While franchises have only recently become Hollywood’s favorite form of currency, the action genre has been home to some of the longest-running movie series of all time for decades. Like horror movies, which can launch franchises based on their iconic villains, action movies often launch franchises based on their iconic heroes.
For example, after Die Hard became a classic with the story of John McClane combatting the hostile takeover of an office building, Die Hard 2 became a go-to example of copycat sequels, with the story of John McClane combatting the hostile takeover of an airport. There are some great action movie franchises and some not-so-great ones.
10 Best: Police Story (84.5%)
Jackie Chan is a great director of action because he’s both a perfectionist who shoots countless takes until he gets it right and also the stunt performer in front of the camera who does those stunts over and over again.
Chan’s distinctive blend of high-octane action and Keaton-esque visual comedy was established in the first Police Story movie and perfected in its sequels.
9 Worst: Rush Hour (43.6%)
In addition to starring in one of Rotten Tomatoes’ highest-rated action franchises, Jackie Chan has also starred in one of its lowest-rated franchises. Rush Hour is a series of buddy cop movies starring Chan opposite Chris Tucker.
While the scripts for the Rush Hour movies have been pretty weak (particularly the third one), the saving grace of the franchise has always been Chan and Tucker’s lovable on-screen chemistry.
8 Best: Indiana Jones (86.5%)
The original trio of Indiana Jones adventures are such perfect action movies that the franchise is still ranked among the best, even with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull weighing it down.
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas revived the pulpy tone of 30s adventure serials with Raiders of the Lost Ark and then kept that pulp alive with the sequels. Harrison Ford turned Indy into one of the most beloved and recognizable icons in all of cinema. Not even nuking the fridge could tarnish that legacy.
7 Worst: RoboCop (43.5%)
The first RoboCop movie is a masterpiece example of a genre story being used to convey social commentary. Paul Verhoeven’s original RoboCop movie is a satirical masterpiece that uses its tale of a partly robotic police officer acting as judge, jury, and executioner in a dystopian near-future version of Detroit to explore all kinds of themes: capitalism, authoritarianism, gentrification, privatization, human nature – the list goes on.
Unfortunately, the sequels drastically dropped in quality, retaining the mindless action while ditching the satire. The 2014 reboot was a pretty slick Hollywood actioner, but it also lacked the satirical edge of the original and, with its restrictive PG-13 rating, it lacked the gruesome violence, too.
6 Best: John Wick (88%)
Keanu Reeves is back and bigger than ever thanks to his starring role in the John Wick franchise. An ex-assassin seeking revenge for the death of his dog is a simple premise, but Reeves’ commitment to the physicality of the role and the sumptuous neo-noir visuals elevated the first movie to instant classic status and launched a lucrative franchise.
Reeves and director Chad Stahelski have continued to up the ante in the second and third movies, and will hopefully continue their hot streak with the fourth and fifth movies they’ll be shooting back-to-back.
5 Worst: Transporter (40.3%)
Moviegoers know what they’re getting with a Jason Statham movie. No one is expecting a Transporter movie to be smart or groundbreaking - if they’re fun, audiences are happy, and they are fun. There’s a scene in one in which Statham will die if he gets too far from his car and then his car is stolen, so he has to chase after it on a bicycle – it’s far-fetched, but it’s deliriously entertaining.
After Statham did three Transporter movies, the producers made a fourth movie without him, and the high-octane adventures of Frank Martin were nowhere near as enjoyable sans the Stath.
4 Best: The Dark Knight Trilogy (88.3%)
Christopher Nolan changed the face of blockbuster cinema with Batman Begins, the first of many gritty reboots, but he didn’t really blow audiences away until the sequel, The Dark Knight, which was instantly praised as one of the greatest movies ever made. The movie studies Gotham’s corruption like Michael Mann’s Heat studies that of Los Angeles, while Heath Ledger’s iconic portrayal of the Joker thematically represents the threat of terrorism.
The closer, The Dark Knight Rises, struggled to live up to its predecessor, especially in the wake of Ledger’s untimely passing, but it’s suitably epic and Tom Hardy does as well a job as anyone could’ve expected of following up the Joker.
3 Worst: Transformers (39.5%)
Many critics felt that Michael Bay managed made each Transformers movie worse than the last. The general opinion was that the first one was just a generic sci-fi actioner that blew up cars and objectified women. From there, the sequels just got worse and worse, doubling down on the Bayhem and squandering fantastic actors like John Malkovich and Frances McDormand with thin characterization and childlike storytelling.
No Transformers movie received positive reviews until Travis Knight came along with the E.T.-inspired prequel/spin-off Bumblebee, which actually has well-rounded characters and a plot to speak of.
2 Best: Mad Max (91.3%)
George Miller has consistently delivered with the Mad Max franchise. Even Fury Road, a sequel that turned into a reboot while it was stuck in development hell for over a decade, emerged from limbo as one of the greatest action movies ever made, packed with visual storytelling and breathtaking practical stunts.
The only film in the Mad Max franchise that isn’t considered a classic of the genre is Beyond Thunderdome, which still has plenty of terrific moments and a juicy post-apocalyptic premise.
1 Worst: Taken (30.6%)
Liam Neeson didn’t even expect the first Taken movie to go to theaters. He thought he’d get a trip to Paris out of it, then the movie would disappear into the straight-to-DVD market. But it did reach theaters and, surprisingly, it became such a big hit that it launched a franchise and completely changed the trajectory of Neeson’s career.
Unfortunately, the sequels that followed the original Taken film failed to recapture what made it so great. The universality of a father’s search for his missing daughter was replaced by generic action movie plots like getting framed for murder, while the edges of the violence were softened up when the producers realized the franchise had mass appeal.
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