Film franchises that got a second life

“Mission: Impossible” was released in 1996. Tom Cruise was 34! It was a success. The second was a critical flop (fans of the franchise largely eschew it). The third movie was fairly good, but “Mission: Impossible” was flagging. So much so that the fourth film “Ghost Protocol” seemed primed to see Cruise pass the torch to Jeremy Renner. It was a success, but it isn’t where the franchise got its second wind. That came in the next movie, because “Ghost Protocol” seemed to revitalize Cruise, and so Renner’s character was pushed out and Ethan Hunt (and Cruise’s stunts) propelled “Mission: Impossible” to being maybe the foremost action series.

This is the only movie from the MCU on this list, but we aren’t thinking of it as a second-wind movie for the overall franchise. No, it’s what revitalized Thor as a character. Before “Eternals,” most Marvel fans had the first two “Thor” films at the bottom of the rankings. Taika Waititi stepped in and Thor was reimagined as a comedic character. It worked! “Ragnarok” is a rip-roaring adventure and maybe the best Marvel movie. Then “Love and Thunder” was kind of middling, but that’s not on “Ragnarok.”

“Bad Boys” was a pre-fame Will Smith action-comedy that is mostly known for paving the way for “Bad Boys II,” a bananas movie by both the standards of American action movies and Michael Bay. That is saying a lot. After years spent sitting fallow, the franchise returned with “Bad Boys for Life.” It brought the franchise back…but also dropped right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in full swing. “Ride of Die” was a second bite at the apple, and this time it became a box-office smash, so much so we might get a fifth film.

No revisionism here. No nostalgia present. The “Star Wars” prequels are bad. They are both worth revisiting. Had they ended the era of “Star War” movies, we would have understood. Disney got “Star Wars” from George Lucas, though, and decided to tell new stories, though with plenty of the old stuff in the mix. “The Force Awakens” effectively remakes “Star Wars,” but it was also the first good “Star Wars” movie since “Empire Strikes Back” and one of the biggest box-office successes in history.

James Bond is a franchise that has gone on for decades and featured multiple actors playing the British spy. Not every changing of the guard has felt like a “second wind,” though. You could maybe make the argument that Pierce Brosnan’s first film, “GoldenEye,” was such a movie, but Timothy Dalton only made two movies, they are decent, and they only really ended because of film right complications. “Die Another Day,” though, was a true nadir for the franchise. So much so, when Brosnan was done they brought in Daniel Craig and fully, properly rebooted the franchise. Also, they got serious again, and more serious than ever. It worked a treat, given that “Casino Royale” is a popular choice for best Bond movie, and Craig for best Bond.

“The Fast and the Furious” was a surprise, low-budget hit, but the plan after that was to keep churning out B-minus action movies on a reasonable budget with no ongoing storytelling or much in the way of recurring characters. After “Tokyo Drift,” Vin Diesel got back on board and the fourth film was the dipping of the toe into what the franchise would become. “Fast Five” is when they dove in. Now, this was an over-the-top action franchise about “family” and what have you. We’re now 10 movies in and Vin Diesel is a massive star, so mission accomplished.

We’re not trying to say that Michael Bay stepping away from directing a film franchise is the way to give it a second wind…but we also aren’t saying that. As with “Bad Boys,” they kept making “Transformers” movies after Bay’s five films that are, frankly, not very good. “Bumblebee,” directed by Travis Knight, is something of a reboot, because it is also something of a prequel. It was successful, but also surprising good. That has led to two more films following in the path “Bumblebee” set.

Yes, we are considering “Planet of the Apes” an overarching film franchise, aside from Tim Burton’s movie. That’s because it’s effectively a remake, not because it sucks (though it does). This is a franchise that blew up the planet in the second movie and kept going. Needless to say it got wild, and eventually fell fallow for decades. “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” began the story anew with a day-one prequel. Skepticism was reasonable, but it proved a worthwhile story, and has now yielded four more films in the franchise.

“Rocky” won the Best Picture Oscar. Always remember where this franchise began, especially when you are thinking about Rocky winning the Cold War more or less in the fourth movie. That fun, slight film was followed by two that were utter zeroes. The only way forward was to pass the torch. Rocky Balboa is now serving in the role of trainer and mentor to Adonis, son of Apollo Creed. Sylvester Stallone got a nomination for Best Supporting Actor, Michael B. Jordan became a bigger star, and the Rocky universe expanded as it got revitalized.

While some David Fincher partisans stump for the third “Alien” movie (inaccurately in our opinion), basically nobody likes “Alien Resurrection.” If we include the “Alien vs. Predator” movies, got even bleaker for the franchise. Now, the first spark came with “Prometheus,” but that one is more for the real heads and is Ridley Scott returning to the world of “Alien” and using his sway to get nuts. It’s fascinating, but also polarizing. After that, Scott said, “Fine, what if I do something that’s more like ‘Alien’?” and people said, “Yeah that sounds cool.” “Alien: Covenant” got back to the good stuff, and paved the way for the very successful (and Scott-less) “Alien: Romulus.” You don’t get there from “Prometheus.” “Covenant” was needed.

“Fury Road” didn’t just give George Miller’s “Mad Max” a second wind. It became the clear standout in the entire franchise. Hell, a not-insignificant number of people consider it the best action movie full stop. Miller took years off from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” which is the least of the franchise’s movies. “Fury Road” is a kinetic tour de force, and it did give us a prequel in “Furiosa.” The only thing here is that Miller would be in his eighties the next time a “Mad Max” movie came out. We may not get much more, or anything more, from this world.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” rules. It’s an all-time action movie. Naturally, it got a sequel. “Temple of Doom” is, unfortunately, riddled with bad vibes and too much grossness. Also, Indy has not one, but two annoying sidekicks. Of course, Steven Spielberg was still, you know, Steven Spielberg so he got a chance to right the ship. This time, Indy is paired with his father, and in a real coup he’s played by Sean Connery. “The Last Crusade” is a really good movie. Sure, it paved the way for a couple more lacking efforts, but at least things didn’t end with “Temple of Doom.”

“Predator” is peak Arnold Schwarzenegger and peak John McTiernan, which means it is pure action goodness and a little bananas. High art it is not, but does it ever deliver on what it promises. It was followed by three movies (not included the “Alien vs. Predator” side quest) that are effectively total shrugs. Then, “Prey” came along. Set in 1719 and featuring a Predator alien arriving in Comanche territory, it’s an entirely different kind of film, and it also really works. How well did it work? The director of “Prey” Dan Trachtenberg is now working on “Predator: Badlands” which stars Elle Fanning.

Speaking of John McTiernan! “Die Hard” is the quintessential small-scale action movie. One dude, one building, a handful of terrorists, and a Swiss watch of a story unfolding. It remains remarkable to see. The first sequel is essentially “What if ‘Die Hard’ was worse?” which is what happens when you do basically the same story but this time in an airport and with Renny Harlin directing. McTiernan got back in the saddle for “Die Hard with a Vengeance.” Even though the “Die Hard” stuff was ported over onto a pre-existing script, it still works, and it still pops.

Sometimes, you just do more of the same for a second film in a franchise and it falls flat. “Men in Black” is great and so fun and “Men in Black II” is just a pale imitation. While the third movie kind of flew under the radar, relatively speaking, that’s a shame, because it is actually quite good. Sure, “Time travel maybe?” is not the most-original idea to toss out in a sci-fi franchise, but “Men in Black III” makes it work. A key part of that is casting Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones.

We’re probably annoying J.J. Abrams haters by having two of his movies on this list, but they both provided second winds to franchises. We mean, did you see “Star Trek: Nemesis?” The answer is likely “no,” given that it made $67 million worldwide on a $60-million budget. Fresh blood was needed, but a dash of the old school. Thus, a new Kirk, a new Spock, but also an old Spock and a lot of notable characters popping up in the mix. This yielded two more “Star Trek” movies before a hard (and seemingly successful) pivot to television.

They insist on calling the fifth “Scream” movie just “Scream,” which, sure, fine. “Scream 4” was pretty good, but then things laid fallow for a while. Wes Craven died. The rights had to be wrested away from a certain sex criminal who shall remain nameless. Eventually, though we got a fifth “Scream,” one that is a classic mixed-generation, passing-of-the-torch film. It worked a treat, earning big money relative to a low budget and got good reviews as well. This led to “Scream VI,” which was a bit more polarizing with fans of the franchise but still a hit. Enough of a hit to give us a seventh film. Don’t worry, Neve Campbell is returning this time.

Whether you go with “The Last Stand” or “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” as the film “First Class” is following, the bar had been set low. Both films are of low quality, and both could have put “X-Men” on ice. If you consider “The Last Stand” an “X-Men” movie and the other one a, you know, Wolverine movie, that did happen, given that “Last Stand” came out in 2006. You know how these second-wind films often work by this point. We got a reboot and a prequel all rolled into one. The characters from the original trilogy got worked in with time. Somehow, it all ended up with “Deadpool & Wolverine” becoming one of the biggest movies ever? Maybe we don’t get there without “First Class.”