I love movies. That’s how this whole blog started – I received a cinema pass for my first Father’s Day and decided I would review movies.
One thing I’ve always found fascinating is how difficult it is to make a great third instalment.
For every Toy Story trilogy (Andy’s trilogy of movies), there’s plenty of examples of movies waiting to remind us that sometimes lightning doesn’t strike three times.
Funnily enough, two of the best examples of disappointing third instalments come from franchises that also contain some of my favourite films of all time.
Let’s start with The Godfather. Inspiring name right?
The first Godfather is one of my favourite ever movies. I love Michael Corleone’s story – his descent from squeaky clean guy to head of the mafia. I prefer the first movie to the second but it doesn’t mean The GodFather Part 2 isn’t itself an absolute gem of a movie. The Vito flashbacks are so well played by Robert De Niro.
But then we have The Godfather Part 3. I don’t think I’ve ever watched it after my first viewing. This was also where I feel Al Pacino’s acting largely involved screaming. Still, it did give us the whole “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” legendary quote.
The Terminator is also a classic. But even then there’s a massive step up to Terminator 2. I could switch that movie on at any point through it and I get hooked in. The pace of the movie and the action is simply fantastic.
And what a concept – AI becoming self aware and taking over the world. Good job it’s just a movie, right? RIGHT?!
Again the third movie doesn’t match up to the first two. It became too formulaic with just a stronger Terminator coming along. They could have done so much more – like an army of T800s or something different. Even then, I did quite like the ending where John Connor takes the call to lead the human resistance.
I guess these so-called weaker third movies actually have their moments too.
And actually, I think there’s more examples of movie trilogies I consider an all round success.
I love the original Star Wars trilogy, and even the prequels stuck the landing with Episode 3. That’s a pretty fun movie – flaws included! In fact, that’s an example of a trilogy where the third movie is the best. (We never talk of the sequel Star Wars trilogy).
And speaking of third instalments being the best – what about Lord of the Rings? That trilogy cemented my love for going to the cinema. Add the extended editions and you have 12 hours of movies there to keep you occupied.
So – Three changes the dynamic.
Whether that’s for better or worse… remains to be seen.
Which brings me to the reason I’ve been thinking about trilogies lately.
It turns out we’re about to start one of our own.
Mrs OddFather and I are expecting our third child!
Part III releases end of the year.
And I’ll leave it there for this week… stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.
