The film industry has increasingly embraced an approach where long-running franchises and cinematic universes have become the norm. Any property that catches on is considered for franchise potential, which can sometimes inspire a fresh direction or merely tap into diminishing returns.

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It’s not easy for a long-running franchise to have a sterling reputation across the board, but there are a surprising number of series where the standout entry happens much later in the franchise.

10 Mission: Impossible Doesn’t Come Into Its Own Until Some Serious Shake-Ups

Movies Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Plane Stunt

Arguably none of the Mission: Impossible feature films are bad, and each one is emblematic of the visionary director that’s at the helm of the movie. JJ Abrams’ Mission: Impossible 3 breathes fresh air into the Tom Cruise action franchise, but it’s not until Ghost Protocol that the series truly becomes a cinematic masterpiece.

There’s plenty of debate on which of the later Mission: Impossible movies is the best, which is a testament to the unbelievable set pieces that are at the center of each movie. The films only get bigger and more ambitious.

9 Fast & The Furious Evolves Over Time Into Its Current Heightened Chaos

A car drags a safe during a heist in Fast Five

Sometimes it’s clear when a movie will grow into a breakout franchise, but the evolution of the Fast & the Furious movies is something that nobody could have predicted. The series nearly went direct-to-video for its third installment and it lost its central star several times, until Fast & Furious reunited everyone.

Fast Five is the first time that the movies properly key into the exaggerated level of fun that’s been able to turn the car series into a multi-billion dollar franchise. Two more movies are on the way and they’ll only make the earliest entries in the series become more unrecognizable.

8 Friday The 13th Finds Its Footing & Hits Its Peak At The Middle Of The Franchise

Horror JASON COSTUME - JASON LIVES

Slasher series can be easy to dismiss, simply because they’re so often inundated with endless sequels that just dilute the idea down. It’s interesting to see that slasher series like Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Hellraiser all start with their best material, only to hit diminishing returns.

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This isn’t true for Friday the 13th, which takes some time to fully come together and it’s not until the third movie that Jason Voorhees even gets his iconic hockey mask. Opinions are split on which Friday film is the best, but it’s usually Part VI: Jason Lives, that’s singled out.

7 James Bond’s Spy Missions Aren’t Immaculate From The Jump

Movies Goldfinger Bond

There are over two dozen movies that chronicle the spy exploits of James Bond, Agent 007. Admittedly, the earliest James Bond movies have the benefit of Ian Fleming’s source material to pull from, but the start of the franchise is a little awkward and there’s still plenty of discussion over who is the superior Bond.

Many different standout entries in the series exist with Goldfinger, Casino Royale, and Skyfall all heralded as some of Bond’s best outings. Some of the Bond films during Pierce Brosnan’s run get quite lazy, but the franchise finds its way back to greatness.

6 Mad Max Gets Progressively Better With Each Movie

Movies Mad Max Fury Road Doof Warrior 3

There might only be four entries in George Miller’s Mad Max series, but there’s no question that the final movie, Fury Road, is the director’s crowning achievement and there are considerably high expectations surrounding his upcoming Furiosa prequel film.

The first three Mad Max movies are by no means bad, and Miller still establishes a fascinating, gritty universe through the trilogy. These movies are just so much simpler in scope in comparison to what’s accomplished in Fury Road. It’s odd to think of something like Beyond Thunderdome as quaint, but that’s the magic of Fury Road.

5 The Gratuitous Saw Films Hit Surprising Heights After Its Mythos Evolves

Movies Saw VI

The Saw franchise helped popularize a violent new trend of horror during the 2000s and the property remains relevant with Spiral: The Book of Saw coming out in 2021. Audiences keep returning to Saw, even after it’s seemed like the torture-based horror movies have run out of ideas.

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There’s a strong argument to be made that the stripped-down nature of the original movie is Saw at its best, but there’s a lot of love for Saw VI as a standout beyond the initial trilogy. Saw VI does benefit from five films’ worth of mythos to explore.

4 The Planet Of The Apes Grows Beyond Its Shocking Twist & Finds Greater Depth

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

The original Planet of the Apes series from the '60s and ‘70s is still viewed as a classic, but it’s hardly perfect and there’s a lot of nostalgia for the movies purely because of the original movie’s massive twist ending. The original movies explore some compelling themes, but they’re still hard to take seriously on some level.

Matt Reeves’ modern trilogy, which continues the series, hits greater heights and accomplishes a narrative that’s as frightening as it is thought-provoking. Each of these movies has its charms, but it’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes that’s frequently considered the apex.

3 Resident Evil Is At Its Best As It Becomes More Over The Top

Movies Resident-Evil-Apocalypse

There’s a lot on the way when it comes to new Resident Evil content and it should be interesting to see how these new endeavors will recontextualize Paul W.S. Anderson’s action-horror franchise in the process. The Resident Evil movies are unabashedly silly and strong showcases for Milla Jovovich’s ability to hold her own against monsters.

The first movie is the most restrained, but the chaotic heights that are hit in the later entries, like Resident Evil: Apocalypse, are arguably more enjoyable in a pure entertainment sense. It hits an appropriate level of spectacle.

2 Godzilla’s Classic Kaiju Series Takes Time To Achieve Greatness

Shin Godzilla breathing fire.

Much like James Bond, the Godzilla franchise is practically an institution that’s so much more than just a series of films. Over 30 Godzilla movies exist, as well as a wealth of extensions to its kaiju universe. Despite the simplistic nature of this giant monster, Godzilla remains an evergreen parable.

The quality of Godzilla movies takes some time to properly evolve and the first few movies are hardly best representative of what the franchise has to offer. The more recent Shin Godzilla is a revelatory entry, but the introduction of Mecha-Godzilla is also iconic.

1 The Marvel Cinematic Universe Doesn’t Truly Shine Until Phase Two

Movies Captain America vs Winter Soldier

There are over two-dozen interconnected movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with years’ worth of films and television series still yet to come. Audiences were initially impressed with the ability for a handful of separate films to coalesce together in The Avengers, but the MCU’s Phase One efforts are hardly their strongest material.

It’s easy to argue that the culmination of Phase Three, Avengers: Endgame, is the MCU’s best, but other movies like Captain America: Winter Soldier are better in terms of pure filmmaking. It’s only during Phase Two that the MCU starts to elevate its productions.

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