#10 – National Lampoon’s Vacation
The only comedy franchise to break into the top 10. The "Vacation" series started in 1983 with the original and has since spawned off 3 box office sequels. The total gross of all 4 films is over $218 million domestically, which is very good for a comedy series. The weak link in the chain was the second installment,
European Vacation. However the series bounced back in a big way with the third and most successful film of the franchise, 1989’s
Christmas Vacation.
Christmas Vacation grossed over $70 million at the box office and $35 million in video rentals. But even more importantly, the film has become an official holiday classic and is played on network and cable television every Christmas season. It has even been argued as the best Christmas movie of all time.
#9 - Pirates of the Caribbean
Before you scream, “what!” You might want to know that the three
Pirates of the Caribbean films are all in the top 40 worldwide grossing films of all time, with the second and third installments landing at #3 and #6 respectively. The trilogy has brought in a total of over $2.6 billion worldwide, second only to the
Lord of the Rings saga. Now of course money does not equal great filmmaking. You only have to look as far as the
Transformers movies to see that. But when a series brings in over $2 billion in revenue at the box office alone, it can not be easily ignored either. The “Pirates” films are not just inflated summer blockbusters with big special effects. They are very well written with an amazing cast of actors portraying equally amazing characters. Johnny Depp, easily one of the greatest actors to ever live, was never really a mainstream type of guy before his creation of Captain Jack Sparrow. Fortunately or unfortunately for Depp, there’s no going back now. Jack Sparrow has become one of the most popular characters in Disney history. So much so that the ride at Walt Disney World has been updated to include his character. No doubt many future generations of visitors to the theme park will make the grievous mistake that the films premiered before the ride.
#8 - The Matrix
No one in their right mind would ever argue that 1999’s
The Matrix is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made. It is sometimes referred to as “the new Star Wars,” due to the fact that after
Star Wars came out in 1977, it forever changed how special effects were created in films.
The Matrix redrew that line as it was the first film to use the now often mimicked “bullet time” in a live-action movie. The controversy of the trilogy comes with its polarizing sequels. It’s hard to find film buffs that thought “Reloaded,” and “Revolutions,” were just mediocre. Usually the reaction is, “I f##g hated those pieces of s##t,” or simply, “they were genius.” It happens that the latter reaction is the more appropriate. The sequels baffled many people, so of course the quick reaction is to pan something you don’t understand. The pendulum also swung the other way as well, with muddy over-intelectualized explanations involving the Architect scene in “Reloaded,” and religious overtures when describing what happened to the character of Neo in “Revolutions.” The films are actually quite simplistic, but they use symbolism in an ingenious way. Every single character in the matrix itself is simply a symbol for a piece of software or hardware that is inside every common household computer. Now if you’re not computer literate, it is easy to see how some of the characters or parts of the story might cause a lot of confusion, especially since some of the main focal points in the story revolve around some not-so-common computer knowledge. That being said,
The Matrix Trilogy will forever be one of the most imaginative and groundbreaking sci-fi sagas in history.
#7 - Star Trek
What can you say about the
Star Trek franchise? 12 films, over $1 Billion just in domestic gross, and a new found beginning for the series with the latest reboot installment. Which by the way took in more money than any of the previous 11 chapters. The
Star Trek franchise
also has the incredible distinction of its first film,
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, almost unanimously being panned as the worst film in the series.
Star Trek is an American institution and the patriarch of science fiction. It has even inspired many everyday gadgets that we take for granted, not to mention the influence it’s had on the space program. Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future back in 1966 remains as the utopian society which human kind hopes to one day turn into a reality.
#6 - The Godfather
Parts I and II are complete masterpieces. Some of the greatest American cinema ever made. Francis Ford Coppala’s genius translation of Mario Puzo’s novels is considered by some to be the greatest movies ever made. Both parts I and II took home the Oscars for “Best Picture.” Part II is also the first sequel to ever be nominated and win the award. If not for the horrific tragedy that is
The Godfather Part III, this franchise would be impenetrable to criticism. But I guess Coppala got an offer he couldn’t refuse.
#5 – The Lord of the Rings
The highest worldwide grossing trilogy of all time. Millions love it. I don’t. But it still has to be given the respect it deserves. The LOTR fans are as passionate as Trekkers and Star Wars fanatics. All 3 films were nominated for “Best Picture” at the Academy Awards with part 3 taking home the Oscar. It became only the second film sequel to ever win the award (Godfather II) and the first ever third installment to be nominated as well as win. The trilogy was also showered with special effects, sound, and editing awards which were very deserved. To each his own, I guess people love the combination of hobbits, battles, and a “Ten Commandments” amount of walking.
#4 – Indiana Jones
It’s probably a hands down, no brainer to be #1 on this list if George Lucas doesn’t pull a Washington Wizards and ruin the entire legacy. "Raiders," "Doom," and "Crusade" are as near perfection as a trilogy can get. The characters develop seamlessly, the stakes increase just the right amount and the writing keeps the tone like Beethoven’s’ piano. It’s like the greatest 3-course meal prepared by a master chef has just been served, but then out of nowhere the chef leaps from the kitchen with a blowtorch and burns down the damn restaurant before you can get to the desert.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls is by no exaggeration one of the worst movies ever made. Some, including myself, regard it as the absolute worst film in history due to the height from which it fell. Maybe we can all take a quote from the #3 franchise and refer to it only as “Thou film whose title we dare not speak.”
#3 – Harry Potter
It’s still 2 films short of completion but the "Harry Potter" series is already the most successful movie franchise of all time where dollars are concerned. Converting such widely known material into 8 feature films is no small feat. Since the source material is so popular, the films are under immense scrutiny to stay true to the novels. Of course there’s no way to shove everything from the 7 books into the films, even with each being over 2 hours and the last book split into 2 films. It’s inevitable that some hard core fans are going to complain about this scene or that scene being left out, but over the long haul the "Potter" films have appeased the large percentage of its fans and recruited brand new ones that have never even cracked open one of the books. Some of the films are more exciting than others, but none are even close to disappointing. The characters are literally growing up before audiences’ eyes as the production company has done an amazing job of keeping the cast together. The writing, acting and special effects are all top notch and even with four different directors, the story telling has remained seamless throughout the saga. The only story left to tell in the franchise is the last book “Deathly Hallows,” which will be split into parts I and II. The ending to a franchise can make or break its legacy, but there’s no reason to think the writers, directors and producers will deviate from the formula that has already brought the franchise worldwide success.
#2 – Star Wars
From the instance you hear or read the title, John Williams’ composition starts to play in your head. Star Wars is easily the most well-known movie franchise of all time. Redefining special effects in Hollywood, the original Star Wars Trilogy was the template from which all other sci-fi movies would be made for 20 years. Considering inflation, 1977’s Star Wars is second only to Gone with the Wind in terms of ticket sales. Episodes IV, V, and VI have been dissected, re-released, discussed and quoted more than any other films in the history of cinema. The three films defined a generation and kept its extremely loyal fans on the edge of their seats for 16 years until Episode I: The Phantom Menace would be released in 1999. Ironically the same year the The Matrix redefined special effects just as Episode IV did 22 years earlier. Although heavily criticized as sub par films, Episodes I, II, and III never really had a fair chance. There was no way to ever top the first three films as they were so groundbreaking, anything Lucas released would be immediately compared to as inferior. Episodes I and II definitely had writing and character development problems, but lost in the all the tomato throwing was the achievement of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Episode III was a very good "Star Wars" film, and in a moment of truth some hardcore fans will even admit they liked it more than Return of the Jedi. Perhaps the most successful element the new trilogy was able to clarify was the chilling and calculated way the character of The Emperor was able to take control of a free and democratic republic and tear it apart from the inside. The material was very timely with real-world situations that concerned people all over the world and showed how fear can be a greater weapon than any gun, bomb, or lightsaber. The least of all things George Lucas is known for is an ability to write great dialogue, however it’s a line spoken by Natalie Portman’s character of Senator Amidala in Episode III that I personally believe is one of the most chilling, poignant, and important lines in any film ever produced . . .
“So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause.”
#1 – Rocky
It hasn’t made the most money, it wasn’t the most critically acclaimed, it’s not even the most well known. And that’s exactly how Rocky Balboa would have liked it. Rocky is timeless. The quintessential underdog story to end, or begin, all underdog stories. Although not known to be a masterpiece, many people forget it was the script written by Sylvester Stallone himself that brought Rocky to life and won the Academy Award for “Best Picture” in 1976. Rocky Balboa is perhaps the most likeable and cared-about character in movie history. The story of an over-the-hill, past-his-prime boxer who gets a million-to-one shot at the greatest title in the world, captivated people from all walks of life. The six sequels, with the exception of part 5, are all solid films. But even with the misstep of
Rocky V, the franchise has the highest replay value of any that came before or after. It’s not even a contest, when a Rocky movie is on television you’re watching at least 10 minutes of it, no matter how many times you’ve seen it before. No movie can match the raw inspirational power the Rocky series possess. Those famous steps in Philadelphia have been run on more times than an Olympic track. Everyone starts to think one-handed pushups are easy. And in the most extreme case of over confidence in the history of the world, Caucasians actually believed they could box. Now that’s inspiration. How fitting for Rocky that on this list he would be pitted against legions of pirates, mafia hitmen, bebe guns, magical rings, wizards, bullwhip toting anthropologists, Jedi mind tricks and lightsabers. However, none of those can seem to contend with “the eye of the tiger.”
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
