10 Movie Franchises That Started Great And Then Fell Off A Cliff

All of the superlatives thrown at The Matrix were completely justified, because the sci-fi action epic was every bit as innovative, groundbreaking and revolutionary as it was proclaimed to be, and launched a thousand pale imitators in the process as the single most influential movie in turn-of-the-millennium Hollywood.

The back-to-back sequels were two of the most highly-anticipated movies of all-time, but by the time Revolutions wandered into theaters in November 2003, box office takings dropped by over $300m from Reloaded in the space of just six months, as fans wondered how the Wachowskis had gotten it so wrong.

There's some decent action and visuals to be found, but the pace of the story is glacial at best, and the mind-numbing philosophical exposition that takes up far too much of the running time is almost too much to bear. For some reason, the sibling directors decided to build on the worst aspects of the first instalment, and by doubling down on things audiences didn't want to see they were left crushingly disappointed.

Fingers crossed that Lana Wachowski has learned from these mistakes and next year's fourth outing for Neo and the gang will finally mark a return to form.