10 All-Time Great Franchises That Still Had One Bad Movie

6. Mission: Impossible II

Mission Impossible 2 Tom Cruise
Paramount

The Mission: Impossible series might very well be the best franchise in the business at the moment, having consistently and spectacularly raised the bar with each new installment following a triumphant return to form in Brad Bird's Ghost Protocol back in 2011.

However, at one stage it looked like Ethan Hunt's adventures may have never gotten past the second hurdle, with the general malaise surrounding Mission: Impossible II leading to a six-year hiatus from our screens for the IMF. It may have been the highest-grossing movie of 2000 after earning almost $550m worldwide, but the reviews were tepid to say the least, as John Woo proved to be ill-suited for the material.

The action auteur dives deep into his bag of cinematic techniques and tricks, but it never quite clicks as the plot continues to twist itself in knots to the point of incomprehension. It's a nice-looking movie that's for sure, but Mission: Impossible II is also a hollow and vapid one that marked a huge step down from Brian De Palma's more intellectual original, and is a million miles away from what the franchise has become under Christopher McQuarrie's stewardship.

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