Great things come in threes and that phrase couldn’t be more right with these movies. Here is a list of the top five movie trilogies of all-time:
#5: Back to the Future trilogy
This trilogy got everybody interested in time travel. Michael J. Fox (Teen Wolf, Family Ties) plays Marty McFly, a high schooler who is great friends with the scientist “Doc Brown” (Christopher Lloyd). In the first movie, Doc discovers how to turn his Delorean into a time machine. Marty has to travel from the 80s back to the 1950s to help Doc discover time travel earlier and save his life. He accidentally runs into his parents when they were in high school. He has to work to make sure his parents end up together while trying to help Doc.
In the second movie, Doc approaches Marty telling him that they have to go to the future to help his son. Marty travels 2015 where he sees the Cubs win the World Series (sorry fans but it’s not going to happen but you can imagine it happening here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADXs2C4Vmho). After a few misadventures, he travels back to the past and returns to the future a few times. By the end of the movie, Doc is launched back into the 1800s and Marty has to go back and save him.
The final installment takes place in the wild west as Marty tries to help Doc rebuild the time machine with rudimentary equipment. It is the perfect final movie to the trilogy as it ties off all extra storylines and brings the whole thing to a perfect ending, making it one of the greatest trilogies ever.
#4: Indiana Jones trilogy
Steven Spielberg has been behind numerous blockbusters, but Indiana Jones is definitely one of his most recognizable works. Notice that I am saying trilogy because Crystal Skull does not count! While I love Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, The LEGO Movie), his reboot will never be as good as the original classic trilogy with Harrison Ford (Star Wars).
Ford used his success as Han Solo in Star Wars to springboard his career and get himself the role as Indiana Jones. This trilogy is one of the best to sit down with a bunch of your best friends and binge watch over the weekend. The trilogy follows professor and adventurer Indiana Jones and his travels to find certain artifacts ranging from the holy grail to the arc of the covenant. It also is one of the reasons that the PG-13 rating was established. Melting faces were a little too much for PG but not enough for R.
Everybody should make sure to check out the Indiana Jones trilogy and watch him explore the world with his hat and bullwhip. Here is probably one of the most famous movie clips that almost everybody has seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr-8AP0To4k
#3: The Godfather trilogy
I am going to make you an offer you can’t refuse: watch The Godfather trilogy! Considered some of the greatest movies of all-time, The Godfather movies focus on the Corleone crime family and their transition of power. The trilogy stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, and Robert De Niro. Director Francis Ford Coppola (Nic Cage’s uncle) burst onto the movie scene with some of the greatest movies of all-time.
The Godfather was one of the first successful trilogies created. While the first two came out three years apart in 1971 and 1974, the third installment came out in 1990 and showed that there was still a huge interest in the genre.
Brando gave a particularly amazing performance in The Godfather. Here is one of the best scenes from the trilogy that shows just how intense the scenes could feel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i96VS_z8y7g (btw I had to post this in class so I couldn’t hear the dialogue and it had subtitles in English so I am praying that it is actually in English…sorry, I’ll fix it after class.)
While the third one pales in comparison to the first two, the trilogy as a whole is definitely one of the best trilogies ever.
#2: The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s famous book series was a huge success. When The Fellowship of the Ring came out in 2001, everybody realized that they were in for a treat over the next few years. Both The Two Towers and Return of the King were just as successful as the first. The trilogy completely reinvigorated interest in Tolkien’s Middle Earth world.
The trilogy follows a fellowship of four hobbits, 2 men, an elf, a wizard, and a dwarf as they travel to Mordor to destroy the ring of power, which has the power to bring back the evil Sauron. The group goes through setback after setback as they struggle to reach Mt. Doom and get rid of the ring once and for all.
I binge watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I had my wisdom teeth pulled during my sophomore year of high school. I was out of school for a few days and pretty immobile on my couch. I watched the trilogy over two days and I was blown away.
If you haven’t seen the trilogy, maybe Aragorn’s speech can change your mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXGUNvIFTQw
Honorable Metion
Toy Story
The Dark Knight
Terminator
The Matrix
The Naked Gun
#1: Star Wars the original trilogy
A long time ago in a studio far, far away, George Lucas created the greatest movie trilogy to ever grace the face of the Earth. Star Wars episodes four, five, and six are three of the greatest movies ever made. The three compliment each other so perfectly. The first movie portrays a desperate group of rebels revolting against a corrupt empire. After a short-lived victory for the rebels, evil makes a comeback in The Empire Strikes Back. It is also the first time we see a passion-filled lightsaber battle between Luke and Darth Vader. Also, it contains one of the biggest plot twists of all-time (another potential future list). If you don’t know the big Star Wars plot twist by now, here is link to it (spoilers I guess but we all know this by now) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbjru5CQIW4 The rebels make a comeback in Return of the Jedi.
The culture impact by the original Star Wars trilogy is still evident in today’s society. Almost everybody recognizes Darth Vader, the force, and the phrase “I am your father.” There are virtually no plot holes or gaps in the storyline. In the late 1970s when science fiction was not taken seriously, Lucas completely overhauled the genre and made Star War one of the most recognizable franchises of all-time.
What’s your favorite movie trilogy? Let me know if you think I nailed it or completely blew it.
CinemaStickler 