THE LAND OF EIGHTS — This weekend “The Fate of the Furious” will roll into theaters and will mark the release of the eighth "The Fast and the Furious" movie. Yes, eight. That seems insane and let’s be honest, it kind of is. Not many franchises have made it to eight films, but for those rare few, we say, “job well done.” That’s quite an accomplishment.

Granted, many eighth installments in a movie series aren’t exactly fantastic movies, but some aren’t half bad and others are actually fantastic. Here is a list of great number eights in movie franchises:

“Diamonds are Forever”

Preproduction on the 25th James Bond film is now underway, but back when the franchise was just a little guy, the eighth movie in the franchise was released: “Diamonds are Forever.”

George Lazenby took over as Bond in 1969 for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" but he was out after one movie. For the next film, the producers decided to go with a sure thing and brought Sean Connery back for "Diamonds are Forever."

“Diamonds are Forever” isn’t the best film in the series, but it’s still a fun Bond flick and a solid eighth installment.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”

There were seven Harry Potter books which clearly means there has to be eight Harry Potter movies. That’s how things work. Who cares how bad the seventh movie was — come on people, it wasn’t good — but the last movie was fantastic. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” finally gave us the epic conclusion to the Harry Potter franchise, and this may be the best No. 8 of any franchise.

“Muppets Most Wanted”

The Muppets have made about 13,000 movies, but “Muppets Most Wanted” was their eighth trip to the theater. The movie was packed with movie star cameos, but still wasn’t as good as its predecessor “The Muppets.”

“Muppets Most Wanted” isn’t the best Muppet movie by a long shot, but one of the other best options for this list was “Space Buddies,” so cut me some slack.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

Out of all the numbers eights out there, this one is my favorite— and it’s kind of cheating. There have been seven Star Wars “episodes” with the eighth coming out this Christmas. If we counted all the Star Wars movies, there are quite a few because you have to count the animated movies and the Christmas special (which is horrendous by the way.) But I’m just counting theatrical releases which makes “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” the eighth Star Wars movie to hit theaters.

I loved this movie and I think it could be argued it’s one of the best Star Wars movies ever made. Yes, I know people are about to threaten my life with violence for that comment, but it’s true.

Honorable mention

“Ernest Goes to Africa”

I couldn’t in good conscience do this list and not give a shoutout to the eighth Ernest P. Worrell movie, “Ernest Goes to Africa.”

Ernest doesn’t get enough credit. I mean, without this cinematic icon, we wouldn’t have “Ernest Goes to Camp,” “Ernest Saves Christmas” and one of the best movies of all time, “Ernest Scared Stupid.”

Unfortunately, the eighth movie “Ernest Goes to Africa” isn’t Mr. Worrell’s “Citizen Kane,” but it’s still an Ernest movie, which means the world is better for it.

Conclusion

Part eights are rare these days and good part eights are like a needle in a haystack.

What are your favorite part eights? Should I have added “Space Buddies"? Let us know on the comment boards.

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