Top 10 Movie Trilogies of All-Time

With the summer kicking off with 2 films in 3 weeks completing their trilogies, Iron Man and The Hangover, I decided it'd be best to rank the best trilogies of all-time. This was incredibly hard to find 10 really great trilogies. So many times there is a forced film (Hangover) that doesn't need to be made, ruining the entire trilogy. It also is hard that some great trilogies added 4th, 5th, etc. There just aren't very many trilogies out there, and aren't nearly enough good ones. That would explain some of the randomness that will ensue on this top 10 list.

For some guidelines, Indiana Jones doesn't count as a trilogy because unfortunately the 4th film exists. We can pretend it never happened, but that wouldn't qualify it as a trilogy. Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't count, even though the 4th film was completely different from the rest. There may be films that will eventually have a 4th, but as they stand now, they are trilogies. I am grading them by trilogies as a whole, and not by which individual film in the trilogy was the best. No honrable mentions here, because some of the trilogies in the top 10 shouldn't really be mentioned in a "Best of All Time" list, but whatever. Without further ado, as always in reverse order: The Top 10 Movie Trilogies of all time.

10) Sam Raimi's Spider-Man: Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Spider-Man was so impactful to what ended up becoming the decade of the "superhero" genre. Raimi's first two Spider-Man movies were awesome, particularly Spider-Man 2. There are some incredible action scenes that were a little before its time. If he was releasing this trilogy modern day, I think they'd be so much better than they already are. This trilogy is much lower due to the fact that Spider-Man 3 was a disaster. Spider-Man 3 had its own problems, the biggest one being a) that there were 3 villains which is way too many and b) Tobey Macguire dancing. There were so many villains and it was such a mess that by the end of the movie, you don't really care that Harry dies, or that Venom and the Sandman are defeated too. Thomas Haden Church as the Sandman was the best thing about this movie, though. And then the Peter Parker dancing scenes. I don't even want to get started on that.


9) Ocean's Trilogy: Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
With an asterisk, these were the first Avengers movies. What I mean by that, is that the ensemble cast put together has never been seen before, and will not be seen again. The fact that Clooney and Pitt were not just in one movie, but 3 movies together is just legendary. Eleven and Thirteen were great. My personal favorite was Thirteen but it goes back and forth every time I watch them. I've only seen Twelve twice. And that is where that will stay. There was nothing happening, the heist wasn't as clever as the first and third heists, but the cast is so fun to watch. Also, flying under the radar as a comic actor was Ben's little brother Casey Affleck. He was so funny, especially in the third one, that he's worth a mention. The dynamic between Pitt, Damon, and Clooney is so perfect and hilarious. Any time they are on screen together it's assured to be golden moments. That's the thing with this trilogy-you can tell these guys were having fun shooting this.


8) Iron Man Trilogy: Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Iron Man 3 (2013)
This was the hardest one to rank. Iron Man was so important to what the Avengers came to be. If Iron Man 1 or 2 sucked, there would be no Avengers. Or there would, and it wouldn't be as amazing as it ended up being. It's also tough because Iron Man 2 was mostly a lead up to the Avengers, and Iron Man 3 was a sequel to the Avengers. They didn't plan it that way, it's how it just ended up being. I rank the Iron Man's as getting worse as they go along. I had a ton of problems with Iron Man 3, little of which involved the Mandarin. I just wasn't a big fan, Iron Man 2 was better than people made it out to be, and Iron Man 1 is just awesome.


7) Bourne Trilogy: Bourne Identity (2002), Bourne Supremacy (2004), Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
I'll start off with this. Bourne Legacy does not count. It was a spin-off. It had none of the same cast. They acknowledge what Bourne was and did, it was simply a different corporation than Treadstone. It was it's own thing. With that said, rarely in a trilogy of any kind is the 3rd film the best one. But the Bourne Ultimatum was the best, and by far the most intriguing. Supremacy got a little boring at times and the story focusing on Marie hurt its overall appeal, but it was necessary to move the story along. This trilogy is the first trilogy ranked where there wasn't a bad film in it, which again, is due to the fact that there just aren't very many good trilogies out there.

6) Three Flavours Cornetto: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), The World's End (2013)
At first I felt bad about including a trilogy that has an unreleased film in it, as well as the fact it's not a

true trilogy. But then I didn't feel bad at all. They were going to be listed as an honorable mention until I realized that it is really hard to find good trilogies that I enjoyed. They're deserving of this list. The Three Flavours Cornetto is the trio of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost. These guys are hilarious. Not only that, but they make some really good films. Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead are not only funny, but they're shot, edited, and written so well that they were included in this Top 10 list. I'm a huge fan of their first two films, and from what I'm hearing, The World's End is going to fit in very nicely.

5) Star Wars Original Trilogy: A New Hope (IV, 1977), The Empire Strikes Back (V, 1980), Return of the Jedi (VI, 1983)
The top 5 is where the heavy hitters start coming into play. Star Wars changed the game. It was so ahead of its time and the story was so brilliant and everything was perfectly executed. All of them are great, but I would rank them 1) Empire 2) New Hope 3) Jedi, since for whatever reason everyone is always asking you to rank your favorite Star Wars. Seriously though, it's more than any film series ever. People just really care about this series, and I guess that's part of what makes it so great. And that's part of why the prequel trilogy pissed so many people off (personally Revenge of the Sith was the only one worth watching, and if Phantom Menace was about 45 minutes shorter you could talk me into that). Everyone always wants this series to be remade-it shouldn't. But if it were, it's in the right hands right now with JJ Abrams at the helm.

4) Godfather Trilogy: The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Godfather Part III (1990)
I mean what else is there to say. The first two are two of the best movies of all time. I wish that I could say the same about Part III, which is still very much enjoyable. It's just that the first two Godfather's were so incredible. It changes you. I can never pick which one I liked better, the first or the second. I just can't. They both are examples of perfect film making. These are movies that should never be touched ever again, and I'm worried that within the next 20 years someone will try to. These films are too perfectly crafted to be ruined. The fail rate of remaking these films is 100%. It can't and should not be done. Anyone who's seen these films understands. There isn't much more I can say. Truly brilliant.

3) Toy Story Trilogy: Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010)
Do I feel terrible that an animated series about toys that talk is above the Godfather? I don't. And

there was not any hesitation when doing so. I love these movies. All three of these films are perfect. It cannot be endorsed more. These movies are Pixar's bread and butter. They're in their own league, even when comparing them to the other brilliant Pixar movies. They're just not the same. And to do what they did and had the balls to do with the third film was so incredible. To release a film 10 years later, to change up the game. To hope people still cared about these toys. It had to be perfect or it was going to piss people off. The third movie was the only movie I've ever cried in while in the theater. It was the end of an era. I grew up with these toys. When I have kids, I will show them every one of these movies, proudly.

2) The Dark Knight Trilogy: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

I'm going to start off saying something I've said plenty of times before: Batman Begins doesn't get
nearly enough credit. It is just as good as the other two. I love origin stories and if you haven't watched Begins in a while, go back and watch it. There were so many things that I loved watching. It's fun to see Bruce Wayne become the Batman. Dark Knight is one of the best movies of all time. It gets a spot right up there next to the Godfathers, as well as the three movies coming up in the number 1 spot. Obviously not everyone says what is going to follow, but there are certainly a lot of people out there who say or have said "Heath Ledger only won Best Supporting Actor because he died". Shut up. To this day, I've never seen a performance like that. I don't think I ever will see a performance like that again, either. When Batman evidently gets remade in 10 years, the Joker will always get compared to Ledger's joker. And that's how it should be. Something that is definitely in need of a mention is Hans Zimmer's score. It is so perfect and so moving and so epic. I get so excited just talking about it. And when I heard the Bane chants in the trailer, I knew that Zimmer brought his A game to the Dark Knight Rises as well. The third movie certainly has it's problems and loopholes. My only complaint, is that it wasn't long enough. What I mean by that is-it's already a long movie, yet I felt like there needed to be a little bit more depth. I'm sure there was about 30-45 minutes that are crucial to the plot and story that had to be cut from the film. I loved TDKR. I loved all of these films. Christopher Nolan is the best director in the business right now, and these films are masterpieces.


1) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Two Towers (2002), Return of the King (2003)
I went back and forth on 1st and 2nd place for a good 10 minutes. I just couldn't decide. But then I

remember what this series did and the magnitude that it did it. I recently re-watched all three of these movies in anticipation of The Hobbit (which doesn't count towards the trilogy, see it as the original Star Wars to the Prequels). All three of these films are so incredible to watch. All three are perfect. I've never put myself through reading any of the books (which I'm sure are better-books always are), but the story is the best fantasy story out there. The cast was perfect, without any big names. These films would be like if the Denver Nuggets won the Finals for 3 years in a row. No superstars, just good all around chemistry and talent. Viggo Mortensen was perfectly cast as Aragorn. He was awesome. Magneto was awesome as well as everyone's-favorite-character, Gandalf. And the chemistry between Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins is done to perfection. I could go on for so long about this trilogy, which is why it earned the top spot over the Dark Knight series. I will always remember sitting on my couch at age 10 watching the Return of the King sweep the Oscars in 2004. They literally won everything. If Return of the King was nominated for anything, it was a sure thing that its name was going to be read from the envelope. Howard Shore's score is worth a ton of mention. His score to these three movies is basically its own character. Without a good score, these films aren't nearly as good as they are. They're too good. In parts where it's supposed to be boring, it's still exciting and fun to watch. The Lord of the Rings is, without a doubt, the greatest trilogy, hands down, ever made.

You can follow Will Harmon on Twitter at @willharmon8