The Five Best Movie Trilogies
Movies May 14th. 2007, 4:31pm
After seeing Spiderman 3 Friday night (on the five star scale, we give it four), it dawned upon us – this is one of the greatest movie trilogies in cinema history. Yes, that’s a completely subjective comment, and chances are you vehemently disagree. So how about a post regarding the five best trilogies in movie history?
We’re not basing this on any box-office profits, or cultural significance, just movie trilogies we thoroughly enjoyed.
The majority of trilogies had such a horrible second effort (or second trailer), that the series was ruined – case in point American Pie, Bring it On, Species – and we never bothered to check out the third edition. But here’s our top five, followed by an honorable mention list after the jump):
1. The Original Star Wars Trilogy (Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Star Wars)
2. Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, Last Crusade)
3. Jason Bourne (Bourne Idenity, Supremacy, Ultimatum – though not out yet, we’re positive it will rock)
4. Spiderman
5. Mission Impossible
Honorable mention (in no particular order):
* Meet the Parents
* The Naked Gun
* Ocean’s 11 (probably would have been 7th)
* Pirates of the Caribbean (never bothered with the second one)
* Poison Ivy (Drew Barrymore, Jaime Pressly and Alyssa Milano make this a must-have box set)
* Batman
* The Godfather (three is such a farce it nearly kept the trilogy off this list)
* Terminator (probably would have been 6th; T2 may be the best second movie of any trilogy)
* Wild Things (Susan Ward is so incredibly hot in II that she makes up for how weak III is)
UPDATE: ** Lethal Weapon is a terrible omission. It may have cracked the top five – especially because of the incredibly hot Patsy Kensit in the second edition. She does show nipple.
*** Back to the Future I is one of our top 20 movies of all-time. The soundtrack rules. But II and III were terribly awful.
[Of note, for those of you wondering where are the animated flicks are: we haven't seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies, and ditto for Harry Potter. ]
55 Responses to “The Five Best Movie Trilogies”
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May 14th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Like the list. But from what I’ve heard Spidey # is complete poop. From the critics, from my friends, I’m shocjed to read you guys liked it.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
lol @ MI and Spiderman being in that list. Especially MI. No way dude.
Back to the Future has to be in there. Even though there are more than 3, so should Rocky. and LOTR no doubt.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
what are you, drunk? mission impossible? mi:2 was an unmitigated disaster. (worse than godfather 3, yes, thats right, i went there) mi:3 only looked good in comparison, which is like saying crap looks good next to vomit. pretty much anything on your honorable mention blows mission impossible out of the water.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
The Back to the Future trilogy does not make even an honorable mention, yet the M:I trilogy makes top 5?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
The Evil Dead Trilogy. Evil Dead I, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness. Gotta love Bruce Campbell and the Raimi’s.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Rocky has to be there…The Lethal Wepon series is awesome and the Die Hards…
May 14th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
I still put the Godfather trilogy up there. Yes, yes, Part III is one of the worst movies ever made. Yes, I only use it as a doorstop and wouldn’t think to ever pollute my DVD player with the pile of shit that is Sofia C.
And yet…the first two are so damn good, so flawless (or near flawless), that it really doesn’t matter how bad the third one is. I think GF needs to make this list.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Back to the Future doesnt even get honorable mention? This is the biggest injustice in the history of the world.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Um, how about Lord of the Rings? That should be #1. Godfather should be #2 on the strength of I and II alone.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
TBL…what’s up with the hate on Back to the Future! MI definitely off the list! What about Friday! Rush Hour!
May 14th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
I believe X-Men deserves a mention as well (especially ahead of Bourne – which is not a trilogy at this point), and LOTR is easily top 3.
The four National Lampoon Vacation movies also deserve a mention.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Quite frankly, I thought American Pie 2 was better than the first. And, quite frankly, most people I know feel the same way. As for the 3rd installment…well, it did indeed suck.
In any event, leaving Back to the Future off this list shreds it of any and all credibility.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Some others that I enjoyed: The Naked Gun movies (they always make me laugh); Beverly Hills Cop trilogy (even though the 1st one was the only really good one – it was that good); and by the Beverly Hills Cop logic the Matrix trilogy has to go in; I loved the Terminator movies (or at least 1 and 2 were really cool); and (I’m a little embarrassed to admit), I thought the Fast and the Furious trilogy was really, really fun.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
1. Back to the Future 1 absolutely rocked. The rest were complete shit.
2. Never saw Friday II or III
3. Matrix I was great, the rest were massive crap
4. Bev Hills Cop? Please
5. Lethal Weapon should have been on the list, adding that now. Bad omission.
6. Die Hard I was good, the rest mediocre.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
The fact that the Karate Kid series has not been mentioned makes me want to vomit with mild frustration.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
I’m partial to Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 myself
Alien Resurrection will not be mentioned for obvious reasons
Mission Impossible 2 and 3 blew donkey balls
May 14th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Mission Impossible Trilogy at #5, and Bourne at #3 before its even a trilogy yet (along with Hon. Mentions to Pirates and Ocean’s 11) completely eliminate the credibility of this list.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Hold on in Back to The Future II they go to the Future and Old Biff steals the sports Almanac and gives it to young biff..Yeah that sucked..Wha??!! This list sucks.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Have you seen the trail for Bourne Ultimatum? So tight. I was tempted to put that shit at No. 1.
It’s like Die Hard with a brain, fewer swear words, and better action. Plus, Matt Damon is talented.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:44 pm
Back to the Future 2 rules all. Hoverboards people. Are you kidding me?
May 14th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
TBL, why no love for LOTR?
May 14th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I support the Bourne trilogy, you know it’s gonna kick ass
May 14th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Where is Die Hard on this list? A complete travesty, the first is one of the best action movies ever. Granted, the second was borderline retarded, but With a Vengence brought the noise. And for purposes of this discussion we are ignoring PG-13 Live Free or Die Hard, because there is no way it can rock.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Seriously, Spidey 3 is nut flop. How can Back to the Future not be on here at all? What about the Man With No Name trilogy (Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, GB & U)? I think the Mad Max series is worthy of honorable mention over Ocean’s 11 (one good movie, one terrible movie and one possibly decent movie does not a worthy trilogy make).
May 14th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Can someone tell me why “Meet the Parents/Fockers” is on this list?
May 14th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Beverly Hills Cop and Back to The Future both should make the list. All three in each series got it done.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
I take issue with the Bourne triology. Read the books and then you will understand what a colossal turd they laid with those. Many of the above-mentioned trilogies would be better – LOTR, Matrix, Back to the Future, Karate Kid etc. Fuck, even Home Alone and 3 Ninjas are better than Bourne.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
I love two things about this post: 1) List format, 2)Unrelated to sports. I feel like my guest blogging style may be rubbing off on you, no? (As though I’m the first blogger ever to post lists and talk about pop culture- kind of like saying John F. Kennedy discovered America).
As for the list, very interesting. You seem to reveal more and more about TBL as the weeks go by.
Lord of the Rings should be on there.
My major beef with Spiderman 3 (pseudo- SPOILER WARNING):
The ending of the trilogy hinged entirely upon the Butler’s random confession to Harry. It came completely out of nowhere. File it under: “Things that could’ve been brought to my attention yesterday!” and “Lazy writing choices.”
May 14th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Spiderman 3 was an awful, awful movie. A total abomination, and a possible franchise killer. But the first two were so good, it might be worth listing.
Lord of the Rings is conspicuous in it’s absence, by the way.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Porky’s!
May 14th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I agree with everyone else who says the strength of Godfather I and II merit a spot near the top of the list. I’d put The Lord of the Rings #1, and Godfather #2 due to that idiotic third movie of theirs.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Good to see the ENTERTAINMENT blog is back in business… and also good to see that they suck at it. Stick to sports guys and keep your god awful taste in movies to yourself. You put a trilogy that hasnt released its third movie yet into your top five and put Meet The Parents in your honorable mentions… and there goes all of your credibility. Wild Things? The first one was good, the second was a straight to the video store release and I didn’t even know they made a third one. Greeeeeeeeat trilogy there! This list is an abomination.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Spiderman 3 should have been turned into Spiderman 3 and 4, with Sandman in number 4 and Venom as the bad guy in 3. That would have allowed for the necessary character development. Instead the movie was rushed and average at best.
And how are the Major League movies not on there? ML and ML 2 are classics. Three sucked but they are better than Wild Things. And what about Superman 1,2,3? Or Rambo 1, 2, 3? Nothing better than seeing that “This is dedicated to the valiant holy warriors of Afghanistan” tribute at the end of Rambo 3.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
LOTR should not qualify because each of its movies was an hour too long. You could easily cut out scenes of JibJab and Bobbin [slash] Patty Duke’s son and Frodo looking longingly into each other’s eyes. Instead, you walk out of LOTR3 wondering why you continue to pay to see soft-core gay nerd porn.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
National Lampoon’s Vacations.
May 14th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
TBL- its all subjective, i know… but ive honestly lost some respect for you here today with your negatives comments about back to the future and die hard coupled with your praise for the bourne trilogy and mission impossible . (i still cant get over that… only back to the future 1 and die hard 1 were good…. but MISSION FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE IS ONE OF THE TOP 5 TRILOGIES OF ALL TIME!?!?!?!?! are we talking about the same movies here? the ones released from the mid/late 90s through the summer of 2006? THOSE mission impossible movies? go look up all 3 parts of each of those 3 trilogies on rottentomatoes. i dare you.) sorry about that. anyways, i will continue to check your site for awesome sports commentary but if you could keep the movie opinions to a minimum in the future that would be….. great. it just throws me off.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Does Mission:Impossible even count as a trilogy, considering none of the movies had anything to do with each other?
May 14th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
“[Of note, for those of you wondering where are the animated flicks are: we haven't seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies, and ditto for Harry Potter. ]“
Ummm… Lord of the Rings isn’t any more animated than Terminator…
And how can Bourne trilogy make the list on the merits of the first two and the assumption the third will be good while Godfather stays outta the top five because you didn’t like the 3rd… while the first two crack most people’s top 20 movies of all time?
Do you really think the first two Bourne movies are better than the first two Godfather’s?
May 14th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Jesus, some need to chill. Did that poster really say he lost respect for a sports blog due to entertainment and personal views? Yikes. Dude, MI:3 rocked, although two went down like that whipped cream bikini chick in Varsity Blues. Unabashedly, I would say Star Wars, Die Hard (Damn you for going AVP on us with the PG-13 rating Bruce) and Godfather.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
godfather, LOTR, matrix, back to the future….
it always makes me sad when you post crap like this just to get a bunch of comments.
May 14th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
The Godfather should be near the top, even with #3 being garbage. I would include, The Alien trilogy, forget about Resurrection.
May 14th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
That is almost grounds for having your website taken off my favorites list. Mission Impossible trilogy?? Thats absurd. Maybe you should actually watch the Godfather trilogy again. Maybe you’ve forgotten that I and II were absolute classics. While you’re at it, you really should watch the Lord of The Rings movies, they arent quite Godfather good, but they are excellent movies. Way better than crazy Tom Cruise movies.
May 14th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Animated flick? TBL, on a rainy Sunday afternoon (before football starts, of course), pack the bong and pop in all 3 LOTRs — you’ll be blown away.
May 14th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
In case you missed it …
* haven’t seen Pirates II
* Back to the Future III was horrible; yes, even worse than Godfather III
* Haven’t seen any of the Lord of the Rings
* Haven’t seen any of the Harry Potter Flicks
And Lozo, there’s none of that ‘posting to get comments’ stuff on this end!
May 14th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
fine. no posting drunk then, and no posting top trilogies when the third Bourne movie hasn’t come out yet. you ignorant slut!
May 14th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Mel Gibson’s Mad Max, The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunder Dome – although Thunder Dome does not stack up.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:36 am
hey, how has no one even mentioned the AUSTIN POWERS series?
May 15th, 2007 at 12:50 am
Nope, JC. Because it blows.
In hindsight, the only Top 5 choice that probably should have been dropped is Mission Impossible. But I was very, very good, and III was plenty good. II was ok.
Perhaps Back to the Future should have been honorable mention based on the first one alone (two and three were absolute shit).
May 15th, 2007 at 1:16 am
Crack. TBL is on it. MI: 3 isn’t very good for the sole fact Abrams just recycled the entire pilot of Alias. Maybe that’s being picky, but if the guy co-created Lost he’s obviously talented enough not to get lazy with a franchise movie. BTTF should be on here, as should Godfather and the Man With No Name trilogy. I’m way too bored at work.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:51 am
I can’t believe it took 50 posts to note that it is Spider-Man, not Spiderman.
If you have 10+ hours to kill, you have to add the LOTR trilogy to the list.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Clearly, about 10 minutes of thought went into TBL’s list. Trilogies with two movies? Complete whiffs on some of the biggest franchises of all time…Absolute shite. Zero cred. And I love this site. But that list and the addendum are completely ridiculous.
And I’m not even offering up my fave5 ™ because it would take me about four days to sit and contemplate nothing but it, not to mention the excel spreadsheets, piles of dvds, mr. skin’s encyclopedia…….
May 15th, 2007 at 5:35 am
No LOTR, crap list
May 15th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Bud – this list began the minute we walked out of Spiderman. Hyphenated or not, it’s on the list.
And yes, your opinion means a whole lot less if you can’t bother compile a top five of your own for us to punch holes in.
If Lozo says give LOTR a chance, then fine, it’ll be a summer project. Penciling it in for late July.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
A few items of note here:
1.) GF triology…yes we can all agree just to not ever, ever speak of #3 again but 1&2 were so good…if you had a chance to climb in bed with Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel and Sarah Jessica Parker…are you really not getting in there just b/c of horse face?…I think not.
2.) LOTR…total badass with gore galore…even gives me a slight sense of remorse for picking on all the D&D kids in high school
3.) The Matrix…fuck that shit…when your leading role is played by Keaunu-son…I’ll pass…just weak
4.) BTF- Again 1&2 make up for the atrocity that is #3
5.) IS DIE HARD REALLY NOT IN THE MIX? Yippie-Kai-Yay MuthaFuckers…and if I’m on Canadian TV let me apologize in advance
And now time for me to get skewered…how the HELL does no one mention the Karate Kid…ok, ok I know it’s not cinematic greatness but if you’re on this board and between the ages of 25-35 and want to tell me you didn’t run out and buy a frigging bathrobe and practice the swan kick immediately following the first…you’re full of it…introduced us to Elizabeth Shue, provided so many one-liners it’s ridiculous, got to see Mr. Miagyi drunk:
#1: Classic…for all the above reasons
#2: Tolerable…nothing memorable
#3: A complete disaster…
Next: Never saw it but know for a fact my brother used to jack off to a young Hilary Swank for what it’s worth
Word Booty
May 17th, 2007 at 4:15 am
I agree with the thing about spiderman 3 being finished lazily as hell. They should have thought of a better ending, but other than that the entire movie was either funny or full of cool special effects. I think it makes up for it. Anyways about the trilogies… here are my personal.
6. Robocop (1, 2, 3)
5. Mexico (El Mariachi, Desperado, Once upon a time in mexico)
4. Back to the Future (1, 2, 3)
3. Final Destination (1, 2, 3)
2. Friday (Friday, Next Friday, Friday after Next)
1. Spiderman (1, 2, 3)