10 Movie Franchises That Became Parodies Of Themselves

9. James Bond

Strip away the turn-of-the-millennium humour and Austin Powers jab at the tropes of James Bond really only goes skin-deep. This may be because so much of the sixties era Bond was so ripe for parody or, more likely, that the films themselves were already self-aware enough they worked on that level themselves. As with Adam West's Batman, the earlier Bonds were (mostly) aware of their cheesier elements, never pretending to take themselves too seriously. Of course, looking back with post-Casino Royale eyes stuff like a volcano base and Little Nellie look ridiculous, but that's all part of the fun. It'd be like in thirty years someone making a Guardians Of The Galaxy parody that highlighted how silly a talking rodent was. But while it started off self-aware, over time the series began to lose this. The Roger Moore adventures are a lot of fun (and boast some incredible music), but they pushed the sillier elements of Connery's films to greater prominence and did it in such a po-faced manner that the joke shifted to being on it.