1. The Planet Of The Apes
Ignoring Tim Burtons ill advised (and were being kind there) remake of the sixties sci-fi classic, all the films in the simian dominance series have been presented as being in the same universe (at least sort of). The first film was a simple nuclear war warning that used almost real science for a liberating (geddit?) twist, and the direct sequel Beneath doesn't do much but make it bigger. Then come to weaker sequels. Escape From The Planet Of The Apes and Conquest For The Planet Of The Apes, the third and fourth films, have three apes travel back in time to the then present day and birth a child who leads a revolution against humanity, who have started enslaving monkeys because all the cats and dogs died (go with it). This really muddles the implications of the first film. Charlton Hestons cynic Taylor spends a lot of time musing the follies of man (even at its most marketable sci-fi used to be a lot more cerebral), concluding it was nuclear war that left the world free for Apes to take over. The sequels go more cinematic, but leave us with a less logical solution. And thats not even touching on the new series reboot that has genetically modified chimps and a man made virus the cause of our destruction. While a brilliantly modern update of the original concept, its never made clear if this is the same world (theres reports of a space shuttle just going missing, but nothing is confirmed) and we somehow doubt never years Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes will shed any light on it all.
Are there any more franchises that you just wish would go for a straight linear plot? Let us know in the comments below.