10 Movie Franchises That Got Better With Each Film

10. The Jason Bourne Trilogy

The Jeremy Renner-starring The Bourne Legacy is largely its own beast, so there won't be any discussion of that here. Plus, it sucked and would screw up the point being made. 2002's Doug Liman-directed The Bourne Identity was a slick, smart action caper that helped reinvent Matt Damon as a bonafide action hero. Even with its silly moments (namely that ridiculous dive down the stairwell), Identity flew in the face of the increasing glut of CGI-driven action flicks at the time. Then Paul Greengrass came along and took the series into another dimension entirely with The Bourne Supremacy, utilising his controversial "shaky cam" style to create a grittier and more authentic experience. By this point, Damon was no longer the fresh-faced upstart: he was a chiseled bada**. The third entry, The Bourne Ultimatum, again continued to build on what came before, with a returning Greengrass upping the intensity of the set-pieces and delivering a thrilling end-game for Jason Bourne. The movie won all three Academy Awards it was nominated for (Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing) and was a massive critical and commercial success, earning over $150 million more at the box office than either of the previous movies. With the news this week that Greengrass and Damon are circling a fourth go-around, one has to wonder: can they do the impossible and top their superb trilogy-capper?