The best movies to watch that were the 4th entry in their franchises

It’s arduous for any long-running franchises to remain constant. Good sequels? Uncommon, however potential. Threequels? Even rarer, however nonetheless potential. However the fourth film in a franchise? Most don’t make it that far, and many who do are by that time unrecognizable from the unique.

With the fourth Thor (Thourth?) film now out in theaters (learn our evaluation), what higher time to go over a few of the uncommon cases of profitable fourth entries in a franchise? From late reboots to early franchises to long-running style sequence, listed below are our picks for the very best ones you possibly can watch at residence.

Mad Max: Fury Street

Picture: Warner Bros. Photos

It’s unbelievable that Mad Max: Fury Street exists in any respect, interval. The third sequel to a franchise that had all however evaporated from public consciousness, filmed throughout 138 days beneath the grueling warmth of the Namibian desert and premiering in theaters almost three many years after the final installment, Mad Max: Fury Street defied the chances in each approach, securing its place as not solely among the best movies in George Miller’s oeuvre, however as one of the crucial celebrated motion films of the 2010s. Tom Hardy does a exceptional service assuming the function of the laconic highway warrior Max Rockatansky, however the actual star of the movie is the brutally succesful Imperator Furiosa performed by Charlize Theron. The sheer spectacle of the movie alone, even aside from the huge vehicular chase scenes and explosive set-pieces, is completely mind-boggling. Steven Soderbergh put it finest: “I don’t perceive how they’re not nonetheless capturing that movie and I don’t perceive how a whole lot of individuals aren’t useless.” —Toussaint Egan

Mad Max: Fury Street is accessible to stream on HBO Max.

Land of the Lifeless

Picture: Common Photos

George A. Romero’s earlier zombie films like Evening of the Dwelling Lifeless and Daybreak of the Lifeless are what the horror grasp is thought finest for, however 2005’s Land of the Lifeless is an underrated entry to the franchise. Set in a post-zombie apocalypse feudal Pittsburgh (dominated by a deliciously cold-blooded Dennis Hopper), the zombies are actually organizing and establishing for an assault on the town. The rich residents of Pittsburgh stay in a luxurious house constructing, with everybody else fortunate sufficient to be throughout the metropolis partitions relegated to a lifetime of poverty on the streets. Like many different Romero movies, Land of the Lifeless successfully wrestles with difficult themes, reflecting the issues of our present world by way of the space of a fictional one. —Pete Volk

Land of the Lifeless is accessible to observe without spending a dime with advertisements on Tubi.

Mothra vs. Godzilla

Picture: The Criterion Assortment

The fourth film within the Godzilla franchise (and the second of the Mothra franchise), this is among the better of the unique Showa-era films, and the final of that period to have Godzilla within the function of the villain. Directed by Godzilla and Mothra director Ishiro Honda, it is a standout entry from a terrific run of kaiju films, with a terrific rating, sturdy thematic parts that play on company greed and nuclear testing, and naturally iconic battles between two of the best film monsters to ever do it. The 88-minute run time is properly well worth the funding for anybody even barely kaiju-curious. —PV

Mothra vs. Godzilla is accessible to observe on HBO Max, The Criterion Channel, and FuboTV, or without spending a dime with advertisements on Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, Crackle, and The Roku Channel.

Scream 4

Picture: Dimension Movies

The Scream sequence has a ridiculously excessive batting common, so it’s no shock that its fourth entry is nice. It brings the meta-slash sequence into the trendy period, with a plot centered on social media and the rise of on-line video as a way for younger folks gaining fame, which makes it one of the crucial prescient films of 2011. After all, together with its surprisingly correct predictions about what rising up on-line can do to an individual, it’s additionally a humorous homicide thriller and slasher, full with a solid that features Scream regulars like Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox, alongside newcomers like Emma Roberts, Alison Brie, and Hayden Panettiere. —Austen Goslin

Scream 4 is accessible to observe on Paramount Plus or on Starz by way of Prime Video.

Bride of Chucky

Picture: Common Photos

Two dolls go on a murderous highway journey with two unwitting youngsters, who blame one another when the our bodies begin dropping.

The primary three films of the Little one’s Play sequence observe a younger boy named Andy. Irrespective of the place he goes — be it to a foster residence, a army faculty, no matter — he’s adopted by the murderous Chucky doll, which is possessed by the soul of the useless serial killer Charles Lee Ray.

The primary film, Little one’s Play, is a terrific black comedy, and the fourth, Bride of Chucky, takes the sequence in a totally completely different path. Andy is totally gone — he doesn’t make an look and isn’t talked about as soon as. As a substitute, the main target is on the dolls: Chucky and Tiffany. Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, in a scene-stealing efficiency) has revived Chucky from the useless, and after a lethal argument, Chucky turns her right into a doll as properly.

The 2 dolls go on a sadistic highway journey with two clueless youngsters (together with a younger Katherine Heigl) in a hilarious, murderous romp. Tilly and Brad Dourif (returning because the voice of Chucky, after all) are a delightfully twisted duo and make this a joyously enjoyable time. —PV

Bride of Chucky is accessible to observe with advertisements on Tubi.

The Bourne Legacy

Picture: Common Photos

Jeremy Renner’s Bourne film at all times will get unfairly missed in discussions of the sequence, however it’s truly a worthy follow-up to the preliminary trilogy. Renner performs a person named Aaron Cross, a U.S. authorities agent who watches from inside as Jason Bourne’s amnesiac rampage brings to gentle a whole authorities conspiracy. The primary three Bourne films are motion films with a shady authorities conspiracy on the aspect, however Bourne Legacy places that latter aspect entrance and middle and seems to be among the best spy thrillers launched within the final decade. —AG

The Bourne Legacy is accessible to observe on Peacock.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Picture: Walt Disney Dwelling Leisure

The fourth of the Muppet films, Christmas Carol excels as a result of it’s as shut as we get to the “change all actors however one with Muppets” Twitter immediate that goes round annually. That actor, after all, is Michael Caine, enjoying Ebenezer Scrooge with sincerity and depth befitting a Shakespearean manufacturing. It’s the deft stability of his heartfelt, critical efficiency with the standard raucous Muppet shenanigans that makes this among the best Muppet films (or Christmas Carol films) ever made. —PV

The Muppet Christmas Carol is accessible to observe on Disney Plus.

Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace

Picture: twentieth Century Fox

The Phantom Menace will get higher day-after-day. Star Wars’ fourth film is singularly formidable and a landmark of film world-building. After Return of the Jedi, it might have been simple to return to that film’s sickly candy sentimentality, protected motion, tiny, insular world, and bland characters time and time once more, identical to Disney has for nearly a decade now. As a substitute, Lucas constructed the area opera of his goals, blew out Star Wars to a very galactic scale, and created the blueprint for contemporary blockbuster motion and pleasure, all with out the flexibility to jot down a single good line of dialogue. Empire Strikes Again is the very best Star Wars film, however all of the issues that Star Wars followers in 2022 wish to love most in regards to the sequence was achieved finest and largest in The Phantom Menace. —AG

Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace is accessible to observe on Disney Plus.

Boyka: Undisputed

Picture: Common Photos Dwelling Leisure

The Undisputed sequence is among the most constant motion film franchises of all time, however will get largely ignored due to how most of the films went direct to video. The franchise began with Walter Hill’s 2002 jail boxing drama Undisputed, starring Ving Rhames and Wesley Snipes. In 2006, direct-to-video grasp Isaac Florentine took over the franchise and moved the main target to the burgeoning world of blended martial arts. Michael Jai White was tapped because the protagonist, to sq. off towards antagonist Yuri Boyka (performed by Scott Adkins), however one thing humorous occurred: Boyka took over the franchise.

Undisputed II: Final Man Standing and Undisputed III: Redemption are each legitimately nice motion films, however we’re right here to speak about Boyka: Undisputed. Launched in 2017 and directed by Florentine, the film offers with the fallout of an underground combat the place Boyka unintentionally kills his opponent. After discovering the opponent’s spouse owes cash to a criminal offense lord, Boyka decides to combat for the gangster’s membership with a view to repay her debt. With terrific combat sequences choreographed by the wonderful Tim Man and one other wonderful efficiency by Adkins, Boyka is 86 minutes of nice motion cinema. —PV

Boyka: Undisputed is accessible to observe on Netflix.

Picture: Sony Photos Dwelling Leisure

I’ve talked about this film so much on this web site — it’s on our checklist of the very best thrillers to observe at residence, and extra lately the very best films added to streaming this July — so I’ll cease wanting repeating myself and merely say Day of Reckoning is a hypnotic, bloody style mashup that takes the long-running sci-fi sequence into stunning new instructions, with a robust action-horror bend. —PV

Common Soldier: Day of Reckoning is accessible to observe on HBO Max, or without spending a dime with advertisements on Crackle.

Grasp Z: Ip Man Legacy

Picture: Nicely Go USA Leisure

I spent fairly a little bit of time deciding whether or not the fourth film within the wonderful Ip Man sequence is 2019’s Ip Man 4: The Finale (self-explanatory) or 2018’s Grasp Z: Ip Man Legacy (a by-product from Ip Man 3). I’ve determined to go along with Grasp Z for 2 causes: It’s actually the fourth film within the franchise, and as a lot as I like Scott Adkins (and I actually do), I didn’t wish to finish this checklist with three consecutive films of his.

This film follows Max Zhang’s character from Ip Man 3, a father making an attempt to boost his younger son and get well from his defeat by the hands of Ip Man within the earlier film. Directed by legendary martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and co-starring Dave Bautista, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Jaa, Grasp Z is a worthy addition to the Ip Man canon and a star-studded martial arts crime thriller. —PV

Grasp Z: Ip Man Legacy is accessible to observe on Peacock, FuboTV, and Hello-Yah, or without spending a dime with a library card on Kanopy or Hoopla, or without spending a dime with advertisements on Tubi, Crackle, Pluto TV, or Plex.