10 Film Franchises That Successfully Recovered From Awful Entries

The Awful Entry – Men In Black II (2002)

Men In Black is currently in the doldrums once again following the dismal failure of last year’s Men In Black: International spinoff, which despite the proven pairing of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson managed to bomb both critically and financially.

Rewind 22 years and the original Men In Black was one of the cinematic successes that made Will Smith a household name. Blending his wit and charm with the gruff seriousness of Tommy Lee Jones made for a fantastic pairing and the film became 1997’s third most successful. Despite wrapping up its narrative well with Agent K’s retirement, a sequel became inevitable when the dollars started rolling in.

Said sequel took 5 years to make and instantly undid most of the original’s plot development, dropping Linda Florentino’s character after she had been established as J’s new partner and forcing an awkward plot where K’s memory had to be restored as he was the only one who could save humanity.

Focusing on zaniness rather than recapturing the spirit the original, MIBII killed the franchise for almost a decade. Few expected the announcement of MIBIII, but its focus on time travel gave the franchise an opportunity to explore new things by bringing Josh Brolin into the fore and investing in both J and K’s backstories.

The series is now likely done for good following International, which is a shame. The mooted Jump Street/MIB crossover would’ve been an interesting direction to take for sure.