These iconic movie franchises couldn't resist jumping the shark for a quick payday. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at movie franchises that could’ve gone out on a high note if only they knew when to end.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at movie franchises that could have gone out
00:13on a high note if only they knew when to end.
00:17This list is nothing but spoilers.
00:29Vito's 50th Birthday – The Godfather Part 2
00:33Business and vengeance trump family in Francis Ford Coppola's masterful sequel as Michael
00:39Corleone has his brother Fredo assassinated.
00:47Reminiscing about his father's 50th birthday, we see how far Michael has drifted from his
00:52former self and what matters most.
00:55Michael felt he didn't belong in college and his time in the army wouldn't last.
01:00He might not have realized it then, but Michael was destined to take his father's place.
01:13Where Vito surrounded himself with family, Michael ultimately finds himself alone.
01:18Coppola considered The Godfather movies a pair, having nothing left to say after Part
01:232.
01:24With a fair amount resolutes on making a trilogy, and Coppola eventually falling on
01:28hard times though, they pulled him back in for an unnecessary epilogue 16 years later.
01:46Heroes United – Zack Snyder's Justice League
01:49If the theatrical cut of Justice League was a new low, then Zack Snyder's cut found
01:54the DCEU at its apex.
02:01This supersized event culminates in a triumphant finale as heroes line up for a group shot,
02:07finding the ideal place for a mic drop.
02:21Then there's the epilogue.
02:23While this extra half hour or so provided some further closure, it also set up several
02:28storylines that'd go nowhere.
02:43Adding insult to injury, most of the following DCEU movies failed to reach the same heights.
02:54The studio thus decided to start from scratch.
02:57So instead of ending on an iconic image of our main heroes, we got Patrick Wilson eating
03:03a bug.
03:08That's more like how you'd end a cancelled sitcom rather than a cinematic universe.
03:21Jack Goes Boating – Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End
03:25The original Pirates trilogy brings Jack Sparrow's story full circle.
03:30After his most bombastic voyage yet, Jack winds up back where he started.
03:35He has no ship, he has no crew, but he's still a master of improv and dumb luck.
03:52With nothing but a dinky boat, a map, his trusty compass and a bottle of rum, Captain
03:57Jack sets sail once more.
04:12It shows Jack will always be out there, searching for the next adventure.
04:16That said, we didn't need to see those next adventures.
04:21With the subsequent installments, the Pirates franchise got watered down by convoluted plots
04:26and dull new characters, while Jack struggled to keep things afloat with his old schtick.
04:32Even when literally at World's End, franchises can still go overboard.
04:41Just Keep Swimming – The Bourne Ultimatum The Bourne movies just kept getting better,
04:46wrapping up all those loose ends in Ultimatum.
04:49Jumping into the East River, Jason Bourne or David Webb is presumed dead.
04:54That doesn't mean his body was recovered.
04:56However, after a three day search, Webb's body has yet to be found.
05:05The audience smiles along with Nicky as Jason swims away.
05:24It's another full circle ending, as Jason was fished out of the sea when we first met
05:28him.
05:29Everything seemed to agree that Jason's story was over, hence why the Bourne legacy
05:34shifted focus to a new protagonist.
05:37After that film fell below expectations, Jason Bourne returned by popular demand in a sequel
05:42we honestly remember nothing about.
05:56Matt Damon summed it up in 2007 when he said of the franchise,
06:00"...we have ridden that horse as far as we can."
06:04For Paul – Furious 7 Tragedy loomed over Furious 7 with the sudden
06:09death of Paul Walker.
06:10Despite the heartbreaking circumstances, the team pulled together, delivering a tear-jerking
06:15tribute to Paul and his career-defining role, Brian O'Connor.
06:19Set to the song See You Again, Dom and Brian drive off in different directions, thinking
06:24about the good times and the day they'll be reunited.
06:37It was a beautiful goodbye to Brian, and it really should have been a farewell to this
06:41franchise.
06:42While the Fast family continued to grow, a crucial element has been missing without Brian,
06:47who now solely exists in off-screen land.
06:55Even if these movies are still good for a few fun set pieces, Brian's absence is just
07:00one of the reasons the following sequels felt forced.
07:11A New Future – X-Men Days of Future Past Before you flip out in the comments, the X-Men
07:18brand still could have continued through standalone spin-offs like Deadpool and Logan.
07:28In terms of traditional X-Men movies with large ensembles, though, Days of Future Past
07:33clearly should have been this continuity's grand finale.
07:43Timelines collide as Wolverine is sent back to prevent the rise of Sentinels in 1973.
07:49Returning to 2023, Wolverine finds they not only stopped the Sentinels, but erased pretty
07:55much everything that happened in The Last Stand.
08:05With history rewritten and several familiar faces returning, it seemed like a fresh slate
08:09for future movies to build upon.
08:25Of course, knowing now what awaits in Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, most of these characters
08:30should have been left in the past.
08:38Letting Michael Burn – Halloween There are multiple moments where the Halloween
08:43franchise could have left us on a satisfying note.
08:58Michael Myers was supposed to die in Halloween 2, only to return two movies later.
09:03Michael appeared deader than ever in H20, but nothing that a resurrection can't fix.
09:10With 2018's Halloween ignoring the other sequels and Jimmy Lee Curtis returning as
09:15Laurie Strode, it seemed like these characters would finally get the ending they deserve.
09:23And they did.
09:26Michael is set ablaze in a trap that not even he should be able to survive, while three
09:31generations of Strode ladies drive off.
09:45Universal just couldn't let it burn, however, churning out two more sequels that ironically
09:50made the same mistakes as the movies they previously retconned.
10:00Getting Away From Her – Aliens Everything has taken a step beyond in James
10:05Cameron's follow-up to the 1979 sci-fi classic.
10:08From its action to its hearts.
10:10When Ellen Ripley faces the Alien Queen, we're just as pumped as we are emotionally invested.
10:18The franchise could never top this rousing showdown.
10:22But surely Alien 3 would make an effort, right?
10:26Rather than up the ante, the next film immediately undoes everything that made Aliens so compelling,
10:32taking Newt and Hicks out of the equation.
10:37Since then, the Alien franchise has struggled to justify its endurance through sequels,
10:42prequels, and crossovers that have failed to hit the mark.
10:46Whether or not this series ever rebounds, we're better off pretending Ripley's story
10:50ended with her daring escape and everything after was Newt's bad dream.
11:00Off Into The Sunset – Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
11:04Riding Into The Sunset might sound cliché, but it's also about execution.
11:09Seeing Indiana Jones saddle up with his friends and father as John Williams' immortal score
11:14plays, we couldn't think of a better way to close out this Last Crusade.
11:30Well make that third to Last Crusade.
11:33Although that title seemed as conclusive as possible, an aging indie was roped back in
11:39for two more adventures involving aliens and Archimedes.
11:42Those sequels aren't without their fans, and by fans we mean apologists.
11:47You can look past their flaws, but even the most die-hard defenders can't deny Last
11:52Crusade's ending was anything less than perfection.
11:55It's how we'd like to remember indie, and we can only hope AI doesn't bring him
11:59back for a fourth Last Crusade.
12:23The Value of Human Life – Terminator 2 – Judgment Day
12:28Where the previous films had us cheering when the T-800 was destroyed, this sequel made
12:33us bawl our eyes out.
12:34To ensure Judgment Day doesn't occur, the T-800 must sacrifice itself.
12:50John is truly making the sacrifice, saying goodbye to the only father figure he's ever
12:55known.
13:14Sarah who's been haunted by memories of the other T-800 for almost 10 years also mourns
13:19this machine, leaving us with a poignant message about humanity.
13:24Between Aliens and T-2, James Cameron knows how to end a franchise, Hollywood does not,
13:31repeatedly reminding us how much we loved the first two Terminator films while dumping
13:35on the franchise's legacy.
13:43Who knows what the future holds, but as far as we're concerned, this story ended with
13:48a thumbs up.
13:49What was the logical closure point for your favorite franchise?
13:53Let us know in the comments.