Ah, film franchises. Banking on the reliability of audience loyalty to a tried-and-true product, these multi-film series sometimes manage to tell a compelling and entertaining story while reuniting us again and again with characters and settings we love. More often than not, though, while audiences keep showing up, critical viewers can’t help but note a steady decline in quality and integrity to the elements that made the original work in the first place. Nevertheless, franchise films remain a popular and beloved feature of the film industry. Here, I will discuss some of my favorites (and not-so favorites) as the occasion warrants, and meditate on the ups and downs that so often transpire across the years, or even decades-long life of a series.

Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes (1968)
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)