Latest / Def Rec / What Is the Best Part 4 Ever Made?
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_00: Movie trilogies are beloved by fans across the world for their time-honored traditional form of storytelling.
- 0:07SPEAKER_00: Sagas with a beginning, middle, and end are the truest, most basic style of entertainment utilized by countless scribes, performers, orators, and just about anyone who has ever spun a yarn.
- 0:22SPEAKER_00: From the Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, most cinematic three-part tales all have one major thing in common.
- 0:33SPEAKER_00: They made a lot of money.
- 0:34SPEAKER_00: So much box office revenue is made that studios do the only thing they can do in a situation where a finished-off franchise still has earning potential.
- 0:44SPEAKER_00: Make yet another sequel that essentially says, so we're really still doing this, aren't we?
- 0:50SPEAKER_00: For the super serious scientific criteria of this top three fourth franchise film's ranking, I had to filter through a flurry of extra additions to movie favorites.
- 1:00SPEAKER_00: In this list, a solid post-trilogy entry shouldn't end the series.
- 1:04SPEAKER_00: In fact, a qualifying part four should come after a well-established tent pole trio.
- 1:10SPEAKER_00: So a prerequisite for this highly sophisticated rating system is that the fourth offering not be what ended the series, whether or not it was intentional.
- 1:19SPEAKER_00: This means even some classics and all-time faves didn't make the cut, such as 1998's Lethal Weapon 4 and 2024's Beverly Hills Cop Axel F, though the belated Eddie Murphy Netflix flick did shatter a long-standing trilogy, which in itself is what I deem worthy of this list.
- 1:40SPEAKER_00: Some franchise chapters are included in an anticipated planned line of films, as is the case with Harry Potter, Twilight, and the James Bond series, so to me, they don't count.
- 1:53SPEAKER_00: Some motion picture placements get a little confusing.
- 1:57SPEAKER_00: The inaugural of Star Wars is famously known as Episode 4, but the fourth theatrically released epic sci-fi film was episode 1 in 1999.
- 2:06SPEAKER_00: But where does that 1985 Ewoks movie fit in?
- 2:10SPEAKER_00: Alien is easy enough, but the Predator movies got crazy with the cheese whiz when they did those versus crossovers, so I'll exclude them for now.
- 2:18SPEAKER_00: A fourth movie, technically the third sequel, can oddly feel like the middle child of a film series.
- 2:24SPEAKER_00: That isn't to say there haven't been some fantastic fourths.
- 2:28SPEAKER_00: 1986's Star Trek IV The Voyage Home is widely regarded by Trekys as one of, if not the best of the Enterprises crews, silver screen adventure.
- 2:38SPEAKER_00: The time-traveling Trek tale is, however, very much a part of a trilogy of stories that started in 1982 Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan.
- 2:48SPEAKER_00: Like I said, it's a very complex and like totally smart ranking system.
- 2:52SPEAKER_00: Alternatively, there have been fourth movies that simply weren't the strongest in their series.
- 2:57SPEAKER_00: As much as it pains me to say 2011's Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol and the 2009 The Final Destination movie simply aren't up to snuff compared to their franchise family.
- 3:09SPEAKER_00: I love, love, love 2000's Highlander Endgame, but I won't pretend it's the best of the Immortal Epics, but far from the worst.
- 3:18SPEAKER_00: Then there's 2009's Fast and Furious, which is the fourth one, but also a prequel, I think.
- 3:23SPEAKER_00: It gets confusing.
- 3:25SPEAKER_00: Honorable mention.
- 3:26SPEAKER_00: John Wick, Chapter 4, The Matrix Resurrections, Alien Resurrection, Batman and Robin, Halloween 4, The Return of Michael Myers, Psycho 4, The Beginning, Leprechaun 4 in Space, Hellraiser, Bloodline, Friday the 13th, the final chapter, Jurassic World, Live Free or Die Hard, The Born Legacy, Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides, Terminator Salvation, Resident Evil Afterlife, Mad Max Fury Road, Transformers Age of Extinction, and The Next Karate Kid.
- 3:56SPEAKER_00: Here are the top three part fours.
- 3:59SPEAKER_00: 1996 introduced moviegoers to Wes Craven's Scream, a scarily satirical stab at the slasher genre.
- 4:06SPEAKER_00: Writer Kevin Williamson scripted a terrifying story depicting the killer entity known as Ghostface on a vengeful hunt that challenged the notion of scary movies themselves.
- 4:17SPEAKER_00: Naturally, the following year debuted a sequel, Scream 2, and the saga was rounded out by 2000 Scream 3.
- 4:25SPEAKER_00: The first batch of what are essentially Who-Done It horror stories closed the casket after the seemingly final flicks release.
- 4:32SPEAKER_00: Like any masked mutilator worth their salt, Evil never truly dies, so of course, another Scream was eventually produced.
- 4:40SPEAKER_00: A little over a decade passed until the fourth movie resurrected Ghostface, and it fit right in with a slew of revived franchises coming out around this era.
- 4:51SPEAKER_00: Revisiting famed movie series hasn't really stopped being a thing.
- 4:55SPEAKER_00: Despite how expected another scream may have been, 11 years is still a wide gap between entries.
- 5:02SPEAKER_00: One would think that after the series had been resuscitated, the studio would be off to the races and churning out even more chapters.
- 5:10SPEAKER_00: A television show was made in 2015, but the filmic resurfacing of the franchise wouldn't appear until 2022's Scream.
- 5:20SPEAKER_00: This leaves Scream 4 as an island of terror alone in an abyss of lengthy waiting periods between theatrical releases.
- 5:28SPEAKER_00: Nev Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, and Ghostface voice actor Roger L.
- 5:32SPEAKER_00: Jackson were all back in Woodsboro.
- 5:35SPEAKER_00: But the tone had changed by 2011.
- 5:37SPEAKER_00: The original three features were a throwback to a mid to late 90s and the dawn of a new millennium, but after 10 years, cinematic styles had shifted.
- 5:47SPEAKER_00: This film wouldn't make it to any best of list if it wasn't any good, and again, horror sequels are poor for the course, but to me, the initial screams were meant to be a singular set.
- 5:59SPEAKER_00: Scream 4 broke a trilogy that was never going to survive on its own, but the memory is unkillable.
- 6:05SPEAKER_00: Oh 2008, what a year of film you were.
- 6:09SPEAKER_00: Perhaps the most notable sequel to come out that year was The Dark Knight, but another more belated franchise offering exploded onto the scene like a fridge blasting off from a nuclear detonation.
- 6:22SPEAKER_00: Years after 1989's Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Harrison Ford whipped out his trusty whip to go on yet another big-screen adventure.
- 6:30SPEAKER_00: Much has been discussed and debated about this bizarre showcase of interdimensional beings and CGI monkeys, so I'll spare you any further redundant reflections about this particular indie outing.
- 6:44SPEAKER_00: What I will say is that a few years ago I re-watched this movie for the first time since enduring it in the theater, and it wasn't as bad as I recalled.
- 6:54SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's littered with oddball creative choices, but compared to 2023's Dial of Destiny, it is immensely more enjoyable.
- 7:03SPEAKER_00: Kingdom presented Dr.
- 7:04SPEAKER_00: Jones as a still believable adventurer and not quite as enfeebled, and Ford perfectly maintained his signature, perpetually kind of annoyed face.
- 7:14SPEAKER_00: Contributing to the grumbling was the addition of Shia LaBeouf's mutt character, and thankfully didn't take over the main hero role.
- 7:23SPEAKER_00: Indiana's son wasn't entirely a waste of an idea.
- 7:26SPEAKER_00: It was simply executed extremely poorly.
- 7:29SPEAKER_00: So much so that he was, spoiler, given a proper off-screen death in dial.
- 7:35SPEAKER_00: Was Kingdom's mere existence worth destroying the trilogy's status that was first kicked off way back when, with 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark?
- 7:45SPEAKER_00: Well, the Fourth Indies' only real crime was being a product of its time.
- 7:50SPEAKER_00: There was simply no realistic way to recapture the moment in history, the cultural landscape, the state of the art, and the world itself.
- 7:58SPEAKER_00: The cosmic ingredients that led to the creation of the first three blockbusters had come and gone.
- 8:04SPEAKER_00: The previous movie had last right there in the title, so it isn't a stretch as to why many fans assumed that there would be no more escapades for the aging archaeologist.
- 8:15SPEAKER_00: Heck, a lot of folks might have thought Indy himself belongs in a museum.
- 8:19SPEAKER_00: People, though, especially actors and other famous filmmakers for the most part, have this tendency to stick around long after the ending.
- 8:29SPEAKER_00: After so many decades, perhaps the fact that these icons are still above ground is enough of a reason to dust off the trademark fedora.
- 8:38SPEAKER_00: Toy Story 4 might be the most prolific part 4 in cinema history because 2010's Toy Story 3 seemed crazy enough.
- 8:47SPEAKER_00: Nine years after the film that cemented this series as an official trilogy, the fourth animated movie came out to play, making it feel like an even bigger risk.
- 8:57SPEAKER_00: With the fifth one having premiered this year, it makes it seem as if the Disney Pixar Tandem is run by thrill seekers who live to push a franchise to its limits.
- 9:07SPEAKER_00: Why do I associate these tales of sentient toys with white-knuckling rides on the edge of a knife?
- 9:12SPEAKER_00: This is due to the fact that not only do these cartoon flicks take a significant amount of time to produce, but each new venture in Toy Land appears as if there couldn't possibly be any more to do.
- 9:24SPEAKER_00: But these are theoretically immortal beings, so maybe Woody and Buzz et al.
- 9:30SPEAKER_00: can indeed outlive all of their human counterparts and owners.
- 9:34SPEAKER_00: I guess I'm shocked by each new story because each movie feels like such a fitting send-off.
- 9:41SPEAKER_00: The third film shows the main toys nearly escaping what could have actually been an end to their plastic lives, only to exist another day.
- 9:51SPEAKER_00: After escaping a harrowing death trap, as well as coming to terms with the humans that they're tethered to are growing up, well, it really did seem like the toys would be placed on the shelf.
- 10:02SPEAKER_00: New owners, characters have since entered the fray, and a new generation of fans has joined in on the everlasting fun.
- 10:12SPEAKER_00: The way the newcomer of Forky's life was created introduced deeper question about the toy's existentialism.
- 10:19SPEAKER_00: Basically, magic andor the power of love can animate an otherwise ordinary object.
- 10:25SPEAKER_00: Since these concepts are getting brought up throughout the franchise at some point, I think even in a fun family movie, some of these puzzling issues ought to be further explored.
- 10:38SPEAKER_00: Heck, Woody straight up talked to the sadistic toy torturer Sid in the first one in 1995.
- 10:44SPEAKER_00: So maybe we see more of that?
- 10:46SPEAKER_00: A toy takeover could ensue where the sometimes inanimate life forms demand to take over the world they feel is rightfully theirs.
- 10:55SPEAKER_00: They aren't playing around anymore.
- 10:58SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm overthinking things, but I don't assume I'm alone in considering the original three Toy Story films as a solid trilogy.
- 11:08SPEAKER_00: Any new sequel is a gamble, but I'm willing to give the creators their due in agreeing that they somehow pull it off each time.
- 11:15SPEAKER_00: That being said, with this newest movie expressing how aged Woody is, just how much longer can the articulation hold up?
- 11:25SPEAKER_00: That paint is going to completely chip away and be rubbed off eventually.
- 11:30SPEAKER_00: Maybe they'll make it to a sixth toy story, and there will technically be a second trilogy, bringing balance to the forest.
- 11:40SPEAKER_00: Follow for more entertainment videos about movies, TV, books, pretty much the main three things.
- 11:47SPEAKER_00: And I write about superheroes and robots and I post about pop culture.
- 11:52SPEAKER_00: Be sure to like and subscribe.
- 11:54SPEAKER_00: Out of the films I've listed, I definitely recommend Toy Story 4.
- 11:59SPEAKER_00: Why place this animated motion picture above the others?
- 12:02SPEAKER_00: If for no other reason, after seeing Toy Story 5, I have a renewed appreciation for the fourth Toy Tale.
- 12:09SPEAKER_00: The fifth film, centering on Calgirl Jesse, ranks fifth out of five features.
- 12:15SPEAKER_00: The Bo Peep focused fourth has been dethroned as the worst Toy Story.