Aegean2007

With Indiana Jones IV just out and The Dark Knight on the way, I figure that I'd ask this question: where do movie series have their high points?

#1:
28 Days Later
Back to the Future
Die Hard
The Exorcist
Halloween
Jaws
Jurassic Park
The Matrix
Ocean's 11
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pitch Black
Poltergeist
Predator
Raiders of the Lost Ark
RoboCop
Rocky
Saw
Scream
Shrek
Superman

#2:
Aliens
Before Sunrise
Blade II
Dawn of the Dead
Evil Dead II
Oldboy
Spider-Man 2
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (OT)
Terminator 2
X2

#3:
The Bourne Ultimatum
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Mission: Impossible III
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (PT)

I'll probably add more once I see others posted.

tanman

I agree with most of it but would put Indy in #3 and totally don't agree with Harry Potter, azkaban was easily the weakest in the series so far and I hope that it hasn't peaked yet.

I actually liked the first and second better then the third in the bourne trilogy although I do believe that is the most balanced movie trilogy I have seen.

Add:

#1
Austin Powers
Shrek
Mummy
MiB


And then there are the long running series like Star Trek and Bond that have several peaks and valleys.

Matthew Chmiel

The Last Crusade is the worst Indiana Jones film.

Prisoner of Azkaban was the best Harry Potter film as Cuarón was the only director in the series to give personalities to the characters.

islandclaws

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.

Zen Peckinpah

#1:
48 Hrs.
Airplane!
Back to the Future
Batman (1989) (Original 4 movies)
Beverly Hills Cop
The Blues Brothers
Death Wish
Die Hard
Dirty Harry
Escape from New York
Ghostbusters
The Godfather
Halloween
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Lethal Weapon
The Naked Gun
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Predator
Raiders of the Lost Ark
RoboCop
Rocky
The Silence of the Lambs
Superman

#2:
Aliens
Blade II
Dawn of the Dead
Evil Dead II
The Road Warrior
Spider-Man 2
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Terminator 2
X2

#3:
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

#4:
Rambo

#6:
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (clearly the "ultimate" Jason movie)

wendersfan

No way was Aliens the best movie of that series.

Jray

I disagree about Blade II. While I enjoyed it, and all the movies in the series, I feel that the first movie is still the best. It fleshed out the character and told a good story.

RichC2

But Blade was directed so goddamn poorly, it ruined everything the underlying tale had to offer.

I don't consider Oldboy as a valid "series" member, sure it was part of Park's "Vengeance Trilogy" but they're just too loosely related.

Azkaban was easily the best Potter flick, so I agree there.

Kill Bill Vol 2
The Hills Have Eyes
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Bourne Identity was my fav in that series - most rounded of the 3 as well
Batman Begins though I dunno how that fits in (#5 of #1)
Superman 2 was better than Superman

Rockmjd23

#1 is best for most series except the following, imo:

#2
Bride of Frankenstein
Dawn of the Dead
Evil Dead II
Fantastic Four 2 - slightly better than 1st but both kinda suck.
Friday the 13th: Part 2
Mad Max 2
Oldboy
Spider-Man 2
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Superman II
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
X2

#3
Bourne Ultimatum
Christmas Vacation
Goldfinger
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
LOTR: Return of the King
Mission Impossible III

#4
Rambo

#21
Casino Royale - tied with Goldfinger for me , either way both are better than Dr. No

BlueCC

I disagree with almost everyone.

#1
Star Wars
The Fellowship of the Ring
Mission Impossible
X-Men
Crocodile Dundee
Grumpy Old Men
Jeepers Creepers
Pirates of the Caribbean
Scream
Harry Potter
Aladdin (Disney)
The Mummy

#2
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
Road Warrior
Conan The Destroyer
Puppet Master Toulon's Revenge
Revenge of the Nerds: Nerds in Paradise

#3
The Last Crusade
Back to the Future
Chasing Amy (it's part of a series, kind of, right?)

#4
Vegas Vacation

#5
Ernest Scared Stupid

notkevinbacon

While I think the first 4 are awesome, I can't deny that part 6 is my favorite as well.


Also, Alien over Aliens any day of the week for me.

I tend to agree with a lot of the picks

I think Clerks is far better than the sequel.

Saw 3 I think was the pinnacle of that series (it's not high art, but nice gory fun)

tanman

To each his own. I would not consider it an achievement when crucial plot elements and character development is sacrificed in the name of time for vapid sequences like the knight bus scene and blowing the aunt up in the beginning.

And the personalities coming through have more to do with the actors as well as the characters growing up and facing more challenging adult problems then the director.

islandclaws

So true, so true! And here I thought I was the only one.

Jericho

I kinda agree. I think Cuarón did the most of the filmmakers for the series, but from a story standpoint, I've always liked Goblet of Fire the best.

DeanoBKN

Aside from the obivious...I believe Friday The 13th part VI: Jason Lives to be the best, as well as Beverly Hills Cop 3, and Karate Kid II

devilshalo

#1 The Crow

Then Pressmen decided to milk the franchise.

T-bone22

Funny

Brack

I always thought "Ernest Goes to Jail" was the best.

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DthRdrX

Friday the 13th part 4 is the best in the series.

DRG

Agree with most of these, except:

Indiana Jones - I'm one of the rare few who likes Temple of Doom the best.
Blade II - I hated this one, even more than #3. Thought the original was by far the best.
The Bourne Ultimatum - Didn't quite grab me like the first two did.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Loved the tone but had a few issues with the way Cuaron handled the climax, plus some of the things like the Knight Bus felt like a bad ripoff/cross of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. The 4th film is my favorite.