10 Films That Saved Their Franchise

[JamesKurtovich]

Definitely Casino Royale.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, while still being very annoying thanks to Darth Angst, it was the best one since Return of the Jedi. The general consensus was George got closer to the bullseye with III, whereas in II and I he totally missed the target by a mile.

I wouldn't say Prisoner of Azkaban saved anything. Out of all the Harry Potter films, it received the most criticism. The filmmaker took way too many liberties with it, in my opinion.

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by Darkhawk9587

And Star Wars Episode II saved the franchise!? Really? IMO, all of the newer Star Wars were terrible.

This movie is so much better on home video, because you can skip all the scenes between Annakin and Padma

The rest of the movie is fine once those scenes are cut.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

Definitely Casino Royale.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, while still being very annoying thanks to Darth Angst, it was the best one since Return of the Jedi. The general consensus was George got closer to the bullseye with III, whereas in II and I he totally missed the target by a mile.

Lucas himself stated that he had a back story and 10% went into Phantom Menace and 10% went into Clones, when he got to Sith, he realized he could only fit in 60% of his intended 80%. Sadly, much of this 20% was kick-ass, including the revalation Anakin was created by the Sith. That twins beautifully with Luke learning Darth Vader is his father. But it didn't make the cut. Of course, the mundane scene of the formation of the rebellion didn't make the cut either, nor the scene between Yoda and Qui-Gon. And the film still doesn't answer the "Sifo-Diyas" mystery from Episode II, a Jedi who has been dead and yet his name sounds like Sidious, so Palpatine was a triple threat deceiver? It's a mess. Unresolved.

The problem with the Star Wars prequels, then, really isn't one of creativity. It's a problem with story editing. And it proves that the myth of Lucas planning the whole damn thing out in 1976 is just that -- a myth. The SW saga was broad strokes, few details, and the details shifted over decades.

Sure, they are serious fun. But a strong hand at the typewriter would have made this a saga for the ages. Instead, you have a six film story arc with enough plot holes and goofs and repetitious nonsense to fill a Pinewood soundstage 10 times over. I used to think SW was going to last for a millenia. Now I don't know if its going to last the next decade.