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Six franchises that ask nothing of you up front. Short, self-contained, and none of them require a chart.
6 picks
The hardest part of a franchise is not the length. It is the sense that you are already behind: that there is a chart somewhere and everyone else has read it.
These six do not have that problem. Each is short, each opens with a film that stands entirely on its own, and none of them punishes you for stopping after one.
- 01
Back to the Future
3 titles · Sci-Fi & FantasyThree films, under six hours, and the first is one of the tightest screenplays ever shot. Nothing on this site asks less of you.
Open - 02
Knives Out
3 titles · Action & ThrillerThree separate mysteries with no continuing story at all. Watch them in any order, stop whenever, lose nothing.
Open - 03
Mad Max
5 titles · Action & ThrillerFury Road requires none of the three films before it. Start at the fourth one and nobody will ever know.
Open - 04
Indiana Jones
6 titles · Action & ThrillerRaiders is self-contained and forty-five years old and still moves faster than most things released this year.
Open - 05
The Matrix
5 titles · Sci-Fi & FantasyOne film that resolves completely, and three sequels you are free to ignore forever.
Open - 06
Toy Story
6 titles · Sci-Fi & FantasyMade for children and built so the adults are the ones who cry. Six films, none of them hard work.
Open