# Film trilogies with all possible quality orderings **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066 "2016-02-03T16:59:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/1 "2016-02-03T16:59:04Z")
For a trilogy of films, there are six possible orderings of quality, assuming that no two films are the same quality. For instance, a trilogy that gets better with each movie would be 321 (third best, then second best, then first best). A trilogy that gets worse with each movie would be 123 (best, then second best, then third best). There are six possible such combinations. Can we think of a trilogy that fits into each of those six? (It’s obviously a bit amorphous what really counts as a trilogy… so don’t just pick three consecutive movies out of a longer series unless there’s something that clearly groups them into a triad. And ideally, the rating should be based on IMDB or RottenTomatoes scores, not just your personal opinion.) I’m also curious what the most and least common orderings will be. To start with: 321 - Star Wars eps 1-3 123 - Godfather trilogy 213 - Tobey Maguire Spiderman movies, Xmen 1-3, Star Wars 4-6 312 - Christopher Nolan batman movies 132 - Iron Man 1-3, Indiana Jones original trilogy So we stll need an examples of 231 (starting with the second best, then third best, then best). Two prominent trilogies that don’t seem to have enough of a critical consensus to fit into a category, imho, are Toy Story and Lord of the Rings. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/2 "2016-02-03T17:07:44Z")
You’ve kind of worded things funny, but I think for 231 the Ocean’s 11 trilogy might work (at least as far as general consensus). Of course, I’m one of those rare people who thinks Ocean’s 12 was the best by far, but I realize I’m in the minority. ---
**Author:** ![Shearer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Shearer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shearer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/3 "2016-02-03T17:11:47Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/4 "2016-02-03T17:37:19Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > So we stll need an examples of 231 (starting with the second best, then third best, then best). Not a trilogy, but the first three Harry Potter films fit that pattern. On IMDB, they rate 7.5, 7.4, and 7.8 respectively. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/5 "2016-02-03T17:53:25Z")
Mad Max trilogy: 231 ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/6 "2016-02-03T17:54:20Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Not a trilogy, but the first three Harry Potter films fit that pattern. On IMDB, they rate 7.5, 7.4, and 7.8 respectively. An actual trilogy that technically fits is the Matt Damon Bourne films. They are all very close in quality, but on IMDB they are 7.9, 7.8, and 8.1, which also mirrors their reviews from critics. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/7 "2016-02-03T17:56:54Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Mad Max trilogy: 231 What world do you live in where _The Road Warrior_ is the worst Mad Max film? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/8 "2016-02-03T18:07:44Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > What world do you live in where _The Road Warrior_ is the worst Mad Max film? It’s ordered from best to worst, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/9 "2016-02-03T18:07:55Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > What world do you live in where _The Road Warrior_ is the worst Mad Max film? ROAD WARRIOR is the second Mad Max (Mel Gibson) film. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/10 "2016-02-03T18:09:49Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > 312 - Christopher Nolan batman movies You are the only person I’ve ever met who thinks THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is the best (and not the worst) of the three. ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/11 "2016-02-03T18:14:23Z")
> [@MovieMogul](#): > > You are the only person I’ve ever met who thinks THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is the best (and not the worst) of the three. To be fair, he thinks it was the second best. I like Begins more, but I don’t honestly think it’s _that_ much better than Rises. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/12 "2016-02-03T18:18:46Z")
While not actually a trilogy in the films. It is sort of is for the cast. The original “Rat Pack” Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., etc. However, it’s been so long since I saw Sargents 3, it could have been better than Robin and… 1. Ocean’s 11 2. Robin and the Seven Hoods 3. Sargents 3 I suppose you could throw in Some Came Running or Four for Texas, but It’s just not the same. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/13 "2016-02-03T18:21:26Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > It’s ordered from best to worst, isn’t it? > [@MovieMogul](#): > > ROAD WARRIOR is the second Mad Max (Mel Gibson) film. The numbers are the rating of each film in the trilogy. So 231 is… 2 - _Mad Max_ 3 - _The Road Warrior_ 1 - _Beyond Thunderdome_ It is OK if **buddha\_david** loves his Thunderdome, but I do not think that is the general consensus. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/14 "2016-02-03T18:23:55Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > Two prominent trilogies that don’t seem to have enough of a critical consensus to fit into a category, imho, are Toy Story and Lord of the Rings. LoTR is clearly 123. Toy Story 213. Nolan Batman is 213. Star Wars 4-6 is 213. Star Wars 1-3 is 321. Matrix trilogy is 123. Mel Gibson Mad Max is 231. That’s in order of quality: Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, and Mad Max. Fury Road is excluded. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/15 "2016-02-03T18:26:12Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > The numbers are the rating of each film in the trilogy. So 231 is… > > 2 - _Mad Max_ > 3 - _The Road Warrior_ > 1 - _Beyond Thunderdome_ > > It is OK if **buddha\_david** loves his Thunderdome, but I do not think that is the general consensus. No, you’ve got the convention backwards. 231 means RW best, BT second best, MM worst. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/16 "2016-02-03T18:32:22Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > No, you’ve got the convention backwards. 231 means RW best, BT second best, MM worst. No. Read the OP again. The first number is the _ranking_ of the first film, the second number is the _ranking_ of the second film, and the third number is the _ranking_ of the last film. > [@MaxTheVool](#): > > So we stll need an examples of 231 (starting with the second best, then third best, then best). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/17 "2016-02-03T19:25:40Z")
How about Toy Story? That’s a pretty solid 2-3-1 for the first three films (though 1 is still pretty good). ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/18 "2016-02-03T20:24:04Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > No. Read the OP again. The first number is the _ranking_ of the first film, the second number is the _ranking_ of the second film, and the third number is the _ranking_ of the last film. Wait…what? It reads to me that the number indicates the order in the film series, arranged from best to worst. For instance: Godfather Trilogy (123): Best = Godfather I (#1) Second Best = Godfather II (#2) Least Best = Godfather III (#3) Indiana Jones Trilogy (132): Best = Raiders of the Lost Ark (#1) Second Best = The Last Crusade (#3) Least Best = Temple of Doom (#2) Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (321): Least Worst = Revenge of the Sith (#3) Second Worst = Attack of the Clones (#2) First Worst = The Phantom Menace (#1) What am I missing here? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/19 "2016-02-03T20:33:51Z")
“Frankenstein” 2 “Bride of Frankenstein” 1 (best sequel ever) “Son of Frankenstein” 3 but Bela Lugosi shines as Ygor whom they hang but Ygor no die ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066/20 "2016-02-03T20:41:40Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > What am I missing here? 😕 Now do the same thing, but this time do it like the OP indicates. As you will see, for _those_ examples the order is the same. It is _not_ the same for 312 or 231, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/film-trilogies-with-all-possible-quality-orderings/745066.md?page=2)