10 Tired Film Franchises That Desperately Need A Break

Sequels and reboots are the bread and butter of tinsel town, and if anything, Hollywood's reliance on them has only grown more obvious in the past decade.

Amidst the massive, enduring success of interconnected mega-franchises such as the MCU or Star Wars, everyone wants their own slice of the pie. To that end, we've seen one embarrassing attempt after another, as studios mine their collective coffers to see what's worth resurrecting - often to disastrous results *cough* the Dark Universe *cough*.

Whereas the golden standard used to be locking in a trilogy, now the door has been well-and-truly kicked in for franchises to run much, much longer. Marvel themselves are seventeen films deep at this point, and showing no signs of slowing down.

As a direct result of all this, it truly seems that any IP every worth anything has been dredged up over the past few years and given a fresh coat of paint. Still, in a world where franchises refuse to die, some most definitely should.

Or at least, take a long, long break...

It's hard to remember now, but when Transformers debuted in 2007, it was a pleasant surprise. Michael Bay's initial adaptation seemed like a long-shot, but was much better received than anticipated. Moronic and filled to the brim with plot holes you could sail entire cruise liners through, sure, but well-received.

Then came the sequels.

Revenge of the Fallen was atrocious, and ever since then, its been all downhill. Now five films deep, the franchise has succumbed to ridiculous lows, such as attempting a storyline that incorporated both King Arthur and Nazis into the mythos. Y'know, the mythos of a toy line from the 80s.

Exhibit B: Bay himself. After every film since the first one, Bay has insisted he is "done" with the franchise. Inevitably, Paramount then offer him a briefcase and he comes back, but his heart isn't in it. That much is obvious from a single glance at any of these, in which Bay frequently reuses footage from previous films, and even uses the same shots multiple times within the same film.

After ten years and five films, the disappointment finally caught up to Transformers, and with the most recent film floundering at the domestic box office, audiences are just as tired as everyone involved with their production.