10 Huge Movie Franchises That Don't Have A 5 Star Entry

7. Jack Ryan (1990-2014)

Almost a quarter of a century after his big-screen debut, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan has found himself overshadowed by Ethan Hunt and Jason Bourne when it comes to the title of cinema's most popular American spy. As you would expect from a franchise that has seen four directors oversee four men playing the title character across five movies, the Jack Ryan series has been plagued by inconsistencies but has still delivered some entertaining movies, with some efforts being decidedly better than others. The franchise has produced solid-if-unspectacular box office numbers, but has both failed to engage audiences and reinvent itself as well as Hollywood's other premier espionage brands have managed. John McTiernan took the first, and arguably best, stab at adapting the character with The Hunt For Red October, a tension-packed thriller that saw Alec Baldwin's Jack Ryan facing off against a typically-charismatic Sean Connery. The follow-up recast the title character in the form of Harrison Ford, with the star and director Phillip Noyce taking the franchise in a more action-orientated direction and delivering two entertaining genre efforts boosted by Ford's natural star power. The 21st Century has brought two reboots of the character, with Ben Affleck heading up the politically-charged if disappointing Sum of All Fears, while Kenneth Branagh's Shadow Recruit spent almost five years in development only to present a generic origin story for Chris Pine's iteration of Jack Ryan. Given the fact that the series has been rebooted twice in a decade with middling results, the character may find himself on the shelf for a while longer this time.