Franchises




We live in a world over-populated by franchises. If you look at the big blockbusters that come out each year, how many of them are often sequels? Franchises are big business at the box office... some are good, some are bad and others make you ask "Why did they do that...?" Either way, there are enough franchises that they deserve their own page on this blog. Depending on how many films are in the franchise, the reviews will be either short or long. For example, you'll see I've reviewed the "A Nightame on Elm Street" franchise and since there are about ten films in that series, I will keep the reviews short and snappy. But when it comes to trilogies, I will try to write detailed reviews as they warrant a longer review. 


In this section...

Star Wars..in 10 minutes. 
Mission: Impossible Saga
The Terminator Saga
The Fast & The Furious Saga




Star Wars...in 10 minutes



In the order they were released...

 Episode IV: A New Hope

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away lived two factioning sides of people. The good side and the dark side. The dark side was led by a bad dude dressed in black, with a helmet on his face and a big red sword. His name was Darth Vader. He lived in a giant ball that floated through space and spent his time blowing up planets. His army was large and powerful, but with one problem – his inept Stormtroopers. Hundreds of... Continue Reading

Mission: Impossible Saga




The Story: Tom Cruise was already a big star in the early 90’s, and was only set to become bigger. In a clever move, he decided to headline a film adaptation of a popular TV show from the 60’s. Playing secret agent Ethan Hunt from the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), our hero is charged with missions of the most difficult and challenging sort, and has to do so without being noticed, caught or killed. Using deception, gadgets or just old fashioned shoot outs and car chases, the Mission Impossible franchise came from humble beginnings as a classy espionage film to the highly successful action series it is today. Not only did it ascend Cruises career to all new heights in the 90’s, it also became the franchise that would save his career, after his strange, public behaviours and rantings in the early 2000’s. Despite that, each film has creatively and cleverly reinvented itself with its own unique visual style, entertaining stories, spectacular stunts and action scenes and effective use of exotic and grand world locations. With five films over two decades (and a 6th already in the works), the Mission Impossible franchise is still doing well and showing no signs of slowing down. With Tom Cruises commitment to his craft and willingness to put himself in immense danger for the sake of entertaining stunt work, the series has kept its original fan base since 1996 and picked up new fans along the way. And so, a franchise was born. 




The Terminator Saga



The Story – The Terminator series is definitely the most inventive and iconic  science-fiction / action film series ever made. From it’s humble beginnings in 1984 with a little known Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the unstoppable killing machine from the future, to its latest instalment 31 years later, the series continues to galvanise and entertain. Following the life journeys of Sarah and John Connor, Sarah’s fate will be to mother the future leader of the human resistance, her son John. As  Skynet, a powerful technological system becomes self-aware, it fights back against it’s creators – us – and launches a nuclear war against the world. In the ruins of the fallout, the last band of survivors battle the machines, but timelines will be changed once Skynet sends back it’s secret weapon to eliminate Sarah Connor and stop her son John from ever leading the war against the machines. Relentless in their pursuit they will try to kill his mother, but fail. Then they go after John twice, and fail yet again. Over  five separate films we witness Sarah and John Connor do battle against the machines, but not without a special ally on their side – the T800. And so, a franchise was born. 





The Fast & The Furious Saga

The Story: Hitting the streets all the way back in 2001, this enduring and entertaining franchise is all about fast cars, big action and family. Our story begins when undercover police officer Brian O’Conner infiltrates the illegal street racing scene of Los Angeles. Setting his sights on Prince of the Road Dom Torreto and his loyal crew, Brian crosses the line between the law and loyalty. Instead of taking down the criminals, he becomes one, finding friendship and love in his new companions. Over a series of seven films that jump from LA to Miami, Tokyo to Mexico, and almost every continent in between, Dom, Brain, Letty, Mia and an assortment of other supporting characters take part in one street race and heist after another, until they live a life on the run that sends them so far past the point of no return, they can’t possible go back... so they keep on driving. Getting bigger, bolder and braver with each passing film (at 8 and counting) The Fast and the Furious series firmly established itself as one of the most profitable franchises of all time, with the seventh instalment raking in well over 1 Billion Dollars and becoming the 3rd highest grossing film of time. And to think, it all started fourteen years ago with just a few flashy cars and a cast of young newcomers. And so, a franchise was born. 

The Fast & The Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Fast & Furious
Fast Five
Furious 6
Furious 7
The Fate of the Furious






 







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