The average movie is somewhere between 90 minutes and 120 minutes long, with rare outliers. It is because of this that many films suffer from either not having enough time to flesh out their narratives or audiences love them so much that they crave more.
The average television show today is around ten hour-long episodes, with multiple seasons to explore character backgrounds, villain arcs, and tumultuous stories. While movies can be masterpieces, there is a reason why many prefer watching television. The depth in which these shows take you is unmatched in cinema. And while there is a place and a time for movies, occasionally, you just want more.
'Interstellar' (2014)
Christopher Nolan is notorious for making complex films with complicated narratives on a grand scale. While his movies are some of the most critically acclaimed and highest-grossing in modern times, many of them could have easily made incredible television shows. Especially Interstellar, with its larger-than-life time-travel scheme and a heartbreaking plot that will leave you in tears.
The characters' motives in Interstellar are the most fascinating part of the movie. In the film, former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is asked to visit potential new home planets for humans by traveling through wormholes. The narrative becomes complex through looping time, characters' lies, and huge mistakes in space. The movie could have excelled as a television show to better explore Dr. Brand's (Anne Hathaway) motives for lying, the loss Cooper goes through, and Murph's (Jessica Chastain) discoveries, all of which seemed a little rushed in the last act.
'Fight Club' (1999)
Fight Club is a masterpiece of cinema. It is forthright with patriarchal anger, little tolerance for capitalistic society, and an insomniac with no more morals. It follows the Narrator (Edward Norton), whose life turns upside down when he meets Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) during a bout of intense insomnia. They start Fight Club together, which weaves its way through the testosterone-hungry underbelly of different cities throughout America.
While the movie has one of the most memorable endings of all time, it could have been better utilized in a television show. Many people dislike the rushed feel of the ending. While it encapsulates the chaos of the Narrator realizing what he has done and caused, stretching the film out into different episodes could have been an even more satisfying ride.
'The Book of Eli' (2010)
Denzel Washington's turn as Eli had him playing a lone, blind warrior who marches across the wasteland that is now America. Thirty years after an apocalyptic event, he holds the only hope for humanity's redemption. Despite the perils, he must carry out his duty of taking the book west.
The movie is one of the best dystopian sci-fi Westerns ever made. It has a little bit of everything: a highly intriguing story, well-rounded and mysterious characters, and Gary Oldman as yet another power-hungry madman. The mystery surrounding Eli and his book would have made for an excellent television show to leave you on the edge of your seat each week.
'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015)
In one of this century's most adrenaline-filled and violent action movies, Max (Tom Hardy) lands himself tied to the front of a War Boy's rig, sending him on the ride of his life. His entire existence depends on Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a vicious and spiteful warrior, as they try to outrun the ruthless warlord, Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), in a deadly chase across the desert.
There is nothing quite like watching Mad Max: Fury Road for the first time. The adrenaline lingers long afterward, and just thinking about what the War Boys would get up to in each episode is pure bliss.
'Ex Machina' (2014)
Ex Machina is a fascinating look into the future of cyborgs and artificial intelligence. Not only does it bring up the long-held belief that robots will end up outsmarting humans, but it tackles the complexities of human-A.I. relationships.
In the movie, a programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) visits his reclusive CEO's (Oscar Isaac) private mountain estate to soon find out that his boss will be using him as a human component in a Turing test. The man finds himself intrigued by the beautiful and emotionally intelligent cyborg, Ava (Alicia Vikander), who later turns on her masters. Ava's wicked fierceness and the depth behind the artificial intelligence in this film are what makes so many people yearn for more.
'The Fifth Element' (1997)
The Fifth Element remains one of the most imaginative and bold feats in '90s sci-fi to this day. Luc Besson created a movie with vivid characters, a bright world, fascinating creatures, and technology. It's hard to finish the movie and not want to see more of what the year 2300 has in store for humanity and alien life.
The most memorable part of the movie is Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) and the people she meets along the way, like Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker), and Diva Plavalaguna (Maïwenn Le Besco). Every character in the movie has a distinct look and personality, which would make a television series based on them all the more fun. After they save Earth in the movie, what other galactic adventures could Leeloo and Korben Dallas get up to?
'World War Z' (2013)
World War Z follows Gerry Lane (Pitt) and his family as they get stuck in traffic on the day a zombie outbreak happens. A lethal virus turns people into monsters, and one bite can end their lives forever. As a former U.N. Investigator, Gerry leads a worldwide search for a way to halt the spread.
Many fans of Max Brooks' dystopian World War Z novel had bad things to say about the movie adaptation. Despite the film being based on the incredibly popular zombie book, it had less than favorable reviews when it was released. This is partially because of the plot changes but also because there was not enough space in the movie's runtime to thoroughly explore the brilliance of the book.
'Blade Runner 2049' (2017)
In one of the best modern sequels in cinematic history, Blade Runner 2049 captured and exceeded everything Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner movie accomplished. With Denis Villeneuve as director, the movie had haunting atmospheres and settings that made the entire film feel like something from a different planet.
Because of this other-worldliness, the movie could have been so much more satisfying as a long-running television series. In the film, you follow Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a blade runner with a mysterious past who yearns for something more. There is so much more potential in this universe for brilliant characters and strange plotlines, though.
'Wanted' (2008)
Wanted is home to some of the coolest-looking action scenes, fight scenes, and weapon scenes. It is infamous for its curved bullet scene, in which Fox (Angelina Jolie) tempts Wesley (James McAvoy) to curve the bullet that he is about to shoot at her so that it doesn't hit her. He can slow down time due to his adrenaline and his father's assassin blood.
This film would be a perfect fit for television because of the high-octane action, the deranged abilities of its assassins, and the dubious past of the Fraternity. The movie is based on a comic book of the same name, but it barely touches on Wesley's past or the Fraternity, who starts to use their power for evil instead of good.
'Inception' (2010)
Inception has one of the most confusing endings of all time. Whether you understand the movie or not, it is still frustrating to see the screen cut to black before you find out whether Cobb's (Leonardo DiCaprio top stops spinning. Nolan's sci-fi thriller goes all out in a dream heist, with a plot that goes down so many rabbit holes that you'll probably have to watch it multiple times.
But this is precisely why Inception would be so phenomenal as a television series. There are layers upon layers to the dream heists that have yet to be explored. There is also room for more plots, discoveries, and characters to abuse this power.