We all have movies that will forever be our favorite. No matter what, they will forever withstand the test of time. On the other hand, some of us, myself included, can’t make a choice about what our favorite singular movie is. In place of singular favorites we instead have favorite movie franchises.
For years we have seen the births and deaths of these franchises. What we have also done over the years is accept the movies as they come. It is because we are so excited that we pay hardly any attention to what we are watching. Just the idea that we get to see a new addition or continuation of our favorite franchise satisfies us.
What many people fail to notice until they are in deep into the story is that it’s out of order. Many of the best movie franchises tend to produce movies that don’t line up with the overall story line. Does this deter us? Not one little bit. Instead of going to sit and wait for the end of the story line and then watching in a logical order, we feel compelled to continue returning to see these movies over and over. We remain confused until we reach the fifth or sixth movie and realize that the releasing of the movies is all on a non-sequential basis.
Star Wars:
The infamous movie trilogy that has withstood the test of time. This franchise moves through not just our older siblings' and cousins' generation, but way into our parents' generation. Many people consider these to be some of the greatest movies of all time; and many may also tell you that in order to watch this series, there must be two first-time watch sessions. What I mean by this is that you must first watch these movies in their release order, and then during the second session, watch in the actual story line order. For some reason, the writers and creators of this great franchise thought it would be ingenious to release movies four through six first and then return generations later and release movies one through three.
By watching the set order and then the story line order fans say you can truly appreciate the art of the story itself. Why? Who knows why this was the order. I would suggest that the next time you’re scrolling through the TV guide and see "Star Wars," see which movie or 'episode' is playing before you commit to hours of confusion.
Avengers' Cinema Universe:
Many of us, no matter how much we deny it have seen a Marvel movie a time or two or more. No matter how many times we have seen these movies, we just can’t stop watching them. Marvel, for the most part, has done a pretty good job of remaining consistent with its order. However, as we continue to watch Marvel movies, bits of backstory is included in with the present story lines. Throughout the continuation of "The Avengers" franchise, we continue to be witness to of The Incredible Hulk’s story line. Why they couldn’t have put in all of his information when they first did his movie years ago? I think only those with a good eye and understanding of the Hulk’s story can say why. It is only in specific moments in "The Avengers" that we see actual footage from the Hulk. Didn’t notice that the first time, did you?
It would seem that Marvel is doing what they can to make sure that they get every expense out of all the films and footage they’ve shot.One other important Marvel movie that really didn’t play much importance to the background to "The Avengers" was "Captain America." For some odd reason, we don’t see the dear Captain’s movie until after Avengers had already been milked for all its worth in promotions. It seemed that Captain America was the last thought that needed an explanation before the big kahuna came to the forefront. It would seem that if you’re going to do the background of the Avengers wouldn’t you start with the first avenger? As we have seen, I guess that is not so.
For Marvel, it seems that they are set on getting the background stories across in any way. There isn’t much science to this. As long as "The Avengers" itself is good, then I think they’re satisfied.
The Fast and Furious Series:
The "Fast and Furious" series has made a huge impact on the 21st century cinema box office. With its numerous sequels, it continues to be a success. But by the time that we reach the fourth film, we begin to see that the order that the films have been released in is not what it appears to be. For years we all assumed that the third film in the series, but eighth in the story line, "Tokyo Drift" was out of order. We all assumed that it was to be the end of the series, or that the series was going to continue where "Tokyo Drift" left off. The producers and creators, however, had another idea. Instead of continuing where "Tokyo Drift" left off, they thought it would be the best to go back a few movies to cover much needed background and facts. This is why the story line backtracked some in order for us to understand how and why Dom ends up in Tokyo. By the creators and writers doing this, we must do the same as in the "Star Wars" franchise, and watch in the release order. Then we must restart by watching the movies in its true chronological order of the story line. Although this may be frustrating, we see people continue to the theaters to see what adventure Dom and his family are going to face.
Why do movie creators make their movies out of sequential and logical order? Only they know why. Although they may continue to throw these movies and their story lines out of order, we will remain committed to these films. This is because they have become favorites to many, and we’re addicted to the confusion we experience watching the films and their sequels.
