10 Movie Franchises That Got Better With Each Film

6. Step Up

Few people over the age of about 15 are going to argue that the Step Up series is any good, but in its defense, it has consistently kept changing things up to ensure the formula doesn't become too stale. The first movie is certainly the worst of the bunch (even if it did bring Channing Tatum into the mainstream), and though the second film, Step Up 2 the Streets, suffers from many of the same flaws, it's more sharply-directed and fun to watch (to a point). Then the series took a huge upswing with Step Up 3D, employing one of the more inventive uses of the gimmick by using the added dimension to emphasise the physicality of the dances, aided by super-slick slow-motion and more likeable characters than the previous movies. The fourth movie, Step Up Revolution, again changed up the formula, depicting dancing as a form of protest art in a clever, amusing and inventive way, before the fifth film (released earlier this year), Step Up All In, was essentially a "Best Of" compendium, bringing all the best dancers back for one ridiculous yet perversely enjoyable dance-off. They're not high-art, they all take the romance a little too seriously and they're far too long, but they've delivered consistently thrilling dance sequences since number one, and the series continues to reinvent itself in unexpectedly creative ways.