Ideally, the goal of a movie trilogy is to provide audiences with three parts of a story that are all relatively consistent in quality — of course, this doesn’t always work out. There is no shortage of really good movie trilogies out there that start and end almost perfectly and that viewers can watch over again without getting tired. On the other hand, there’s also no shortage of bad trilogies that are just awful from beginning to end, but hey, at least they’re consistent.
Sometimes, what happens is that a trilogy is not very consistent at all and only produces one good movie. It isn’t always the start of the trilogy either; sometimes, it’s the finale or the middle film that picks up in quality. For a variety of different reasons,these trilogies have one great movie and two that just weren’t good at alland not worth watching. Of course, viewers don’t have to look hard to find this breed of trilogy, either, as it has become increasingly common in recent years.
10Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (1999-2005)
The good movie: ‘Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith’ (2005)
TheStar Warsprequels really got off to a rocky start with the release ofThe Phantom Menacein 1999. Fans of the franchise, who had been waiting 16 years for the new movie, were immensely disappointed, especially with the new, annoying presence of Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best). Then cameAttack of the Clonesin 2002, and while it was a slight improvement, it was only average at best. Sure, it had less Jar Jar, but it had a lot of clunky and awkward dialogue.
Luckily, the prequels weren’t all bad. 2005’sRevenge of the Sithproved to actually be pretty amazing, with incredible, well-choreographed action,spectacular battle sequences, and plenty of emotional moments. Sure, there were still some awkward lines and some wooden acting, but these flaws were given the meme treatment rather than being ignored completely.Revenge of the Sithstill holds up as peakStar Wars, and even though it’s not as good as the original trilogy, at least the prequels went out with a bang.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
9Aladdin Trilogy (1992-1996)
The good movie: ‘Aladdin’ (1992)
A lot of people probably didn’t even know thatAladdinwas a trilogy rather than a standalone animated musical. That’s because the latter two films weren’t even given a theatre release, going straight to video instead. 1992’sAladdinwas an animated musical set in the Middle East about the titular hero, a scrappy “diamond in the rough.” He soon finds a magic lamp that produces a genie, played by the lateRobin Williams, who helps his master win the heart of a princess. It had classic Disney written all over it, and that’s what made it so amazing.
Wanting to capitalize on its success a bit, filmmakers producedThe Return of Jafarin 1994, which was pretty bad and, as mentioned, wasn’t even considered for a theatre release. For a while it looked like things could only go up, but 1996’sAladdin and the King of Thievesproved that to be untrue. The final movie was even worse than its predecessor, causing the trilogy to sort of fizzle out and pass into obscurity untilthe 2019 Disney live-action remakecame along.
8’Poltergeist' Trilogy (1982-1988)
The good movie: ‘Poltergeist’ (1982)
The originalPoltergeistmovies had a lot going for them at the time. The first one starred a child prodigy namedHeather O’Rourkein one of its leading roles, and for such a young age, she was an incredible actress.Poltergeistwas a collaboration betweenSteven SpielbergandTobe Hooperand was a really creepy, if somewhat cheesy, supernatural horror flick that was appreciated by fans and critics alike. Spielberg and Hooper then stepped away from the franchise, andthe following two films subsequently bombed.
Poltergeist II: The Other Side(1986) was atrocious, and just when it looked like the franchise was at rock bottom,Poltergeist III(1988) came along and dug even deeper. Even Heather O’Rourke reprising her role couldn’t save either of them from the scathing reviews of critics. Ultimately, the scariest part about the latter two movies wasn’t their content but how poor they were in comparison to the first in the franchise.
Poltergeist
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7’The Mummy' Trilogy (1999-2008)
The good movie: ‘The Mummy’ (1999)
1999’sThe Mummyis a B-movie through and through. Thanks to cool action sequences and the irresistible charm ofBrendan FraserandRachel Weisz, it was very good and really memorable, a fun adventure flick that drew upon themes of Ancient Egypt and mixed them with classic adventure. Naturally, when a movie does well, the filmmakers will want to ride the success train for as long as they can.
So it was no surprise whenThe Mummy Returnscame out in 2001. Needless to say, it was bad. It sort of rehashed the first one as much as it could, but the worst part is its infamous CGI. Filmmakers got the hint for a while and left the franchise alone untilThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperorin 2008. This one was a real stinker, featuring CGI that was somehow worse than the first one, along with a boring plotline and lame action sequences. The franchise didn’t die until later, butthe original trilogy went out not in a blaze of glory but by crashing and burning.
6’Night at the Museum’ Trilogy (2006-2014)
The good movie: ‘Night at the Museum’ (2006)
The firstNight at the Museummovie wasn’t really a hit with critics, but audiences enjoyed it a lot. It was a fun little adventure that featured a lot of notable historical figures and had quite a bit of comedy mixed in, too. It became one ofBen Stiller’s most memorable performances and is still remembered fondly today for its creative premise and silly humor. Its sequels, however, not so much.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsoniancame out in 2009, and this time, casual moviegoers weren’t quite so nice to it. Ordinarily, this is a sign that the cast and crew should quit while they’re ahead and move on to something else. Alas, the message fell on deaf ears because a threequel,Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,was released in 2014 and was met with even worse reviews. Thankfully,the originalNight at the Museumtrilogy ended there, but audiences can still watch the first one and appreciate it for its nostalgia and humor.
Night at the Museum
5’Blair Witch' Trilogy (1999-2016)
The good movie: ‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1999)
The Blair Witch Projectwas revolutionary for its time. It was one of the first major movies to utilize the found-footage format, featuring a small cast and ateeny-tiny budget. Yet, it made effective use of what it had to deliver something really special.It heavily relied on elements of psychological horror, and at the time, no one had ever seen anything like it. It was a real gem in the horror genre and still stands as one of the greats.
Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2was released a year later, and it was just plain awful. It was made with an entirely new crew, who decided to disregard the original and destroy every single bit of charm it had. In 2016, another new set of filmmakers tried to get the franchise back on its feet withBlair Witch. While a minor improvement upon the second film, it didn’t possess any of what made the original great, relying solely on cheap jumpscares and in-your-face terror rather than the subtle, mounting sense of dread the original had. Even so, thesubsequent awful movies have not been able to stain the legacy ofThe Blair Witch Project, which remains a true before-and-after moment in indie cinema.
The Blair Witch Project
4’Taken' Trilogy (2008-2014)
The good movie: ‘Taken’ (2008)
The originalTakenwas a genuine action thriller and not just a cash grab. It starredLiam Neeson,establishing him as a potential action hero. Sure, he had been in other action movies but never really got the spotlight untilTaken. The filmwas unique and cleverly done, allowing the audience to see the characters' thought processes as Neeson tries to locate his daughter using techniques he learned in the CIA.It was less about fist fights and gunfire and more about tension and using brains instead of brawn.
Taken 2(2012) andTaken 3(2014) subsequently followed, and while there was a little bit of what made the original great, it still relied heavily on cheap thrills like more gunfire and explosions and very little substance. Whatever story was there got more and more ridiculous. Fans found it hard to believe that one family could have this much bad luck in regards to constantly getting kidnapped. Furthermore, the endings to all three were pretty much the same, andthe franchise quietly ended with a whimper.
3’The Exorcist' Trilogy (1973-1990)
The good movie: ‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
The originalThe Exorcistfilmis a masterpiece of horror that has never been matched and likely never will be. Although it’s 50 years old, it’s still one of themost frightening movies ever made. In 1979, a new set of producers and directors took the reins for a sequel,Exorcist II: The Heretic. The public reaction was so bad that, according to theoriginal directorWilliam Friedkin, Warner Bros. executives were chased down the street by angry viewers at a pre-screening. The reception doesn’t get any worse than that, does it?
The franchise was quiet for a while until an attempted revival was made in 1990 withThe Exorcist III. It was definitely better than the second one, but this wasn’t a very high bar to clear, and it still only managed to be very “meh.” Indeed,it was best to just leave the original well alonerather than tarnish its name with two even worse films that were never going to match its quality or sheer shock factor.
The Exorcist
2’Jurassic Park' Trilogy (1993-2001)
The good movie: ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993)
The firstJurassic Parkis a cinematic marvel that holds up every bit today as much as it did then, a crowning achievement in the works of Steven Spielberg. Its special effects were revolutionary, portraying how dinosaurs would have been up close, albeit using what information was available at the time and is now outdated. To this day, moviegoers still remember how tense the theatre was when they heard the first booming steps of the T-Rex. It’s an iconic scene that needs no introduction.
Spielberg followed up in 1997 withThe Lost World: Jurassic Park, but this was only a mediocre attempt to turn the franchise into a creature feature. The trilogy concluded in 2001 withJurassic Park III, and boy, was it horrible. Indeed,Jurassic Park III’s pterodactyl cage sequencewas its sole saving grace, but everything else about it was just abysmal. The franchise experienced a revival with theJurassic Worldtrilogy, but it never even came close to the original.
Jurassic Park
1’The Chronicles of Riddick' Trilogy (2000-2013)
The good movie: ‘Pitch Black’ (2000)
TheRiddickfranchise has a lot of cool concepts and aesthetics, but unfortunately, much of it is poorly executed. All three films starVin Dieselas the eponymous protagonist who debuted in 2000’sPitch Black. This first movieisn’t anything amazing but remains enjoyable and was met with mostly positive reviews. Sure, it does a lot of things wrong, but it does a lot right, too.
The movie blends a lot of genres, mainly drawing on elements of Space Westerns and horror flicks, with the alien life on a distant planet serving up some mild scares. However, the franchise sadly couldn’t keep its momentum or learn from the first movie. The subsequent entries,The Chronicles of Riddick(2004) andRiddick(2013), only got worse. In all fairness,none of the sequels is outright awful; they just aren’t good.
