For starters two of those are not trilogies. Star Wars (at the insistence of the worlds most evil beard) is not a trilogy, its a Hexalogy. And saying 'the original trilogy' doesn't fix this as 'parts 4-6' are clearly tagged onto each film title. The other non trilogy in the mix is Pirates, which next year will have a part four released which if part three was anything to go by will be about as entertaining as taking a nail in the eye.
I can't argue with Lord Of The Rings or Godfather as they are true Trilogies and this wont change. I do take issue with people stating them as the best though seeing as both have one bad or average film contained within.
Lord Of the Rings consists of 'The Fellowship Of The Ring', 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return Of The King'. While both 'Fellowship' and 'Return' are stella examples of great filmmaking 'Towers' is average at best. The story is slower paced, its high action moments are for the most part heavily steeped in cliche and stick out when it comes to the narrative, plus it practically ignores the trilogies main plot devise, the Ring itself. Instead the film focuses mostly on Aragnought, Orlando Board and Gimmi Gimmi Gimmi a midget after midnight and their epic battle against the foot clan. Despite this I do really like the trilogy and have on a couple of occasions sat down to watch it as one film, but even when doing this 'Towers' feels like the chore I have to sit through in order to get to 'Return'.
The Godfather trilogy I am not too keen on but I do understand its merits. The first two films are well acted, directed and written and if I were not the sort to be bored to tears by Gangster movies I'm sure I would enjoy them, Part three however is shit. The story seems rushed, the new actors in the film are abysmal and as a whole the film is flat out dull.
There are other noteworthy trilogies. Back To The Future parts 1 through 3 are all a joy to behold. Part 1 is a greatly timeless tale about traveling back in time and almost sleeping with your mother, fantastic. Part two (widely overlooked when it comes to fantastic sequels) is a complex, well written action packed, mind bending adventure that puts the first film it self in jeopardy. The latter part of the film takes place during the same scenes seen in the first part and seamlessly tell the story from a new and very quirky perspective, amazing cinema. Part 3 is fun enough but does lack integration into the previous installments and feels a smidge tagged on, a shocking state of events considering parts 2 & 3 were shot back to back. That aside the film is great fun and acts as a great send up to the westerns of old upon which the film clearly drew its inspiration. However its lack of connection does prevent it being a true contender for best trilogy.
The Matrix is a tricky subject, a prime example of how a potentially unbeatable franchise can quickly turn into a babbling brook of shit. The first film is a groundbreaking, gripping and thought provoking action epic with some of the most memorable action set pieces ever conceived. 'Reloaded' starts to loose it about 0.5 seconds after the beginning, then continues to ram its fancy slow motion digital detritus and philosophical nonsensicles down our throats like a twenty inch black cock. However if 'Reloaded' is a twenty inch black cock then 'revolutions' is without a doubt its salty, meaty spurt juice which i believe I can still taste to this very day. Major lack of narrative, seemingly random action that means absolutely nothing and yet more philosophy which fans of the first film couldn't have given ten tons of fuck about. The Animatrix was fucking cool though.
The Jason Bourne trilogy is in my top five for sure, amazing story, amazing fight sequences, amazing stunts and many a good twist in the tale but its has a major drawback. Matt Damon.
What else do we have? Obviously there is Jackass 1 to 3D which i love but I consider it a push to call it a movie trilogy on the basis that their not really movies. Legally Blonde... how the fuck did that become a three parter? Mad Max with Mad Mel being Mad Max, in one good movie. Austin Powers in Shit, shitter and shittiest. Any Disney trilogy doesn't count on account of me not counting direct to DVD/Video installments which wipes out most of their attempts.
There are many many trilogies out there, but for me there can only be one winner in all this and quite why I have not heard more people speaking the same is completely lost on me. The greatest trilogy of all time at this time has to be.......
Toy Story 1, 2 and 3.
I mean think about it, is there a bad movie in the mix? Is there a weak link? Will the story and themes ever loose their relevance over time? The answer to these questions are a simple no. Toy Story was a ground braking and thoroughly enjoyable masterpiece that mixed child like imagination, dark and sometimes scary themes and makes one of the truest and most heart warming statements about what friendship is all about that I have ever seen depicted.
Toy Story 2 deals with greed, corruption, loyalty and abandonment which is pretty heavy stuff for a 'kids' movie but are all handled very well and do not get in the way of the fun. This is the film everybody thought would be a disaster, but not only does it match its predecessor it actually strengthens it. Too many sequels simply try to better the previous, Toy Story 2 doesn't do this and its all the better for it, not to mention the many references to other films hidden within are a joy for the more clued in audience members.
Then this year saw the mighty Toy Story 3 burst into view as if from nowhere. It took a long time coming and there was a time where this film seemed to be lost forever. But it did get made and what a fucking awesome flick it is too. Pixar are proving to be one of if not the best set of film makers in the world with their latest three. Wall-e, Up and Toy Story 3 are mind numbingly decent films. Each much more adult than your average family film yet still being able to entertain the kids. I was is no doubt that Toy Story 3 would be good, in fact my expectation was so high going in I became slightly concerned that it wouldn't be able to live up, boy was I wrong. During its opening ten minutes I went from laughing my ass off to welling up with tears of genuine emotion, something the film did continuously as it went on. On the surface its a prison movie, under that its a story about growing up and underneath that its a heart breaking message about letting go and accepting that sometimes, giving up what seems like the most important thing in the world is the right and only thing to do. By the end of this film I was in full on man tears and had to sit in the cinema until the end credits finished rolling in order to compose myself to face the outside world again, that harsh daylight never seemed brighter.
I dunno maybe I am a sucker for a cheap trick, maybe my life experiences have made Toy Story 3 more poignant than it really is, or maybe, just maybe Toy Story 3 is the perfect end to a near perfect trilogy.
The Toy Story Trilogy gets....
5 out of 5
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