Happy 4th of July: 4th Franchise Movies Ranked From Worst to Best, From ‘Jaws IV’ to ‘Fury Road’ (Photos)
Happy 4th of July holiday! There are few things more patriotic than pairing grilled food and movie franchises, but given the nature of the holiday, we found it prudent to look strictly at the fourth installment of various franchises and rank them from worst to best. While age may be just a number, and plenty of franchises get tired by their fourth go-around (as evidenced by the list below), there are quite a few “fourth” movies that are pretty good, and a handful that are even terrific. Take a trip down memory lane with us as we celebrate Independence Day by counting down the worst and best “fourth” franchise films from a variety of film series, from “Mad Max” to “Toy Story” to “Jaws” to “Star Wars.”
“Jaws IV: The Revenge”
“I have never seen it (Jaws 4) but by all accounts it is terrible,” star Michael Caine said about the movie. “However, I have seen the house that it built and it is terrific.”
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
Thank the heavens that “Logan” and “Deadpool” happened.
“Batman & Robin” (1997)
Isn’t this an ice list?
“Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” (1972)
Fans of the “Planet of the Apes” prequels might be interested to see Caesar’s original origins, although the new films do the character more justice.
“Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol” (1987)
Did you know the Razzies had a “Worst Original Song” category? The one from this film was called “Let’s Go to Heaven in My Car.”
“A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master” (1988)
Easily confused with the far superior “Dream Warriors.”
“Superman IV: The Quest For Peace” (1987)
Folks, just because there’s a fire hydrant doesn’t mean it’s New York.
“Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” (1984)
“The Final Chapter.” That’s hilarious.
“Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” (1988)
After “Season of the Witch,” we’ll take anything.
“Sudden Impact” (1983)
“Go ahead,” Dirty Harry would say. “Make our day… no please, make our day. This movie is not great.”
“Lethal Weapon IV” (1998)
Should’ve just left it at three.
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
It’s a shame when the highlight of your movie is when Harrison Ford crawls out of a refrigerator.
“Transformers: Age of Extinction” (2014)
This is the movie with dinosaurs/dinofours.
“Alien Resurrection” (1997)
It’s probably aged better than a lot of other fourth films, but “Resurrection” suffers from a thin plot and an obvious attempt to keep a franchise alive.
“Terminator Salvation” (2009)
The only good thing that came out of “Salvation” was Christian Bale’s telephone freakout.
“Vegas Vacation” (1997)
Why would we watch “Vegas Vacation” when “Christmas” and the original exist?
“Saw IV” (2007)
Might as well has been “Saw IV: The Final Chapter.”
“Shrek Forever After” (2010)
Get it? GET IT?
“Bourne Legacy” (2012)
Remember when Jeremy Renner starred in a Bourne film? No? Just us then?
“Thunderball” (1965)
But what if James Bond but underwater?
“Bride of Chucky” (1998)
One of Jennifer Tilly’s best roles, without a doubt.
“Scream 4” (2011)
It’s easily a cash grab, but it’s one of the most fun horror movies to come out in recent years and is way better than it has any right to be.
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (2011)
We thought we’d get bored of watching Tom Cruise jump out of things. We were wrong.
“Live Free or Die Hard” (2007)
We didn’t need another “Die Hard” movie but considering the break between the third and fourth ones, this isn’t half bad.
“Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986)
They made us really care about those whales in this fish out of water comedy.
“Fast & Furious” (2009)
You have this film to thank for your favorite, average drag racing action flicks getting turned into what is ostensibly a superhero film with cars. We’re not complaining.
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
The third and last films in the franchise are probably the best in terms of quality and how successfully it adapted the source material, but “Goblet of Fire” killed off Robert Pattinson and broke our hearts.
“Rocky IV”
Yes the “Rocky” movies became incredibly corny after the first two installments, but Rocky versus the Russians might be the most quintessentially 80s concept every put to film and it hasn’t been topped since.
“Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”
Technically this is the first “Star Wars” movie made, so it can’t possibly be number one on our “fourth movies” list, but because George Lucas gave us a sequential order that we have to stick by, we’ll give it the distinction.
“Mad Max Fury Road”
I fought tooth and nail to get this in the number one spot. It managed to reboot a dead franchise, making it modern, fresh, and one of the best action movies of the 21 century.
