How many good third movies in a franchise can people name? [Archive]

Hoss

10-28-2008, 10:47 AM

The Batman

10-28-2008, 11:02 AM

Son of Frankenstein.

http://www.obscurehorror.com/son_of_frankenstein.jpg

StoneGold

10-28-2008, 11:13 AM

Chris Nolan asks
How many good third movies in a franchise can people name?

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18588

I don't disagree with him here and it is always good for a director to put being able to make a good movies as his top priority. But for fun, how many good third movies in a franchise can people name? I'll start with some

Return of the King
Return of the Jedi
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Goldfinger
Rocky III
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Star Trek III
From your list, I assume we're just talking good here, and not better than the two that came before it? Because from your list, outside of Goldfinger and Harry Potter... hell, I'm not even sure if Search for Spock really qualifies, period. Although it may just be because it is sandwiched between two far superior films.

I'm going to name what is going to seem like an insane choice, but Batman Forever. Yes, forever tainted by its sequel, but go back and read reviews for the movie from when it came out, it was the proverbial breath of fresh air after Batman Returns.

Oh, and Nightmare on Elm St. III: The Dream Warriors.

StoneGold

10-28-2008, 11:14 AM

Once Upon a Time in China III. And just going by numbers, Star Wars Episode III was actually pretty good. Or at least, if they were all as good as III, there would have been a lot less bitching.

kalorama

10-28-2008, 11:17 AM

Considering how bad the first two were and how much bitching there was, I don't know that that's saying much.

Caanan

10-28-2008, 11:33 AM

Chasing Amy was the third in the Jerseytown series, right? I thought that was considered to be the breakout best one.

And yeah Harry Potter 3 was better than the first two, but it's still better than the two that came after it, even.

Any way you look at it though, I don't think the number of good ones outweighs the number of bad ones, but who cares? In much the same way I fondly watch Back to the Future Part 3, it's not the greatest movie out there, but it's from a series I love.

Toonimator

10-28-2008, 11:36 AM

I'm going to name what is going to seem like an insane choice, but Batman Forever. Yes, forever tainted by its sequel, but go back and read reviews for the movie from when it came out, it was the proverbial breath of fresh air after Batman Returns.
Don't you mean breath of fresh nipples? That's the one that put 'em on the suit first, wasn't it?

It was definitely different than the Burton films, but I dunno if even a 'breath of fresh air' would qualify as 'good'. It had TWO Jokers, fer cryin out loud, both pretending to be other villains, and the whole "blacklit Gotham alley gangs" crap. Had some nice moments & characterization in parts, but the Double Jokers and Schumacher Fetishes and 25-year-old Robin knocked it down a few pegs. I ALMOST missed the penguins with rockets on their backs.

Trek III suffered from being too 'small'. You have 3 Klingons, Kid Spock, and Kirk's crew running around Stage 17 for a couple hours pretending it's a new world. "Insurrection" suffered kinda the same deal, felt like a long episode of the show, the scale was too small, but it benefitted from some better location shots... until you were on the bad guy's ship which was a janitor's closet with a few glowing panels added. Of course, I'm going by memory here, haven't seen either film in years. :tongue:

But I'll throw in with ROTJ, ROTS (as Prequel #3), Last Crusade. I think Back To The Future 3 works as well. Not the best movie in the world, but a lot of fun and wrapped up the trilogy nicely.

StoneGold

10-28-2008, 11:42 AM

Don't you mean breath of fresh nipples? That's the one that put 'em on the suit first, wasn't it?

It was definitely different than the Burton films, but I dunno if even a 'breath of fresh air' would qualify as 'good'. It had TWO Jokers, fer cryin out loud, both pretending to be other villains, and the whole "blacklit Gotham alley gangs" crap. Had some nice moments & characterization in parts, but the Double Jokers and Schumacher Fetishes and 25-year-old Robin knocked it down a few pegs. I ALMOST missed the penguins with rockets on their backs.

Like I said, go back to reviews from when the film actually came out. It was considered a better film than Returns. Granted, it led to the utter crap of B&R, and therefor ends up being tainted.

VeganWithaYoYo

10-28-2008, 11:59 AM

The only one I thought of immediately was Return of the King. This thread reminded me of Last Crusade and Prisoner of Azkaban as well. By and large, even if the third movie is okay, in just about every trilogy I can think of the third movie was by far the weakest. In series that weren't meant to end at 3 movies, like Harry Potter, I think they have a better shot.

jesse_custer

10-28-2008, 12:00 PM

Bourne Ultimatum.

I wouldn't say the following two are from franchises, but they are considered third movies in trilogies: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Lady Vengeance.

The Batman

10-28-2008, 12:09 PM

Clear and Present Danger which was the third Jack Ryan movie.

pauwoo

10-28-2008, 01:17 PM

The Godfather 3

Yes it's not as good as the first two, but it only suffers in comparison.

It is a good film if it is viewed by itself and separate from the other two.

jesse_custer

10-28-2008, 01:18 PM

"Alright" is the most praise I can give Godfather Part III.

Cyke

10-28-2008, 02:42 PM

The Star Trek Trilogy, in my opinion, is Star Trek II-IV, simply because the events of III and IV came about because of Khan (Kirk and Co. would've been hit by the probe if Khan hadn't come along). With that said, I consider IV to be a strong third movie.

Damiean Dark

10-28-2008, 03:30 PM

Of all the movies on the thread starters list the Indy and trek films are the ones that Each film made was a film i its own right and not a continuation of the trilogy as a a larger story arc.

TDK had this chance but Nolan went the crazy route of killing of Twoface if Joker had more time and in the background harvey recupreated his injurys and we saw a slow decent into madness it would have worked better as an overall movie AND would have created a perfect cliffhanger for a 3rd film imo.

Proyas

10-28-2008, 03:37 PM

also begs the question if we are discussing the third sequel or third part of a trilogy.

Movies based on book series like LOTR and Harry Potter are different than the traditional 3rd movie. As are movie series that come pre-planned with the 3rd movie in mind.

In that way of thinking, there is a difference between Spider Man 3 and Return of the Jedi or even Matrix Revolutions.

Actual 2nd sequels that are written after the 1st and 2nd movie have been release and that aren't based off a book, usually suck.

Leathal Weapon 3 - eh...too campy
Beverly Hills Cop 3 - ok, not so bad. still pretty camp
Die Hard 3 - I kinda liked it.
Spider Man 3 - Fail
X-Men 3 - I liked it but that isn't saying much

the goddamn batman

10-28-2008, 04:00 PM

Return of the King

I couldn't sit through the entire movie, so I can't really comment.

Return of the Jedi

Easily the weakest of the three.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Easily the weakest of the three.

Goldfinger

I'll give you that one. Though, when compared the the two before...

Rocky III

Hard to say. It's been too long.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I'll give you that one. But I did like the first two. But I haven't seen any of them since they hit DVD. But...

Star Trek III

Never saw it.

Bourne Ultimatum.

Yeah.

[QUOTE=jesse_custer;7800733]I wouldn't say the following two are from franchises, but they are considered third movies in trilogies: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Lady Vengeance.

Can't argue with The Good, THe Bad, and The Ugly.

The Godfather 3

Yes it's not as good as the first two, but it only suffers in comparison.

It is a good film if it is viewed by itself and separate from the other two.

Then it's not a good third film in a series.

TDK had this chance but Nolan went the crazy route of killing of Twoface if Joker had more time and in the background harvey recupreated his injurys and we saw a slow decent into madness it would have worked better as an overall movie AND would have created a perfect cliffhanger for a 3rd film imo.

But Nolan wasn't trying to make a perfect cliffhanger for a third film he wasn't sure he'd even make.

Proyas

10-28-2008, 04:13 PM

But Nolan wasn't trying to make a perfect cliffhanger for a third film he wasn't sure he'd even make.

I agree. It was rushed and, IMO, Nolan was disingenous to the franchise because the rushed ending of TDK wrecked the movie for me. Even if he wasn't going to do a 3rd, he had to know they were going to make a 3rd and he very well could have left Two-Faces end more open ended with posibilites than he did.

I believe he did have every intention to create a 3rd film, but the plot was to surround The Joker. Ledgers passing shot his the 2nd film in the foot.

the goddamn batman

10-28-2008, 04:21 PM

Nolan was only interested in the movie at hand. I don't think the ending was rushed. I don't think it sold Two-Face short... I don't think he should have done anything differently.

Green Lantern wannabe

10-28-2008, 04:39 PM

Proyas

10-28-2008, 04:44 PM

What I'm saying has been said in this thread, but I'll say it again.

James Bond has had a good run of movies. Star Trek III was so-so, especially in comparison to II, but then it rebounced with the later movies - odd-numbered curse.

Batman Begins is No. 4, I think, and it was the best of the modern series. Indiana Jones has been good all along, but, then again, you have Steven Spielberg directing. Star Wars III (or, more accurately, Episode VI) is also quite good, though not as good as SW II (Episode V).

Batman Begins was the 5th Batman movie since Batman '89. I believe there was some 60's movie or something. "Batman", "Batman Returns", "Batman Forever" and don't forget the main reason for the superhero movie hiatus, "Batman and Robin"

the goddamn batman

10-28-2008, 04:49 PM

Batman Begins is No. 4, I think, and it was the best of the modern series. Indiana Jones has been good all along, but, then again, you have Steven Spielberg directing. Star Wars III (or, more accurately, Episode VI) is also quite good, though not as good as SW II (Episode V).

I'm not sure what you mean by "Batman Begins was no. 4." It's technically the 6th Batman film to be made... but it's a reboot, so it's the first film in the series. It's got no relevance to this thread.

And... man, way to make a mess of the Star Wars numbering. :wink:

Batman Begins was the 5th Batman movie since Batman '89. I believe there was some 60's movie or something. "Batman", "Batman Returns", "Batman Forever" and don't forget the main reason for the superhero movie hiatus, "Batman and Robin"

Yeah, there was "some 60's movie" ...or something.

Kids these days. Jeez.:biggrin:

Siddon

10-28-2008, 06:06 PM

The question isn't better then the original or "great" the question is what films are good which means not bad. They may not hold up to the high standards of the orginal films but they are good enough to watch or recomend.

Alien 3
After the Thin Man
Army of the Dead
Batman Forever/Batman Returns (if you want to count Batman the movie as 1 or not)
Bourne Ultimanium
Chasing Amy
Clear and Present Danger
Day of the Dead
Die Hard with a Vengence
Exorcist III
Godfather III <best picture nominee>
Goldfinger
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Oceans 13
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors
Return of the King
Rocky III
Saw III
Sleepaway Camp III
Star Wars Episode III
Teriminator III

mgs

10-28-2008, 06:27 PM

Army of Darkness, I think it was the 3rd of a series.
Return of the King, pretty good.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly, love all the Eastwood 'spaghetti' films.
Return of the Jedi, originally.
Alien 3. loved it.

the goddamn batman

10-28-2008, 06:32 PM

I'd be willing to add the Work-Print of ALien 3 to the list... but not so much the theatrical cut.

Young Avenger

10-28-2008, 06:49 PM

Army of Darkness

howyadoin

10-28-2008, 06:51 PM

Return of the JediI thought we were talking seriously about good movies, not ironically.

"Alright" is the most praise I can give Godfather Part III.I can't even bring myself to go that far.

ultramandingo

10-28-2008, 08:02 PM

.......... if nolans not doing #3 i say get paul greengrass , alfonso cuarón or ridley scott on the phone - then all you need is jeromy irons as king tut - ka ching!

meethraa

10-28-2008, 08:35 PM

The funny thing is that a lot of these 3rd films are better than TDK...

GRANT!

10-28-2008, 10:34 PM

Goldfinger is a solid Bond romp.

The third Harry Potter feels the most like a movie.

Army of Darkness gets better with age.

Return of the King is a great conclusion to the series.

Was Search for Spock any good?

the goddamn batman

10-28-2008, 11:04 PM

3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up

The third installment in the Three Ninjas Saga. It's like, non-stop ninja action!

Young Avenger

10-28-2008, 11:32 PM

Scream 3. Wasn't as good as the first two but it was still a decent flick

marshal99

10-29-2008, 03:35 AM

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 : dream warriors , i thought was pretty good. Brought back nancy and a closure to her character. Also brought freddy much more to the front as the wisecracking slasher.

Agent Helix

10-29-2008, 06:24 AM

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is the best of its franchise.

freddy1428

10-29-2008, 06:53 AM

Nightmare on elm Street 3 is incredible, great remember from my childhood.

Saw 3 is the best of the franchise for the moment imo.

Everybody in the Internet (not in the reality) seem to dislike, but I think that Spider-Man 3 is the best of comics adaptation for the moment, the final fight sequence is really powerful and Venom is very great.

Rocky 3 is my favorite.

Once upon a time in china 3, chinese ghost story 3 and Swordman 3 is great, not as cool that the previous movies, but still good.

Army of Darkness is surely my favorite of the evil dead.

Alien 3 is correct

Friday the thirtheen (Jason) 3 is better that the first two, it's maybe the most important movie because he wear the first time his famous hockey Mask

I find Nolan arrogant, if he can't do a third good movie, it's not necessary to blame others for that, I dislike his Batman Movies but lot of peoples love that, the best he can do it's to work very hard for them.

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 07:33 AM

Alien 3 is a piece of shit. Just walk away.

jessecuster3

10-29-2008, 07:57 AM

Alien 3 is a piece of shit. Just walk away.

Is that the Fincher one? Or the Jeunet one?

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 08:11 AM

Fincher.

To each his own, but if we're going to mention Alien 3, we might as well say every third movie is awesome and that Nolan is a pussy.

David Walton

10-29-2008, 08:31 AM

I thought X-Men 3 was good because it took advantage of being a third film. Cyclops dies offscreen. Jean obliterates her mentor. Rogue decides to have her mutation reversed. Wolverine has to kill Jean.

To me that's the kind of courage that should come with a third installment. Why not go all out?

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 08:45 AM

Too bad X3 had the forced emotions of a spoiled rich brat.

AlistairCrane

10-29-2008, 09:04 AM

Scream 3.

ten character rule

David Walton

10-29-2008, 09:43 AM

Too bad X3 had the forced emotions of a spoiled rich brat.

I didn't get that sense, but oh well. I feel like for better or worse film franchises would last longer if they took a page from the X3 playbook and mixed expectations up a little.

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 09:52 AM

Let me elaborate a little. X3 killed off a lot of major characters in 90 minutes. It all felt rushed. Especially Cyclops. The way his death was handled? "Oh well."

stealthwise

10-29-2008, 10:30 AM

I would argue that most of those don't count, given that the first (Star Trek) or second (Indiana Jones) movies in those series (or both) weren't very good. Trying to find a trilogy (that's actually a trilogy, I wouldn't count Smith's movies in those) that's good through all three films is nearly impossible.

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 10:33 AM

Even if you think Temple of Doom sucks, that doesn't discredit The Last Crusade. The question regards third movies, not trilogies as a whole.

Agent Helix

10-29-2008, 10:34 AM

Even if you think Temple of Doom sucks

Which would be terribly incorrect.

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 10:39 AM

Yes, it would. The pacing for that film is impeccable. And anything that makes the MPAA shit its pants and create a new rating is automatically cool.

the goddamn batman

10-29-2008, 03:40 PM

Alien 3 is a piece of shit. Just walk away.

Have you seen the work print? It's, in all it's half completed glory, vastly superior to the theatrical cut.

I suggest giving it a go. It gives you a better idea of what Fincher was trying to do before the studio ruined everything. Sadly, it's far from perfect. But I think it's worth seeing at least once. Totally raised my appreciation for Alien 3.

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 03:49 PM

I didn't even know that existed. However, Alien 3 is pretty shit, so it would need to be a stupendous improvement to raise my evaluation to "good."

the goddamn batman

10-29-2008, 03:55 PM

I didn't even know that existed. However, Alien 3 is pretty shit, so it would need to be a stupendous improvement to raise my evaluation to "good."

It's in the Quadrilogy box set. There's an additional 30 minutes of footage... and, you'll actually be able to tell some of the prisoners apart!!!:eek:

It really adds to the story IMO.

I dunno... I like Alien 3. It's this gothic end to the Ripley character's saga. This dirty fucked up ending at the ass end of space. I like it for what it tried to be, more than what it actually is. I guess you could say I like it 'in theory'.

If you were ever going to watch Alien 3 again, watch the work print version instead.

jesse_custer

10-29-2008, 03:58 PM

If you were ever going to watch Alien 3 again, watch the work print version instead.

Undoubtedly, I'm never wasting my time with the other version again. I'm not buying the Quadrilogy box set, either, so hopefully I have a nice friend who has it ...

howyadoin

10-29-2008, 05:00 PM

It's in the Quadrilogy box set. There's an additional 30 minutes of footage... and, you'll actually be able to tell some of the prisoners apart!!!What do they do, paint numbers on their heads?

If you were ever going to watch Alien 3 again, watch the work print version instead.Personally, I'd rather just reread William Gibson's script.

the goddamn batman

10-29-2008, 05:00 PM

Undoubtedly, I'm never wasting my time with the other version again. I'm not buying the Quadrilogy box set, either, so hopefully I have a nice friend who has it ...

His name is Netflix. You should ask him, he always lends me stuff.

StoneGold

10-29-2008, 05:10 PM

It's in the Quadrilogy box set. There's an additional 30 minutes of footage... and, you'll actually be able to tell some of the prisoners apart!!!:eek:

It really adds to the story IMO.

I dunno... I like Alien 3. It's this gothic end to the Ripley character's saga. This dirty fucked up ending at the ass end of space. I like it for what it tried to be, more than what it actually is. I guess you could say I like it 'in theory'.

If you were ever going to watch Alien 3 again, watch the work print version instead.

Yeah, but it was the same ending as Terminator 2.

the goddamn batman

10-29-2008, 05:19 PM

Yeah, but without the thumbs up.

lazykarateguy

10-29-2008, 11:16 PM

Really? Only one vote for Die Hard with a Vengeance? C'mon as far as third movies go, this one was pretty good.

I pretty much agree (and it seems everyone else does) with most of the choices being made.

Was Alien 3 the one with Ron Pearlman? And Ripley making that basketball shot?

StoneGold

10-29-2008, 11:39 PM