The Dark Knight trilogy

Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight might be the crowning jewel of superhero media. Not only is it beautifully shot, it also brings a hitherto unseen level of realism to Gotham, expertly balancing its philosophical musings with high-stakes action. It also contains one of the best villain performances ever in Heath Ledger’s Joker. The Dark Knight Rises has… Anne Hathaway. In fairness, both Hathaway and Tom Hardy give fun, skilled performances, but the unfocused plot, muddled ethics, Tale of Two Cities obsession and non-committal Robin reveal all make it clear that the series should have been put to bed in 2012.

Kung-Fu Panda

In fairness, CG-animated sequel Kung Fu Panda 3 is a pretty good film. It looks stunning, the jokes are sharp, and no one can deny that Bryan Cranston makes an excellent dad panda. With that said, this third instalment is just unnecessary; not only is the villain miles weaker than Gary Oldman’s scathing aristocratic peacock from Kung Fu Panda 2, but reintroducing Po’s birth family and community weakens his journey of self-discovery. Plus, given that many of the battles come down to energy attacks, the fight choreography just doesn’t compare to the two films that came before it.

Spider-Man

2002’s Spider-Man basically created the blueprint that all superhero movies have followed since. If not for Tobey Maguire goofily catching food on a lunch tray, the MCU probably wouldn’t exist as it does today. While the first instalment of this series successfully captured the minds and hearts of fans, the sequel upped the ante, with a heartfelt and committed Alfred Molina performance, an excellent Subway train-themed action setpiece and good Peter and Mary Jane chemistry. Unfortunately, this trilogy fell at the third hurdle: Spider-Man 3 features too many villains, too much bad dancing and a criminally extraneous Gwen Stacy.

Pitch Perfect

The original Pitch Perfect is close to a faultless film, managing to be a convincing love story, a brilliant satirical send-up of messy teen comedies, and an earnest underdog sports movie all rolled up into one. It even manages to utilise Rebel Wilson to perfection. Even better, the sequel ups the stakes and drama while taking the musical numbers to new heights. In contrast, what does Pitch Perfect 3 have to offer? DJ Khaled getting attacked by bees? Rebel Wilson’s nefarious mob boss dad kidnapping numerous young women? The worst original music since High School Musical: The Musical: The Series?

Jurassic Park

Is any film more timeless, awe-inspiring and brilliantly executed than Jurassic Park? From the spirit-soaring theme to the lifelike dinos, it’s hard to watch without becoming overwhelmed by both the power of film and the singular genius of Steven Spielberg. 1997’s The Lost World might have received more middling reviews, but it still delivers on both fright and heart – something that cannot be said of 2001’s Jurassic Park III. Without Spielberg in the director’s chair, the movie becomes nothing more than an endless succession of chase scenes and dino devourings, made all the more generic by the unlikeable characters and paper-thin plot.

The Lion King

While The Lion King is universally considered to be one of the greatest animated films of all time, there’s no denying that the sequel has its detractors. However, Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride at least tells a new, albeit well-worn story of star-crossed lovers, realistically paints the relationship between Simba and his daughter, and contains a villain song almost as good as Be Prepared. Absolutely none of that can be said for The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata (aka The Lion King 1½), which is full of awful meta jokes, self-congratulatory references and fart humour.

The Matrix

1999’s The Matrix has a lot to be proud of. Not only did it cement black sunglasses and a black leather duster as timeless fashion pieces, but it also proved that films drawing inspiration from advanced concepts like nihilism, Plato’s Allegory of the cave and the brain in a vat hypothesis could also be smash hit blockbusters. Though less thematically dense, The Matrix Reloaded delivered on thrills, romance and action, but by The Matrix Revolutions, the franchise had started to fizzle. Maybe cyberpunk just wasn’t as cool in 2003?

The Chronicles of Narnia

There are, in total, seven books in CS Lewis’ book series The Chronicles of Narnia, but only a small portion of them have been adapted to the silver screen. It looks likely to stay that way, in part because of the lukewarm reception of the 2010 movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This third film instalment features a cluttered, ultimately meaningless plot, only two of the four Pevensie children that made the original film such a hit, and a sombre, deeply unsubtle Christian ending. Maybe they should have stopped with Prince Caspian?

Shrek

Over time, what begins as subversive and clever becomes passé and safe, and that’s a fate not even Shrek can escape. The first movie in the franchise was boundary-pushing and edgy, satirising fairytale tropes years before Frozen ever came around and even taking some genuinely brave shots at Disney. Over time, though, the series reduced itself to juvenile jokes, tired parody and more memes than you could shake a talking donkey’s tail at. The whole thing should have ended on the glorious mic drop that was the Fairy Godmother’s I Need a Hero cover at the climax of Shrek 2.

The Star Wars sequel trilogy

Despite fans spending decades clamouring for more Star Wars, actually making more was always a difficult prospect. When Episode VII – The Force Awakens was released to mostly positive reviews from both critics and fans, it seemed like J. J. Abrams had threaded film’s most finicky needle. Then came The Last Jedi, maybe the most audacious and controversial entry into a major movie franchise ever, which ripped a hole through Star Wars fandom, spawning countless enraged video essays. Even so, The Last Jedi would have been a more fitting conclusion to Rey’s story than the mean-spirited, backwards-looking, utterly baffling The Rise of Skywalker.