5 Fantasy Movie Franchises That Peaked With the Very First Film

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Deciding which Star Wars film is better – A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back – often comes down to personal opinion, as both have strong arguments in their favor. The same is true for How to Train Your Dragon, with many fans equally divided between the first and second movies. With the Jumanji films, it’s fair to say either the original with Robin Williams or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle could be considered the best, especially with another sequel on the way. It even raises the question of which Jumanji film truly started the series – the one with Williams, or the first one starring Dwayne Johnson?

When it comes to fantasy film series, the original movie is almost always the strongest. While there might be one exception, generally the first installment is the best, and the series tends to decline after that.

5) The Chronicles of Narnia

I always enjoyed the Narnia movies, though they didn’t quite reach the magic of Harry Potter, I think. What really stood out to me was how much everyone loved the first film – it was a huge success, both with audiences and critics, and the others just didn’t quite capture the same excitement.

It’s no surprise that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is much stronger in terms of story and emotion than the other Narnia movies. Prince Caspian is a fairly standard action film, but even it is better than The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which felt flat and wasn’t worth watching, even with Tilda Swinton returning. The series stalled after that, but a new adaptation is coming – Greta Gerwig will be directing The Magician’s Nephew.

4) Conan the Barbarian

It’s simple: John Milius’s 1982 Conan the Barbarian is the only truly good film in the entire series. The sequels, like Conan the Destroyer and Red Sonja (even though Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t officially Conan in that one, it’s pretty clear who he is), are all pretty bad.

Jason Momoa’s new take on the story is enjoyable, but it’s about as easy to forget as Marcus Nispel’s other adventure film, Pathfinder. And that’s not a good thing.

3) The Lord of the Rings

Okay, let’s just be real – all three of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies are incredible. Seriously, they’re masterpieces. I can’t think of a single boring part in any of them! The acting is fantastic, the scenery is breathtaking, and I love how much they used real effects instead of just relying on computers. For me, it’s the perfect movie trilogy, hands down.

Even though The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won the award for Best Picture, The Fellowship of the Ring remains the strongest film in the series. It’s easily better than all three Hobbit movies, and even surpasses the upcoming animated film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

2) Pirates of the Caribbean

Everyone doubted Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl would succeed, but it proved all the worries wrong and became a beloved film. It revitalized pirate adventures as a profitable genre, and Johnny Depp’s unique performance was exactly what the movie needed. Ultimately, everything just came together perfectly.

The first two sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, still managed to capture some of the original film’s magic. While they weren’t quite as good as the very first Pirates of the Caribbean, they’ve aged better than many people remember from when they were released in 2006 and 2007. They were definitely a step up from the later installments, and by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, it was clear that even Johnny Depp seemed uninterested in the role.

1) Indiana Jones

While it feels like an action-adventure series, the Indiana Jones films are actually fantasy. Think about it – magical artifacts that summon spirits and cause gruesome fates, like melting faces or turning people into skeletons? Despite drawing on religion and history, it’s clearly fantasy at its core.

The Indiana Jones series was strongest in its early installments. Raiders of the Lost Ark is widely considered a perfect film, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is also fantastic. While the series had a low point with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny successfully brought it back to its former glory.

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2026-04-14 19:14