Civil War. The issue here is not that Spider-Man will be returning to the big screen sooner than originally thought. The problem is that Marvel have already decided to produce a solo Spidey film for 2017, making this the sixth movie starring the wallcrawler in fifteen years. Perhaps this would be easier to stomach if Garfield had been kept in the role, but Marvel Studios have decided to choose a third actor to take on the part. Personally, I'm a huge fan of Spider-Man, but I can't imagine audiences being particularly thrilled at the prospect of yet another Spidey film in such a short space of time. We're already going to get our fix of Peter Parker through other Marvel movies, so why does the studio feel the need to rush out another solo venture so soon? Oh yeah. Money. Let's just hope this decision doesn't backfire, putting audiences off what could still be the studio's most popular hero yet. Tell us, which franchise needs to die most? Do any of these deserve a second chance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.