10 Movie Franchises That Wasted Their Perfect Ending

There's a very reasonable argument that Rambo should've never actually become a franchise at all.

1982's original entry, First Blood, is such a restrained and anguished portrayal of war's cost, yet the two immediate sequels quickly descended into senseless shoot 'em up fare, in turn undermining their predecessors' message.

2008's belated fourth film, simply titled Rambo, at least felt like a more serious-minded offering, no matter the amount of gory brutality meted out by Sylvester Stallone's aged protagonist in the final stretch.

The film crucially arrives at a fitting end-point for the character, as after decades of wandering the Earth, he finally returns home to the United States and, more importantly, his father's home in Arizona.

We don't see what happens when Rambo heads inside, but the implication was clear, that Rambo had finally found a measure of inner-peace and seemingly conquered his demons.

Yet Stallone just couldn't resist but unpick that satisfying ending with the recent fifth film, Rambo: Last Blood, which saw Rambo pulled out of his well-earned retirement to take on a Mexican cartel.

Though Last Blood left Rambo bloodied yet riding off into the sunset, given how utterly miserable and unnecessary a movie Last Blood was, it's a shame Stallone didn't just leave well alone after the fourth film.