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 âfourthâ 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 âfourthâ franchise films from a variety of film series, from âMad Maxâ to âToy Storyâ to âJawsâ to âStar Wars.â
34. âJaws IV: The Revengeâ (1987)
âI have never seen it (âJaws 4â) but by all accounts it is terrible,â star Michael Caine said about the movie. âHowever, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.â
33. âX-Men Origins: Wolverineâ (2009)
Thank the heavens that âLoganâ and âDeadpoolâ happened.
32. âPolice Academy 4: Citizens on Patrolâ (1987)
Did you know the Razzies had a âWorst Original Songâ category? The one from this film was Brian Wilsonâs âLetâs Go to Heaven in My Car.â
31. âA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Masterâ (1988)
This sequel is easily confused with the third, far superior film, âDream Warriors.â
29. âBatman & Robinâ (1997)
Not to sound cold, but between bat nipples, that whole Poison Ivy-Bane thing, and Mr. Freezeâs puns, they shouldâve put this movie⊠on ice.
28. âIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skullâ (2008)
This is the movie that got âJump the Sharkâ replaced with âNuke the Fridge.â
27. âFriday the 13th: The Final Chapterâ (1984)
âThe Final Chapter.â Thatâs hilarious.
26. âHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myersâ (1988)
Skip this and watch the excellent 2018 sequel instead.
25. âSudden Impactâ (1983)
This movie is, uh, not great. No, not even âGo ahead, make my day.â
24. âTransformers: Age of Extinctionâ (2014)
This is the âTransformersâ movie with dinosaurs/dinofours.
23. âAlien Resurrectionâ (1997)
Itâs probably aged better than a lot of the other fourth films, but âResurrectionâ suffers from a thin plot and an obvious attempt to keep a franchise alive.
22. âTerminator Salvationâ (2009)
The only good thing that came out of âSalvationâ was Christian Baleâs freakout.
21. âVegas Vacationâ (1997)
Why would we watch âVegas Vacationâ when âChristmasâ and the original exist?
20. âShrek Forever Afterâ (2010)
Itâs âShrek FORever After.â Like âFOURever.â Get it? GET IT?
19. âSaw IVâ (2007)
Might as well have been âSaw IV: The Final Chapter.â
18. âLive Free or Die Hardâ (2007)
A PG-13 John McClane film with boring, blood-free action was bad, but the real cardinal sin was censoring the f-word out of McClaneâs iconic catch phrase. That really happened! Yippie-ki-boooo.
17. âThe Bourne Legacyâ (2012)
Remember when Jeremy Renner starred in a Bourne film? No? Then I guess you canât tell us where they keep the chems.
16. âLethal Weapon IVâ (1998)
Fun yes, and Jet Li is awesome. But, by this point, the franchise was getting too old for this shâ.
5. âBride of Chuckyâ (1998)
One of Jennifer Tillyâs best roles, without a doubt.
14. Men in Black International (2019)
The soft-reboot starring Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth basically James-Bonds the franchise. The film is actually delightful, if also kinda forgettable. (No, thatâs not a neuralizer joke.)
13. âThunderballâ (1965)
But what if James Bond went underwater?
12. âStar Wars: The Phantom Menaceâ (1999)
Yes, itâs officially âEpisode 1,â but itâs also the fourth theatrically released (in the US) âStar Warsâ movie, so it makes the cut. More interesting than it is good, this filmâs weird mix of parliamentary minutia and convoluted worldbuilding, in service to a story setting in motion the end of a democracy, has aged surprisingly well. Except, of course, for the numerous arguably racist alien accents and âNow thatâs podracing!â
11. âScream 4â (2011)
Itâs easily a cash grab, but itâs one of the most fun horror movies to come out in recent years and is way better than it has any right to be.
10. âMission: Impossible â Ghost Protocolâ (2011)
We thought weâd get bored of watching Tom Cruise jump out of things. We were wrong.
9. âConquest of the Planet of the Apesâ (1972)
The chilling, highly topical final speech by Roddy McDowellâs Caesar alone qualifies this underrated gem for cinematic immortality. Especially the unrated version.
8. âHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fireâ (2005)
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 âGoblet of Fireâ killed off Robert Pattinson and broke our hearts.
7. âRocky IVâ (1985)
Say what you will, but more than 30 years later, Rocky vs. the Russians might be the most quintessentially â80s concept ever put to film, and it hasnât been topped since.
6. âStar Trek IV: The Voyage Homeâ (1986)
They made us really care about those whales in this fish out of water sci-fi.
5. âFast & Furiousâ (2009)
You have this film to thank for turning a disjointed (but still awesome) series of car-based action films into what is arguably a superhero franchise. NOT a complaint. (Also, as always, R.I.P. Paul Walker.)
4. âToy Story 4â (2019)
Weâll let TheWrapâs review speak for itself:
âThereâs adventure and growth and the subtlest brands of messaging and metaphors that current family films can offer⊠âToy Story 4â is, in its way, as much of a game-changer as âAvengers: Endgame.ââ
3. âThe First Purgeâ (2008)
The prequel showing how America turned into the âmurder is legal once a yearâ authoritarian dystopia has only become more relevant and timely in the years since it came out. Especially after 2020.
Come for the extremely unambiguous politics, stay for the franchiseâs hands-down best action scenes.
A nation reborn!
2. âStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hopeâ (1977)
Technically, this is the first âStar Warsâ movie made, and you might have noticed thereâs another âStar Warsâ entry on this list. But because George Lucas gave us a sequential order that we have to stick by, it makes the list. And of all the â4thâ movies in the franchise, itâs definitely the best one.
1. âMad Max Fury Roadâ (2015)
George Millerâs âMad Max: Fury Roadâ managed to reboot a dead franchise, making it explosively modern and fresh, and it stands as one of the best action movies of the 21st Century. It lives. It dies. It lives again. Shiny and chrome.