# Which film trilogy has the (relative) worst part 3? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573 "2008-05-01T05:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/21 "2008-05-01T13:56:21Z")
For relatively low-budget sequels, I was originally going to suggest **Beverly Hills Cop III**. WotNot’s suggestion of **Robocop III** ranks up there, though. Both are much worse than their immediate successors (II), which is saying something. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/22 "2008-05-01T14:00:30Z")
[QUOTE=bubastis] Best “Part 3”? Back to the Future. Worst? Well, I would say Shrek 3, except Shrek 4 is in production so that doesn’t fit your criteria… **Ditto Highlander** … I’ll go with Pirates of the Caribbean. [/QUOTE] There can be only one. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/23 "2008-05-01T14:10:16Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] Not sure about exceeding its predecessors, but i really liked _The Bourne Ultimatum_ at least as much as the other two. [/QUOTE] Bourne is one of the few series, IMHO, that actually got better with each installment. My gf had a thing for the lead so I ended up seeing all three in theaters, the first one sucked, the second was merely bad while the third was…well, still not great, but at least a decent way to spend two hours. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/24 "2008-05-01T14:23:17Z")
We’ve gotten this far without Austin Powers? **Goldmember** was a terrible part III. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/25 "2008-05-01T14:43:51Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] We’ve gotten this far without Austin Powers? **Goldmember** was a terrible part III. [/QUOTE] That’s true, it was really bad. I’m not sure how I feel about the second one, though - there were some very funny parts, but they also totally ditched any kind of character development in favor of random gags, which was what went wrong with the third one. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/26 "2008-05-01T15:17:22Z")
There is also the **Rush Hour** series. \*\*III \*\*was terrible, \*\*II \*\*was uninspired, \*\*I \*\*was really pretty good. My vote for total drop-off in quality has to go to Pirates of the Carribean, though I believe that if I had seen Jaws 3D I would vote there. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/27 "2008-05-01T15:24:46Z")
Originally I was going to say the Matrix but then I remembered everything after the first was a waste of celluloid, so there wasn’t a big fall just for the third one. So I’m going to have to go with Shrek the first two were funny and well done the third was a horrible series of jokes without a plot. I haven’t seen Pirates III but the second one was bad so there couldn’t have been much of a fall. The best third movie would have to be Return of the Jedi. Indiana Jones is good as well but I think Temple of Doom is an inferior movie and so hurts the trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/28 "2008-05-01T15:37:22Z")
Of the trilogies you listed, they kind of fall into a couple categories - and the decrease in quality generally applies to each category: 1. The first was a hit, so let’s crank out a quick sequel to cash in. The second was horrible, but the 3rd was better, although not up to the quality of the first. - Indiana Jones - Jurassic Park 1. The first was a hit, so let’s crank out a sequel that will insure they’ll go see the 3rd. The second is worse than the original. The 3rd is usually on par with the 2nd. - Star Wars (original trilogy) - The Matrix - Pirates of the Caribbean 1. Planned first and second. Both were of comparable quality. 3rd was an afterthought to cash in, and sucked accordingly: - The Godfather - Superman (Christopher Reeve trilogy) 1. Planned trilogy: - Star Wars (prequel trilogy) (unfortunately all 3 sucked) - Lord of the Rings (most surprizingly, all 3 were awesome) 1. First was successful, sequels were not hastily cranked out and were not simple re-hashes of first. But quality started to wane by the 3rd. - Blade - Spider-Man - X-Men ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/29 "2008-05-01T15:40:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Intravenus De Milo** > And, is there a part 3 that actually managed to buck the trend and equal or exceed its predecessors in quality? _Curse of the Fly_, Sequel to _The Fly_ and _Return of the Fly_. (The Vincent Price originals, not the Jeff Goldbloom remakes.) Shot on an extremely low budget, but it has a decent storyline. The studio was only hoping to make a quick buck, but the writers and actors made a good effort. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/30 "2008-05-01T16:15:08Z")
I’m going with _Godfather III_. In most cases, there was a recognizable drop-off between the first and second movies, so the further decline in the third was just part of the trend. But in the _Godfather_ series, the first and the second were great movies which may the mediocrity of the third look much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/31 "2008-05-01T16:26:41Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] The Good, The Bad & The Ugly. [/QUOTE] Excellent choice. All three good movies, but the third one is a _great_ movie. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/32 "2008-05-01T17:11:14Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] I think i’m going to have to go with a trilogy that’s not on your list, and vote for _Jaws 3-D_. While _Jaws 2_ wasn’t great, it was OK, and _Jaws_ was a classic. The third one, though, was a stinker of mammoth proportions. [/QUOTE] I guess you mised the fourth one, _Jaws: the Revenge_, co-starring Michael Caine. Even worse than _Jaws 3-D_. My vote goes to **X-Men**. Two great movies folowed by a craptastic effort from that hack, Brett Ratner. I thought it was the second biggest disappointment of its summer (after _Superman Returns_). ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/33 "2008-05-01T17:22:13Z")
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo] Okay, thanks. I wasn’t alive when the first two came out, and didn’t see the next two, but I keep hearing about how horrendously bad **Superman III** was, so I just assumed that they quit with that one. I guess not. [/QUOTE] While **Superman III** was pretty darn bad, **Superman IV** was even more horrendously worse. Lex Luthor creates “Nuclear Man”, an evil superhero to take on Superman. And he kept calling him “Nu-kyoo-lar Man”. On the **Indiana Jones** series, it was the second one (“Temple of Doom”) that was bad. The third (“Last Crusade”) was much better. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/34 "2008-05-01T17:56:47Z")
We’re abusing the word “trilogy” a bit here. A true, proper trilogy is a single story told in 3 parts. Examples are quite rare: LOTR, Star Wars I - III, and maybe The Matrix. If you believe George Lucas’ retconning, then Star Wars IV - VI (personally, I think Star Wars was designed to stand alone, and 2 sequels were tacked on). On the other hand, there are tons of movies + 2 sequels. ETA: On preview, I see that cormac was thinking along the same lines. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/35 "2008-05-01T18:01:27Z")
I don’t think the **Alien** movies should be discounted. The first one was great, and the second one was even better. The third was unwatchable (i.e. remember that little girl that we spent the whole previous movie trying to rescue, the sole survivor of a colony of settlers? Well, she’s dead. Moving right along…) So as far as I’m concerned, the series stayed a trilogy, because I never watched any after that. ETA: OK, I guess they were all _sequels_. Oh, well. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/36 "2008-05-01T19:08:49Z")
[QUOTE=cormac262] Of the trilogies you listed, they kind of fall into a couple categories - and the decrease in quality generally applies to each category: 1. The first was a hit, so let’s crank out a sequel that will insure they’ll go see the 3rd. The second is worse than the original. The 3rd is usually on par with the 2nd. - Star Wars (original trilogy) [/QUOTE] _Stands out of the way as every SW fan ever surges past and tears **cormac262** to shreds_ ---
**Author:** ![Mojo\_Pin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mojo\_Pin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo_Pin)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/37 "2008-05-01T19:24:21Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] …To the list I would add the third part of the Rocky Horror trilogy, which was apparently so bad that despite several scripts was never even made… [/QUOTE] There was a Rocky Horror Trilogy? this is news to me–i thought it was just the one and that was it! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/38 "2008-05-01T19:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Mojo Pin] There was a Rocky Horror Trilogy? this is news to me–i thought it was just the one and that was it! [/QUOTE] He’s talking about _Shock Treatment_, which has a few of the same cast members and centers around Brad and Janet (played by new actors) and a weirdo reality TV premise. I’d like to see it for curiosity’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/39 "2008-05-01T20:01:39Z")
There are 4 **Alien** movies. **Shrek 3** was awful. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573/40 "2008-05-01T20:03:45Z")
[QUOTE=Snarky\_Kong] There are 4 **Alien** movies. **Shrek 3** was awful. [/QUOTE] Shrek 3 doesn’t even come close to some of the awful 3rd movies out there. It’s not even in the top 100 list of terrible 3rds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-film-trilogy-has-the-relative-worst-part-3/447573.md?page=3)