Avengers: Endgame, and the first time for an individual MCU character's series to have a fourth entry.
While Taika Waititi's reinvention of Thor in Ragnarok made a fourth Thor movie inevitable, getting to four entries for a film series is an impressive and far-from-guaranteed feat. For the franchises who did achieve that milestone, these films are Ranker fans' favorite fourths in those series.
The Hobbit
A prequel to the Oscar-winning The Hobbit is the fourth film for the franchise in of its release, but when it comes to the in-universe timeline (and the publication order of J.R.R. Tolkien's original works), Bilbo Baggins' story comes first.
While reception toward the Hobbit film series declined over the course of the three movies, this first entry seemed to escape the prequel curse and was actually a fairly welcome return to Middle-earth, grossing over $1 billion and garnering an 83% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Martin Freeman's central performance anchors the film's enjoyability and is believable as Frodo's cousin.
Live Free or Die Hard
While saying it's the best unpopular Reddit opinion, Live Free or Die Hard was upvoted by 138 Ranker s compared to 119 down-voters, indicating that while fan opinion on the movie is mixed, it still has plenty of ers.
Although it's the only PG-13 Die Hard film released, its critical success over its 2013 follow-up shows that an R rating does not guarantee that a film will be better than if it were for PG-13 audiences. After 13 years, John McClane's return appeals because of the performances and story, even if its swear-word and violence quota is lower than its predecessors.
Rambo (2008)
With his return to the Rambo, released 20 years after its predecessor.
Although it would have always been hard for the Rambo sequels to top Stallone's First Blood debut, 2008 Rambo had the benefit of being able to transport the classic character to the current day, allowing for more contemporary political commentary that the two sequels had drained. The character's long absence also helped fan anticipation, because seeing the character return was a treat in and of itself to many viewers.
Lethal Weapon 4
The Lethal Weapon 5 in the works.
Although it didn't return the franchise to the heights of the first movie, Lethal Weapon 4 did give international audiences the first big look at action star Jet Li, and it reunited Riggs, Murtaugh, and audiences once again for a light-hearted action movie that was a massive improvement on the third installment. Here's hoping Lethal Weapon 5 continues to do the series justice.
Thunderball
One of Sean Connery's better Bond movies, Thunderball released in 1965 one year after Goldfinger, and made the evil organization SPECTRE the main antagonist of a Bond film for the first time, where it threatens to destroy a major city if it is not paid £100 million in the form of diamonds.
By this point in the series, the James Bond formula had been pretty well established, so in some sense, the series was coasting on its massive appeal. Still, as part of the classic era of Bond, with its exotic locations and groundbreaking underwater filming, it's hard to imagine it being beaten as the best fourth Bond movie from any iteration of the character.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
What started as an impressive cinematic revival of the Star Trek TV show with 1978's The Motion Picture had turned into a series of strange adventures thanks to Star Trek III focusing on a quest to resurrect Spock, who was killed at the end of Wrath of Khan. Voyage Home finishes that story.
As a time-travel story, The Voyage Home provides a unique perspective into how the original Enterprise crew would fit with then-modern life. It also features a commendable environmental message and focuses more on the characters' journey than on conflict, both of which were also relatively new for the franchise.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The last film before David Yates became the in-house Wizarding World director, Mike Newell's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire continued the maturation of the franchise that began when Alfonso Cuarón took over the helm from Chris Columbus in Prisoner of Azkaban, featuring significant character deaths, the introduction of Death Eaters, and the true return of Voldemort.
Yet it's not all doom and gloom, as Goblet of Fire has plenty of funny quotes and moments that balance out the darkness that also pervades the film. Harry Potter films are at their best when they balance the two for a dramatic but still believable story of a boy's long journey to adulthood and being a wizarding hero. Just as the books grew with the readers, so too did the films, with this middle entry really elevating the stakes.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Like Goblet of Fire, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol also shifted the franchise's direction, but in a way that not only saved it from obscurity but put it on the path to becoming Paramount's premier action franchise.
As in nearly every M:I movie, the stakes are nothing less than the fate of the world, necessitating dangerous activities to save it. But from escaping a high-security prison to climbing the Burj Khalifa, all with some pretty cool gadgets, the film delivers on the thrills and keeps viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end. No surprise that Incredibles director Brad Bird made a brilliant live-action movie, too.
Rocky IV
1978's Oscar-winning Rocky doesn't seem like it would have created a franchise that, through a spinoff, is still going strong in 2022, considering it debuted alongside films like Rocky IV is the second-best fourth film ever, for Ranker.
What could've simply been a cash-grab movie turned into a film willing to kill off a main character as well as make a political statement. Apollo's death at Ivan Drago's hands is genuinely shocking, and makes Drago an antagonist easy to root against, making Rocky's battle more personal and more thrilling. On top of that, its late Cold War setting gives the Rocky-Drago fight a new, but smart and then-topical, political dimension.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Few, if any, fourth installments have taken longer to get made than Mad Max: Fury Road, and none of the other contenders have been anywhere near as worth the wait as this one was. Released in 2015, the film was one of the most acclaimed of the year by audiences, critics, and awards ceremonies.
With a simple journey to find a safe haven as its backdrop, the film smartly focuses on Furiosa and Max, and how their dynamic changes throughout the film; well before the end, it feels like it's really Furiosa's story. Pitch-perfect cinematography and action-choreography that doesn't rely on quick-cutting make it a gorgeous, entertaining action drama that not once loses the audience's attention, even in quiet moments.
