10 Movie Franchises That Never Got Better Than The First Film

6. Transformers

The Franchise: There isn't a series out there as maligned as Michael Bay's Transformers films. A franchise aimed at kids to sell toys that spends much of its run time ogling women and panting over military tech, these movies were originally intended to sell some toy cars that turn into clunky robots but have become some bizarre beasts that alternate from offensive (you wouldn't think a film in this day and age could get away with so much racial stereotyping) to incomprehensible (the actions is so poorly shot it's impossible to tell what's going on). The only thing worst than actually watching them is realising that they're box office behemoths that appeal to a shockingly wide audience; Transformers 5 is only one year away. Why The First Was Best: Best may not be the operative work here, given that it implies some level of quality, butn an objective level the first in the series is definitely the least worst. All the inherent problems with the two-and-a-half hour toy adverts are present here, but there's a kernel of the idea to make something for children. There's a tighter cast of robots who aren't as indistinguishable as those in the sequels and some of the final act action beats are choreographed, if not framed, to be understandable.