“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)
Franchise: The Lord of the Rings
How Threequel-y Was It: With a decade between us and the release of “The Return of the King,” it’d almost be easy to forget how truly amazing and groundbreaking the third film in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was. Shot back to back with “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers,” Peter Jackson‘s capper to his adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic is a satisfying ending to an incredible undertaking. And by “ending,” we mean “endings.” Though lesser than its predecessors, the movie is still rousing and ambitious, until you reach the series of seemingly interminable final scenes, each followed by one more finale, asking for more of our tears. As though we had any left after watching Billy Boyd‘s Pippin and his heartbreaking rendition of “Edge of Night.” While better in execution than most cinematic war scenes, the major battles in the film — The Battle of the Pelennor Fields and The Battle of the Black Gate — can’t possibly match the epic grandeur of Helm’s Deep, which served as the climax of “The Two Towers.” However, we will confess to raising our fists in victory with Miranda Otto‘s triumphant declaration as Eowyn, “I am no man!” Is that just us?
Where does it rate in its franchise (to that date): 3/3 Worst, if only because the others are so good. The Academy disagreed, bestowing Best Picture and all 10 other awards it was nominated for, likely rewarding “RotK” as well as its predecessors in one shot.
“The Matrix Revolutions” (2003)
Franchise: The Matrix
How Threequel-y Was It: The story goes that The Wachowskis, unsure if they’d be able to make another movie in Hollywood, crammed an entire trilogy’s worth of ideas into the first “Matrix” movie. When producer Joel Silver and studio Warner Bros went back to the Wachowskis, clamoring to produce further films in the franchise (after the original had become a surprise smash), the directors cranked out two subsequent films, shot simultaneously and released six months apart. (This at least partially explains the weird, thrown-together vibe of the latter movies.) “The Matrix Revolutions” was the end to that trilogy, a completely bizarre conclusion to an already wonky series that saw franchise mainstays like Laurence Fishburne‘s Morpheus regulated to second-banana status (he was basically the Chewbacca to Jada Pinkett–Smith‘s Han Solo), with none of the original characters actually staying in the human stronghold of Zion to defend the population against the robotic menace. Much of the movie is devoted to Keanu Reeves‘ Neo traveling to the fabled Machine City on a messianic quest for redemption, while the hanging chads established in the previous movies, like Mr. Smith’s (Hugo Weaving) ability to occupy human bodies, are ignored almost entirely. There are a handful of standout sequences that rival the first film (including a zero-G hallway shootout and all the Machine City nonsense) and, unlike the second film, the stakes are actually significant. But it’s hard to make an emotionally identifiable action movie when your main character is a tragedy-stricken demigod
Where does it rate in the franchise: 2/3 While being superior to the sequel it still falls far short of the original’s inventiveness and wily humor.
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)
Franchise: Indiana Jones
How Threequel-y Was It: After famed archaeologist and professor Indiana Jones faced down psychotic cult leaders and Nazis in search of the Ark of the Covenant, he had something even more dangerous to deal with in the third movie: Daddy issues. Like most threequels, it went back to what made the original so special (and even further back, too – a prologue set the stage for the “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” television series), in this case a cursed religious artifact (the Holy Grail) and a timely villain (Nazis!) After the dourness of the original sequel “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” the third movie was more lively and enjoyable – thanks largely to Jeffrey Boam‘s fizzy-fun script, Harrison Ford‘s comic timing and Sean Connery‘s wonderful portrayal as the senior Jones. It was assumed that this would be the final entry in the popular franchise – the word “last” is in the title and the movie literally ends with the characters riding off into the sunset – but George Lucas‘ insatiable need to fuck with people’s childhoods led him to return to the Indiana Jones well one more time with 2008’s regrettable “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
Where Does It Rate In The Franchise: 2/3 The third film is strong, but seriously could you ever hope to top “Raiders of the Lost Ark?”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End“(2007)
Franchise: Pirates of the Caribbean
How Threequel-y Was It: Like “The Matrix,” Disney shot both sequels to its surprise hit “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (starring an unproven weirdo named Johnny Depp and based on a Disneyland attraction) simultaneously, although scheduling difficulties and an actual hurricane pushed back production to the point that, after the second film was released theatrically, the cast and crew had to hurriedly finish production on the third. (This led to the third film being, at the time of its release, the most expensive movie ever made, a fact tactfully obscured by its shot-at-the-same-time-as-the-sequel status.) While no 2. (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest“) had been a box office sensation, the third movie (released the following summer) failed to connect in the same way – it is overlong and unnecessarily complicated, with a climax that can be conservatively described as “fucking insane.” But it also features some of the most memorable imagery of the entire franchise (all of the dreamy netherworld stuff at the beginning, Tom Hollander running his hand down the banister of an East India Trading Company ship seconds before its blown to smithereens) and it pushed director Gore Verbinski‘s aesthetic even further into the realm of animation/live-action hybridization. Unfairly maligned at the time of its release, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” is unflinchingly dark and often quite rousing – suitable for the conclusion to a trilogy that nobody thought would ever exist in the first place. And while it wraps up a number of plot threads, it still left some open, which is why a fourth film, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” was released in 2011 without the involvement of Verbinski. A fifth film, tentatively slated for 2015, is still looking for a director.
Where Does It Rate In The Franchise: 2/3 It lacks the surprise of the first film, but has a number of flourishes that rival or eclipse similar embellishments elsewhere. Yo ho ho…
“Return of the Jedi” (1983)
Franchise: Star Wars
How Threequel-y Was It: ‘Jedi,’ like you don’t know, is the conclusion to the record-breaking original “Star Wars” trilogy, which more or less defined, for an entire generation, what it was like to go to the movies and come away genuinely awestruck. The third film after the noticeably darker sequel “The Empire Strikes Back,” saw the return of the planet-destroying space station the Death Star, secrets revealed and a final, gripping confrontation between good and evil. Also, in a development that would come to define not only “Return of the Jedi” but the second set of “Star Wars” movies (the prequels), it was aimed more directly at children, with the introduction of the cuddly, teddy bear-ish Ewoks. (Their adorable primitivism defeated a technologically advanced race! Yay!) At the time, it seemed like the book was closed on the “Star Wars” cinematic universe, with the galaxy celebrating the defeat of the evil Galactic Empire with fireworks and Ewok songs. Of course, George Lucas wanted further adventures in this playground, so first he decided to endlessly tinker with the original films (on the recent Blu-rays he made the decision to have the Ewoks blink), and then he went back and explored the saga of a young Darth Vader – a decision hilariously derided by Patton Oswalt recently. It’s weird to think of “Return of the Jedi” as a (relative) highpoint for the franchise.
Where does it rank in the franchise (to that date): 3/3 Although the weakest of the original trilogy, it’s still much stronger than anything the prequels, with their jazzy visual effects and narrative incoherence, could muster up.
