Making a truly great film trilogy is a difficult task because of how hard it is to acquire consistency. Most films are lucky to only have one great sequel, and making two is increasingly difficult given how long they must be in development and how hard it is to provide a satisfying continuation; there’s also situations in which trilogies are expanded and thus no longer can be considered as such. Both the original Indiana Jones trilogy and the Captain America trilogy would’ve been ranked among the best ever had they not been expanded with fourth films that served as massive disappointments.
There are occasionally trilogies with two installments that are so great that it’s possible to somewhat forgive one installment that doesn’t live up to the same expectations of quality. Here are ten movie trilogies where two out of the three films are masterpieces.
10
The Godfather Trilogy
The Godfather is the ultimate example of a perfect franchise that was derailed by one installment. Both the original The Godfather and its sequel The Godfather: Part II are considered to be among the best films ever made, and both ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Godfather: Part III took a massive step down in quality because it was not part of Mario Puzo’s original vision and featured a terrible performance by Sofia Coppola, who Francis Ford Coppola cast after Winona Ryder dropped out of playing the onscreen daughter of Al Pacino. It’s not necessarily a terrible film, as the director’s cut from Coppola is actually a massive improvement, but The Godfather: Part III is certainly not going to be remembered as an all-time classic in the same way that the first two installments in the trilogy have been.
9
The Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy
Spider-Man was the first superhero film that announced the genre as being a dominant force in Hollywood, and confirmed that Sam Raimi was just as capable of making great blockbusters as he was with doing low-budget horror films like The Evil Dead. The original Spider-Man is still one of the best origin superhero films ever made, but Spider-Man 2 surpassed it on all levels by getting more emotional, exciting, and ambitious.
Spider-Man 3 was tarnished by studio meddling that forced Raimi to sacrifice his original vision by needlessly incorporating Venom (Topher Grace) into the story, which created a situation with far too many villains. It was a disappointing ending to a trilogy that Raimi clearly was passionate about, even if there are aspects of Spider-Man 3 (such as Thomas Hayden Church’s role as the Sandman) that are better than they have been given credit for.
8
The Original X-Men Trilogy
X-Men is a fascinating franchise within superhero history because it has so many offshoots, prequels, and spinoffs, but the first three films in the series do tell a complete and focused story. The original X-Men and its sequel X2 showed that comic book films could be somewhat serious and focus on real world issues like oppression and bigotry, and assembled amazing casts that reflected the essence of the original source material.
X-Men: The Last Stand was thrown into chaos when Bryan Singer declined the option to return as director so that he could make Superman Returns, leaving 20th Century Fox to instead hire Brett Ratner to helm the final installments. Ratner is one of the worst directors within the history of Hollywood, and fundamentally misunderstood the material with a disastrous sequel so bad that the X-Men series has been trying to retcon it ever since.
7
The Original Mad Max Trilogy
Mad Max is an interesting franchise because of its continuity, as the most recent films Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga essentially don’t have any connections with the first three installments that George Miller made starting in 1979. It’s easy to differentiate the two eras of the franchise because the original Mad Max trilogy stars Mel Gibson in the titular role.
The original Mad Max is a brilliant revenge thriller made on a small scale, and Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is a masterful action classic that showed just how inventive Miller could be with his post-apocalyptic setpieces. While the third film, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, is still pretty entertaining and has a truly memorable performance by Tina Turner, it doesn’t feel quite as gritty and focused as the two masterpieces that had preceded it.
6
The Iron Man Trilogy
Iron Man is a fascinating example of a franchise that was completed within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if the story of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) would eventually be completed within The Avengers films and Captain America: Civil War. It’s hard to overstate how surprising the first film was; Downey took everyone by surprise by giving a critically acclaimed performance and turning a B-list hero into the face of the MCU.
Iron Man 2 isn’t necessarily the worst film in the MCU, especially when The Marvels and Thor: Love and Thunder are out there, but it was pretty messy and unfocused. However, Iron Man 3 proved to be a subversive and cheeky third installment in which Shane Black examined Tony’s trauma and made thoughtful observations about the way in which American media has been galvanized in its responses to terrorism.
5
The Naked Gun Trilogy
The Naked Gun may have recently rebooted with a great new film starring Liam Neeson, but the franchise originated with Leslie Nielsen, who reprised his role from the Police Squad! television series.
The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squad remains one of the sharpest and funniest spoof films ever made, and has so many jokes that have become even better with age. The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear might be one of the most underrated sequels ever made because of how hilariously it satirizes Washington politics and adds new dimensions to Neilsen’s dynamic with Priscilla Presley. While there are funny moments in The Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult, it didn’t have quite the same longevity and timing as the films that were directed by David Zucker because many of the popular culture references have become dated.
4
The Paddington Trilogy
Paddington was a genuinely shocking hit because Tom King’s adaptation of the beloved children’s book series captured everything that was heartwarming and delightful about the character, and managed to incorporate CGI into live-action in a way that did not feel creepy. Paddington 2 became one of the most acclaimed films of the decade and got even deeper on an emotional level, even if Hugh Grant’s hilarious villain provided some great comic relief. There was a great craftsmanship and open-hearted sincerity that became very heartwarming during a rather dark period in world news.
King did not return to direct the third film, Paddington in Peru, and it’s evident that the same magic was not there. While there’s a funny performance by Antonio Banderas and the film definitely works for kids, it’s not necessarily a masterpiece on the same level that its two predecessors were.
3
The Unbreakable Trilogy
Unbreakable is one of the most unconventional movie trilogies because M. Night Shyamalan took almost two decades to complete his original superhero story. The original Unbreakable was a clever interrogation of archetypes in comic books that boasted an incredible twist regarding the superhero David Dunn (Bruce Willis) and his archnemesis, Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson).
Shyamalan shocked the world with his greatest twist ever when it was revealed that his new psychological thriller Split was in the same universe, and that James McAvoy’s character “The Hoard” would be appearing in a threequel. Split was a great film in its own right, even before the Unbreakable connection was revealed, because it was a tight, unpredictable thriller with an Oscar-worthy performance by McAvoy. Unfortunately, Shyamalan has never quite known how to pull off his endings, and the third film Glass failed to live up to expectations.
2
The Ocean’s Trilogy
Ocean’s Eleven is another strange franchise where there are technically five installments because of the original film from 1960 and the spinoff Ocean’s Eight, even if the three entries directed by Steven Soderbergh are what constitute the perceived trilogy. 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven is the rare remake that is better than its predecessor in every way, as Soderbergh made a sharp, sexy heist thriller that benefitted from the amazing chemistry by its cast.
Ocean’s Twelve was an interesting experiment in meta filmmaking that does have its cult defenders, but ultimately feels like an inside joke that got a little too high on its own supply. Ocean’s Thirteen was a return to form that got the gang back together for a fun new adventure in which they were forced to work with their old nemesis, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), in an amusing twist.
1
The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Star Wars has the most passionate fanbase of any franchise, and expectations for what the sequel trilogy would look like were set from the moment that the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The Force Awakens utilized a structure similar to A New Hope and The Phantom Menace to successfully introduce a new generation of characters that would become beloved among viewers experiencing the franchise for the first time, including Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).
The Last Jedi was a masterpiece that explored the cyclical nature of conflict and provided a powerful way for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to truly honor the teachings of Yoda (Frank Oz) by passing on his knowledge to a new generation of Jedi. However, The Rise of Skywalker was such a disaster on every level that it essentially took the Star Wars series away from the big screen for almost a decade.
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