Making a truly perfect film trilogy is not an easy task, as it is a challenge for just one sequel to improve on its predecessors. By the time that a third film comes around, the last entry in a trilogy needs to satisfy the story threads and character arcs that were introduced within its two direct predecessors, and end the narrative in a satisfying emotional place.
Releasing three excellent films in a row is a greater challenge than it may seem, as it just takes one bad movie to throw off a trilogy; the Spider-Man series from Sam Raimi would have been perfect if it was not for the disastrous Spider-Man 3, and the brilliance of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi was undercut when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker proved to be the worst installment in the history of the galaxy far, far away. Here are the ten most essential movie trilogies, ranked.
10
The Bill & Ted Trilogy
Films: ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ (1989), ‘Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey’ (1991), ‘Bill & Ted Face The Music’ (2020)
The Bill & Ted franchise is one of the few comedy sagas in which every single installments is good, which is a rarity considering how few comedy sequels are actually good. While Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure managed to be one of the greatest time travel films ever made, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey did more than just replicate its success; the 1991 sequel saw Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) cast into hell, as they were replaced by evil robot clones in the real world.
Although it spent so much time in development hell that some fans had given up hope that it would ever be released, Bill & Ted Face The Music proved to be the perfect conclusion to the series, as it allowed both Bill and Ted to mature into their responsibilities as parents, and complete their destiny by creating music that will save the world and future.
9
The Back to the Future Trilogy
Films: ‘Back to the Future’ (1985), ‘Back to the Future: Part II’ (1989), ‘Back to the Future: Part III’ (1990)
Back to the Future is a franchise that benefited from its singular creator, as Robert Zemeckis found the perfect mix between comedy, drama, science fiction, and adventure to make one of the greatest time travel stories of all-time. Although the franchise could have been thrown off course when Eric Stoltz was originally cast in the role of Marty McFly, Michael J.Fox proved to be the perfect choice to play one of the coolest movie heroes ever.
Back to the Future did a great job at leading into each installments, as the stingers at end of each films’ conclusions established where the story would go next. Back to the Future: Part III may have been the most far-fetched entry due to its western setting, but it also added a satisfying conclusion by finally giving Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) an opportunity to be happy.
8
The Evil Dead Trilogy
Films: ‘The Evil Dead’ (1981), ‘The Evil Dead II’ (1987), ‘Army of Darkness’ (1992)
While his Spider-Man trilogy was ruined when Sony Pictures ruined his third installment, Raimi had already delivered a perfect film trilogy with the Evil Dead franchise, which he created alongside his childhood best friend, Bruce Campbell. In addition to their groundbreaking use of practical effects, Raimi’s films showed that they could be just as gruesome as they were hilarious.
The Evil Dead series worked because Raimi escalated the silliness with each installment; the original The Evil Dead was a very disturbing “cabin in the woods” horror story, Evil Dead II was an energetic funhouse of action and gore, and Army of Darkness was a quirky medieval adventure that had a lot in common with Monty Python and the Holy Grail. While there have been other Evil Dead films made since, Raimi’s trilogy served as the perfect encapsulation of Ash’s story.
7
The Apu Trilogy
Films: ‘Pather Panchali’ (1955), ‘Aparajito’ (1956) and ‘The World of Apu’ (1959)
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Satyajit Ray created a perfect coming-of-age story with his trilogy of films centered around the character of Apu Roy, an Indian boy who learns to accept his family responsibilities in the 20th century. Pather Panchali shows the events of his early childhood, Aparajito explores his late adolescence as he seeks a career, and The World of Apu showed him coming to grips with his family legacy.
It is very impressive that Ray was able to create such a brilliant series on such a shoestring budget, as all three installments in The Apu Trilogy can be ranked among the greatest independent films of all-time. Although it offers a very individualized experience, Ray’s films also show insight regarding the social, political, economic, and cultural shifts within India within such an important period in history, in which the nation’s global standing began to change rapidly.
6
The Man With No Name Trilogy
Films: ‘For A Fistful of Dollars’ (1964), ‘For A Few Dollars More’ (1965), ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ (1966)
Sergio Leone essentially created the “spaghetti western” genre with his series of films that focus on an enigmatic “Man With No Name,” who was turned into a global icon thanks to the iconic performance by Clint Eastwood in his breakout role. A Fistful of Dollars served as a reimagining of the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo, and For A Few Dollars More complicated the franchise thanks to the incredible villainous turn by Lee Van Cleef.
Leone’s trilogy ended on a high note with The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, which is often cited as one of the greatest films of all-time, regardless of genre. Between the amazing score by Ennio Morricone, the iconic final fight scene, and Eastwood’s stern performance, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly has been more influential than nearly any other western in the entire history of the genre.
5
The Dark Knight Trilogy
Films: ‘Batman Begins’ (2005), ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)
Christopher Nolan created the best superhero franchise of all-time with his dark and gritty reimagining of the Batman story, which explored the life of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) from his initial training with the League of Shadows to the epic battle for the soul of Gotham City. Batman Begins was the first film to peer into Batman’s origins, The Dark Knight was instantly canonized as an American classic, and The Dark Knight Rises brought the series to a poignant closing note, giving each of the side characters satisfying conclusions.
The Dark Knight trilogy is often remembered for its villains, as while Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning performance as the Joker is one of the greatest in history, other strong antagonists included Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson), his daughter Talia (Marion Cotillard), Bane (Tom Hardy), Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), and Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
4
The Before Trilogy
Films: ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995), ‘Before Sunset’ (2004), ‘Before Midnight’ (2013)
Richard Linklater did something truly unprecedented with his trilogy of films centered on the decades-spanning romance between the American writer Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and the French girl Celine (Julie Delpy), as each installment took place nine years apart. Before Sunrise explored the first interactions between the young lovers in Paris, Before Sunset explored their re-encounter with one another nearly a decade later, and Before Midnight examined their lives as a married couple.
Linklater succeeded thanks to the creative involvement of his actors, as both Delpy and Hawke contributed to the scripts for the subsequent entries in the series. Although a trio of films that consists entirely of conversations might seem boring at first, Linklater captured love in a way that no other filmmaker ever has been able to before, as he showed what it was like to watch a relationship develop over time.
3
The Godfather Trilogy
Films: ‘The Godfather’ (1972), ‘The Godfather: Part II’ (1974), ‘The Godfather: Part III’ (1990)
The Godfather is often cited as the greatest film ever made by cinema scholars, and for good reason; Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus redefined what the depiction of the American mafia looked like, told a timeless story of family and legacy, became the highest-grossing film of all-time during its initial release, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Godfather: Part II became the greatest sequel ever made, and the only to win the Best Picture Oscar; while part of the film continued the exploits of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), it also showed the backstory of a young Vito (Robert De Niro), the character that Marlon Brando played in the first film. Although it may have been considered a mild disappointment due to the unmitigated expectations, The Godfather: Part III was still a solid film that concluded Michael’s story on an interesting note.
2
The Original Star Wars Trilogy
Films: ‘Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope’ (1977), ‘Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980), ‘Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi’ (1983)
Star Wars changed the film industry forever, as George Lucas managed to combine the influences of radical 1970s political thinking, the philosophy of Joseph Campbell, the stories of Greek mythology, the style of science fiction serials like Flash Gordon, the adventures of classic westerns, and a fully-fleshed out universe into the most iconic film saga of all-time.
Star Wars is a masterpiece that became the biggest hit in cinematic history at the time of its initial release, but many fans would argue that The Empire Strikes Back was even better because of the dark, unexpected direction that it took the series thanks to the now iconic plot twist. Nonetheless, Return of the Jedi was also a great film that ended the series on a high note, yet still left room for future stories to be told in the galaxy far, far away.
1
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Films: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’ (2001), ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ (2002), ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ (2003)
It is very rare that brilliant novels are turned into perfect films, but it is hard to imagine anyone but Peter Jackson being able to pull off an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings. By shooting all three films simultaneously in New Zealand, Jackson turned Middle-earth into a real place, and did some of the greatest worldbuilding in cinematic history due to the extensive efforts paid to perfecting the costumes, sets, and makeup.
All three films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy are equally great, so to rank them in terms of quality would just come down to the personal preference of the viewer. Nonetheless, it was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King that took home eleven Academy Awards, which tied the all-time record with Titanic and Ben-Hur.
