The Most Powerful Movie Franchises

In response to the two posts by Neil Miller’s two posts here and here about the most powerful film franchises of all times, I thought I’d have a go at being controversial and list a few things.

Well, Miller’s 10th place is Indy. I think that Indiana Jones is a great series of films.  With the combined genius of Lucas and Spielberg driving the franchise. and Harrison Ford in the lead it just works. The Action sequences combine with a wonderful score by John Williams and just fit. So yes it’s in the top 10, and for me, it’s above the lower end.

Spider-Man comes next. Neil says that it has to appear, but I disagree. I’m not a great fan of the films. Well, number one was good, however two and three didn’t really do it for me. The latest installment in particular failed to impress me. Now don’t get me wrong, that photographer that got bitten by a spider is great, I liked the comics, but not the films. However the idea of this list is ‘powerful franchises’ not what is liked, and it must be said that the whole package is there because of the power it has over the younger generation. Although that was there before the films…

Shrek. Again the kids love it. A green ogre fairy tale, why wouldn’t they? I’m not a tremendous fan, I like the films, they are entertaining of just for the references to other stories.  Maybe the third installment will be a step too far for parents everywhere, and their budgets, but the kids will love it. So yes it’s powerful, so it deserves a place somewhere.

Jurassic Park now. Dinosaurs brought back to life, in a theme park. Spielberg from 1993, and he weaves his magic well. Undoubtedly an absolutely astonishing feat of film making, and it has a very strong influence on people. So yes, it’s in here.

Now, Pirates. I love them. The actual pirates that is, the films on the other hand, should never have graced our silver screens. I must admit I haven’t yet seen the third installment, that comes on Friday, but despite what people say about how I should like it, I doubt that will happen. The first was OK, vaguely funny, the second rehashed old jokes, was too long, had a rushed ending, although the CGI was good. The third looks better than the second, but apparently isn’t as good as the first. Power? Well, most  people seem to like it…

The Batster. Batman has always been one of my favourite comic characters. The Dark Knights early films weren’t amazing, however I must admit that I really did enjoy the experience of watching Batman Begins at the cinema. However, yet again, the power that is there was existent before the films.

Lord of the Rings. Great books, not so great films. I liked them, however wasn’t extremely impressed. Coming from the stance of being a fan of the books, watching the films, seeing how long they were, seeing how much was missed out, realising that they were better books. Jackson did well, he’s a good film maker, he did well with sticking to the text, but not well enough. However the films re-ignited interest in Tolkien and for that it deserves a place in the power franchises.

Barry Trotter, Harry Potter. The books are astounding, they really are wonderful literary works, they ignite the imagination of children everywhere, they almost made reading cool again, but then the films came along. All to often I hear the phrase ‘I haven’t read them, but the films are good’. That’s not how it should be. I watched the films, but the books are better. As with LotR too much is cut out. I want my imagination to show me Harry, not a film maker. Maybe the films have enhanced the experience for some, the power to change how kids look at Potter is there.

The film’s Bond, James Bond.  Yes, I agree. A *very* powerful franchise. Again films based on books, but films that don’t stray too far from the works. James Bond not only entertains many people, it also shows us how we’ve changed over the years. Look at Connery’s Bond and how if he was like that now he wouldn’t get women, he’d get quite a few slaps. The power to entertain is a great power, the power to show us how we were, is even greater.

Now, Star Wars. You all know my opinion on this, I won’t write too much, just look at some of my previous posts. It’s powerful, it’s following is proof of that. Yes it’s changed with the prequels, but kids still love it, and they will keep loving it. That’s what makes a powerful film franchise, the ability to capture children’s imagination 30 years after it first hit the silver screens.

And now the others that didn’t make the list but are in the vote, Star Trek,  The Godfather, Aliens, Rocky (Not “rockey” as appears on the site), Back to the Future, The Terminator, X-Men, The Matrix, Die Hard, Nightmare on Elm Street, Mission Impossible, Godzilla, Superman and Lethal Weapon.

Now I won’t comment on all of them, but I will say that with Star Trek it was the TV show that was powerful, not the films. The Godfather, yes there was the book, but the films captured them well,  and have a far reach still today. Rocky, with the recent film release, has a good reach, it went off the rails slightly, but still does very well, The Matrix was a good film, the two sequels, not so much, but still well liked films. Die Hard has always been a great series in my eyes, I will be seeing Die Hard 4.0 at the first available opportunity.

My top 10? well, time to be controversial:

10. Back to the Future

9. Shrek

8.  Batman

7. Harry Potter

6. Rocky

5. Indiana Jones

4. Die Hard

3.  The Godfather

2. James Bond

1. Star Wars

Feel free to disagree, that’s the great thing about films, you can like different things and still be right. However there are some franchises I’d like to throw into the mix. Monty Python, the comic genius that is out there, with Holy Grail and Life of Brian They are wonderfully funny films. Something interesting, Ring. The Japanese horror trilogy, very good films. And if directors can make a franchise let’s think about Tim Burton films or Guillermo Del Toro, films based on books by an author I’d have to say Philip K. Dick’s books, and films by a studio would, for me, be Studio Ghibli.

So there you go, film franchises.

MTFBWY