By Robert Lee III
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The long-standing franchise has cemented itself as a staple not just of blockbuster filmmaking, but all of Hollywood filmmaking in general. Especially in the modern era, there has been a concise effort to tap into the ingrained fanbase and community surrounding some of the most acclaimed and longest-lasting film franchises. While there is always hope that a new entry in the franchise will live up to the legacy and become a staple in these long-lasting series, several films manage to accomplish the opposite, aggravating the very fanbase the film attempted to cater to.
Whether it be a shocking new casting decision that didn't go over with fans or a change that acts as a direct disservice to the themes and strengths of the previous entries, there are many ways that a fanbase can feel betrayed by a newer entry. Whether the fanbase's concerns and anger are justified usually ends up on a case-by-case basis, but it cannot be denied that these films ended up creating unintentionally heated discourse, for better or for worse.
10 'Men in Black: International' (2019)
Directed by F. Gary Gray
The original Men in Black trilogy has proven to be some of the most entertaining and uplifting sci-fi blockbusters out there, combining witty dialogue and deeply creative aliens as it brings to life a current-day take on aliens living among us. While Men in Black: International certainly attempted to recapture the same levels of charm and cathartic energy as the originals, its blatantly corporate execution and lack of compelling leads made it an aggressive disappointment to fans.
While reboots that revolve around a new cast of characters are nothing new for Hollywood franchises, much of the original Men in Black films' appeal was the perfect chemistry and back and forth between Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. While both Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson have found success and entertaining roles in the past, their characters in this film are too generic and formulaic to leave a discernable impact. This ends up spreading to affect the rest of the film as a result, making the absence of Smith and Jones that much more apparent and painful to fans.
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Men In Black: International
PG-13
Science Fiction
Comedy
Action
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- June 19, 2019
- Director
- F. Gary Gray
- Cast
- Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Rebecca Ferguson, Kumail Nanjiani, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson
- Runtime
- 115 minutes
9 'Thor: Love and Thunder' (2022)
Directed by Taika Waititi
While not initially as acclaimed or exciting as other MCU franchises, the Thor franchise eventually came into its own with its blending of fantasy and sci-fi to create some of the most entertaining and cathartic films in the MCU. While Thor: Love and Thunder was posed to do much of the same as the previous entry, with Taika Waititi returning and an array of A-list stars joining the fray, the film's style of humor had largely faded by the time it released, making it a major downgrade to Thor: Ragnarök in every way.
More than one massive issue that made Love and Thunder a miss for fans, the film presents a wide array of smaller issues that all come together to make it a painfully below-average experience. The aspects include the awkward tonal shifts between Waititi's signature quirky style and themes of terminal sickness and depression, combined with some of the most jarring and uncomfortable CGI in recent memory. The biggest disappointment for fans easily has to go to the mishandling and underutilization of Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher, who fails to live up to the potential and possibilities of the character/casting choice.
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Thor: Love and Thunder
PG-13
Action
Fantasy
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Superhero
- Release Date
- July 8, 2022
- Director
- Taika Waititi
- Cast
- Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Tessa Thompson, Chris Pratt2, Natalie Portman, Karen Gillan, Chris Hemsworth
- Runtime
- 118 minutes
8 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' (1999)
Directed by George Lucas
While most of the hatred and vitriol from the Star Wars fanbase is directed towards the sequel trilogy or the various Disney+ shows, many forget just how hated the prequel trilogy was when it was first released. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was easily the most egregious of the trilogy, with its emphasis on jarring computer-animated effects and painfully unfunny side characters making it a difficult watch for Star Wars fans excited for the long-awaited origin story.
Widely considered to be one of the first true massive disappointments from a massive franchise fandom such as this, The Phantom Menace was a shocking and undeniable downgrade from one of the most acclaimed sci-fi trilogies of all time. However, while the initial opinions were mostly of hatred and anger, time has been unexpectedly kind to George Lucas's unique vision for the prequel trilogy. More emphasis and respect have been given to the film's occasional high points, such as the action choreography and the exceptionally well-crafted score.
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Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
PG
Action
Sci-Fi
Adventure
Fantasy
Where to Watch
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Not available
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*Availability in US
- Release Date
- May 19, 1999
- Director
- George Lucas
- Cast
- Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, Frank Oz, Ray Park, Samuel L. Jackson
- Runtime
- 133 minutes
7 'The Godfather: Part III' (1990)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Any third film that attempts to follow up two of the greatest films of all time is going to be facing an uphill battle, but even the most skeptical of fans found a way to be majorly disappointed in the long-awaited Godfather: Part III. Attempting to cap off the exceptional gangster drama franchise, The Godfather: Part III was from the get-go a film that didn't need to exist, yet it further proved in its lackluster execution that the story of Michael Corleone works best as a duology over a trilogy.
Many different enraging attributes can be attributed to the major disappointment and failure of The Godfather: Part III, yet easily the most iconic and egregious is the casting and lackluster performance of Sofia Coppola as Corleone's daughter. Sofia has since proven herself to be one of the best female directors working today, yet her acting abilities were not up to snuff in The Godfather: Part III, in one of the most blatant nepotistic castings of all time, she further derails what was already a lackluster film.
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The Godfather Part III
r
Crime
Drama
Where to Watch
- stream
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Not available
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*Availability in US
- Release Date
- December 25, 1990
- Director
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Cast
- Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Diane Keaton
- Runtime
- 142minutes
6 'Jurassic World Dominion' (2022)
Directed by Colin Trevorrow
While Jurassic World Dominion had high hopes of capping off decades' worth of dinosaur storytelling beginning from Steven Spielberg's original 1993 blockbuster masterpiece, the film quickly became widely considered to be the worst film in the franchise. The film's awkward and painfully confusing attempts to tie everything together as if it were a single cohesive plot proves to completely fail in both concept and execution, blatantly going against what made previous films work.
While there's certainly a world where a finale featuring both the old and new casts coming together to deal with a dinosaur threat could work, the film's lack of real dinosaur action and an overabundance of unwanted locusts make it a deeply undesirable experience. Especially when compared to the top-notch filmmaking of not only the original film, but even previous Jurassic World films, Dominion's shoddy editing and awkward pacing come across as a direct insult to the original's mastery.
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Jurassic World Dominion
PG-13
Action
Adventure
Where to Watch
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Not available
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*Availability in US
- Release Date
- June 10, 2022
- Director
- Colin Trevorrow
- Cast
- Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, Daniella Pineda, DeWanda Wise, Isabella Sermon, Jeff Goldblum, Justice Smith, Campbell Scott, Dichen Lachman, Omar Sy, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, Scott Haze, Mamoudou Athie, Chris Pratt
- Runtime
- 147 minutes
5 'Halloween Ends' (2022)
Directed by David Gordon Green
The Halloween franchise has had many fanbase-aggravating entries over the years, ranging from Busta Rhymes's kung fu in Halloween: Resurrection to the wildly divisive Rob Zombie remake. However, the latest self-proclaimed final entry of the franchise, Halloween Ends, proves to be the most controversial of all. The previous entries in David Gordon Green's reboot trilogy were already polarizing and generic from the start, yet this shoddy finale even manages to go against the strengths and buildup of Green's previous films.
The film's strange decisions place Michael on the sidelines and focus instead on a new villain that wasn't introduced in any previous entries, with this focus on Corey Cunningham aggravating fans new and old alike. What hurts the most is that, if it were an original horror slasher that wasn't connected to Halloween, Corey's story could have gone over well, but as a Halloween film, and especially one that was supposed to be the finale of the series, it makes for a bafflingly confusing decision.
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Halloween Ends
R
Horror
Thriller
Where to Watch
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Not available
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*Availability in US
- Release Date
- October 14, 2022
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Cast
- Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, Will Patton, Kyle Richards, Rohan Campbell, Nick Castle
- Runtime
- 111 Minutes
4 'Ghostbusters' (2016)
Directed by Paul Feig
Ever since the initial sequel in 1989, a third Ghostbusters film was one of the most widely requested pipe dreams in the world of long-awaited sequels, yet this unexpected reboot/remake proved to be the exact opposite of what fans were expecting. Also known as Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, this all-female remake sees a new group of proton-pack-wearing paranormal enthusiasts taking to the streets of New York to rid the city of its increasingly prevalent ghost problems.
There was already a great amount of shock and anger from the very prospect of an all-female remake of Ghostbusters instead of a standard legacy sequel, yet the film's execution proved to only make the situation worse. While it was never going to live up to the original, it manages to even be a substantial downgrade compared to Paul Feig's other comedic work, with too many schlocky visual effects getting in the way of fleshing out its characters beyond the bare minimum. The movie certainly has its defenders, but it has nevertheless become a quintessential example of fanbase vitriol and anger.
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Ghostbusters
PG-13
Action
Fantasy
Comedy
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- July 14, 2016
- Director
- Paul Feig
- Cast
- Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey, Charles Dance, Michael Kenneth Williams, Cecily Strong, Andy García, Matt Walsh, Ed Begley Jr., Steve Higgins, Michael McDonald, Karan Soni, Zach Woods, Nate Corddry, Toby Huss, Katie Dippold, Jessica Chaffin, Jamie Denbo, Steve Bannos, Adam Ray, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
3 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
The original Indiana Jones trilogy is still widely acclaimed as one of the greatest action-adventure trilogies of all time, with Harrison Ford's charisma and Steven Spielberg's filmmaking chops being a perfect combination for blockbuster adventures. However, the long-awaited fourth installment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, proved to be an embarrassing misfire that forever tainted the legacy of cinema's most legendary treasure hunter.
The film's biggest problems came from attempting to combine a classic Indy adventure with the latest capabilities of modern technology and effects, creating various strange and uncanny visual effects. This in combination with the film's many strange writing decisions made for a bafflingly scattered experience that simply didn't have the concise strengths of previous films. Individual sequences like Indy hiding in a refrigerator to survive a nuclear bomb, Shia LaBeouf swinging on atrocious-looking CGI jungle vines, or the film's ridiculous extra-terrestrial ending all became points of mockery and engagement to longtime fans.
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
pg-13
Adventure
Action
Where to Watch
- stream
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Not available
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*Availability in US
- Release Date
- May 22, 2008
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent
- Runtime
- 122 Minutes
2 'Joker: Folie à Deux' (2024)
Directed by Todd Phillips
The original Joker was one of the most polarizing yet intrinsically memorable films of recent memory, with its shocking imagery and painful depiction of isolation and a spiral to madness striking a chord with audiences worldwide. Its monumental success meant that a sequel was always going to happen, yet the strange changes and decisions made to differentiate Joker: Folie à Deux from the original only served to enrage the fans of the original film.
The film was immediately under question from the early announcement that it would be a dramatic musical, a massive departure from the tone and style of the original film, yet something that at the very least had potential. Folie à Deux, however, not only squandered this potential by not committing to the strengths of a musical, but actively took shots at the first film and people who got the wrong takeaway from Arthur Fleck's character arc. The combination of these two things managed to create a film seemingly made for nobody, as many audiences and fans were reviled by the film, with it easily being one of 2024's worst blockbusters.
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Joker: Folie a Deux
R
Drama
Crime
Musical
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- October 4, 2024
- Director
- Todd Phillips
- Cast
- Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey, Leigh Gill, Jacob Lofland, Sharon Washington, Troy Fromin, Bill Smitrovich, John Lacy, Ken Leung
- Runtime
- 138 Minutes
1 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' (2019)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
The massive amounts of anger and disappointment felt by Star Wars fans have made the entire Sequel trilogy the face of fanbase backlash in the modern era of social media discourse and franchises. While Star Wars: The Last Jedi acted as the start of this backlash, splitting the fanbase by being widely hated by just as many people that loved it, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker went a step beyond and managed to be aggressively hated by just about everyone.
Fans who loved The Last Jedi hated The Rise of Skywalker for retroactively going back and reversing things in attempts to create a safer and generally appealing blockbuster experience. At the same time however, fans who hated The Last Jedi continued to hate The Rise of Skywalker for continuing to kill off classic characters and treat its cookie-cutter new characters with the utmost importance. For as much hate as The Last Jedi received when it was released, there were still a select few fans who found enjoyment in the changes, a sentiment that simply doesn't apply to The Rise of Skywalker.
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Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker
PG-13
Action
Adventure
Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Where to Watch
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
Not available
*Availability in US
- Release Date
- December 20, 2019
- Director
- J.J. Abrams
- Cast
- Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Joonas Suotamo, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Kelly Marie Tran, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Richard E. Grant, Daisy Ridley, Lupita Nyong'o, Dominic Monaghan, John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Billy Dee Williams, Naomi Ackie
- Runtime
- 142 minutes
NEXT: 10 Movie Sequels So Bad They Hurt the Original's Reputation
- Movie
- sequels
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
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