Is Part 3 of Anything Ever Good?

Why is that Part 3 of Anything is almost always a letdown at best and a complete disaster at worst???

Notable inclusions:
Pirates of the Caribbean 3
(to a degree) Return of the Jedi
Star Trek III
Back to the Future III
Jaws III
Matrix Revolutions
Superman 3
Spider-Man 3 (same movie as above)
X-Men 3
Alien3
Batman Forever
GodFather Part III
Terminator 3 (How could anything follow 2?  And, secretly, I like this one.  Don't tell.)
Half Life 2: Episode 3
Rocky III
Anne of Green Gables (This one is for my sister!)
Shrek 3

Notable exclusions:
The Last Crusade (Though it's not perfect)
Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban (Although the movie disappointed me (yes, I know I'm in an extreme minority here))
LotR:RotK (though it's still probably my least favourite of the trilogy)
GoldFinger (though not nearly as good, IMO, as FRWL)
Planet of the Apes 3 (Escape from)
Toy Story 3

General exception to the rule seems to be when Part 2 is a total bomb, then 3 has a chance at being all right.  See: Super Mario Bros 3, or Zelda: A Link to the Past, or Starship Troopers.  In fact, the better Part 2 is, the worse off Part 3 generally has it.  It also seems that when Part 3 is billed as "the end of the trilogy" that that makes it less likely to be good than if it's "Here's #3 and we're still making 'em!"

Star Trek is an odd example.  Is Star Trek III really part 2 of the Star Trek Trilogy and not part 3 of the Star Trek series?  Is that why Star Trek III isn't as bad as some and Star Trek IV isn't as good as it should be too?  Did they split the difference?

(NOTE: Not to be confused with: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Article-on-prequel-films-Note-Does-not-pertain-to-Godfather-II-which-isnt-a-prequel-its-a-sequel-with-extended-flashback-sequences-or-a-partial-prequel-to-some/post/451694/ or http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Sequel-Statistics-Chart-OR-Sequels-Suck-and-We-Have-the-InfoGraphic-to-Prove-it-OR-Anchorhead-was-right-Tell-your-sister-Anchorhead-was-RIIIIIGGHT-OR-Sequals-thx-Boost/topic/12383/page/1/)

Alright, so the list making is fun and all... but why do you think this is so common?  Or is it?  Have I made a mountain out of a mole-hill?

The Exorcist III was cool.

xhonzi said:

Why is that Part 3 of Anything is almost always a letdown at best and a complete disaster at worst???

Notable inclusions:
Pirates of the Caribbean 3
Back to the Future III
Matrix Revolutions
Batman Forever

Notable exclusions:
The Last Crusade (Though it's not perfect)

I have to disagree a little. POTC 2 was way worse than 3. It was just boring right from the start. The worst of all POTC films. Third one may have made less sense but at least there was something new and it didn't revolve around Depp that much since his character has always worked better in the backround in POTC films.

I also like BTTF III, because it's all fun and cool like a modern western. In my opinion it's better than II although I like them all because of different reasons. All of them have things I don't like, too. Hard to put them in any order, to me it's like a one big movie.

Matrix Reloaded is one of the worst films I've seen. Third one may not make any more sense but still, at least you can watch it through somehow.

I've always kinda liked Batman Forever, maybe it's just nostalgic for me. Of course it's more a kiddie film but still. I don't like Batman Returns that much so Forever is more fun to watch. The first one is the best of these 4.

Edit: forgot Indy. I'm one of those people who don't like TOD at all so TLC is better.

I find your list a little... strange. For instance:

BTTF3: it has a higher rating on rotten tomatoes, and there's no way you can call it a bad movie!

Alien3: the ONLY reason people didn't like the movie is because they killed Hicks, Newt and then, eventually, Ripley. It's much better than Ressurection or AVP.

Robocop III: Funny you put in T3, but left this out, this was a much worse movie - comparatively speaking - than T3.

Godfather Pt3: By no means as perfect a film as the first two, it is still a great film IMHO. It's not as if Mario Puzo didn't write it...

Rocky III: As sequals go, this one was decent, nowhere near as bad as Rocky V.

What about Saw III - probably the best of the 6 sequals :) Certainly better than the disappointment of Saw II anyway!

Spiderman 3 was about as good as the other ones. It was silly in parts but so were the others. Also it felt a bit more rounded and not as drawn out as 2 did...

What? Spiderman 3 was a mess. It's like they took 3 little movies, and squashed them together...badly.

I think he is a daddy. Just not as old as he lets on.

;)

greenpenguino I have a friend that thinks spidy3 was the best ... needless to say he's very very weird. He just liked venom in the comics that's all, rofl.

Yeah SPidy3 was the worst... almost as bad as batman and robin!

LexX said:

I have to disagree a little.

Well, then.  I'll have to disagree A LOT! :)

POTC 2 was way worse than 3. It was just boring right from the start. The worst of all POTC films. Third one may have made less sense but at least there was something new and it didn't revolve around Depp that much since his character has always worked better in the backround in POTC films.

Wrong!  Actually, it sounds like it comes down to taste.  In this instance, and the several following...  I'm on the verge of rewatching the PotC trilogy, but right now I think I think PotC2 is right up there with the 1st.  Moody, focused (complex, but consistent), expectation upsetting, funny, adventuresome, charming, etc.  The third one, in my opinion and I would guess also in common opinion, was an unfocused mess that just didn't work or make sense.  It also brought in too many new elements that were poorly handled.  Calypso?  Insanse Jack?  Davy Jones can be on land as long as his feet are wet?  A wedding in the midst of a ship battle circling the drain?  Really?

I also like BTTF III, because it's all fun and cool like a modern western. In my opinion it's better than II although I like them all because of different reasons. All of them have things I don't like, too. Hard to put them in any order, to me it's like a one big movie.

It's possible I haven't seen BTTF III since theatres.  I just remember being very disappointed by it.  Instead of having the thought provoking elements from the first two- about time travel, yes, but more importantly about how our parents and our kids would be at our same age...  Instead of exploring the complexities of time travel... it was more, I think, an excuse to let the primary cast do a western.  Which was what MJF had been wanting to do.

However, their scores on imdb are close (2=7.5 3=7.1) so maybe it was just me.

Matrix Reloaded is one of the worst films I've seen. Third one may not make any more sense but still, at least you can watch it through somehow.

Now these I have just recently watched.  I've always been a fan of all 3.  I know there are a lot of bad bits in them, and I know I've given those bad bits a pass whereas I wasn't willing to overlook the bad bits in the prequels...  But watching them recently was like watching them with fresh eyes.  And the one thought I had after watching Reloaded was: Why doesn't everybody love this movie?!?!?  Yes, the rave/sex scene is long and dumb.  I skipped that part, actually.  But everything else?  A very good movie in my opinion.  Revolutions- I still like it, but I think it needs a lot more good will to give it a pass.  The new Oracle is a fundamental problem, the action scene in the club is a little tired, the freaks in the club are disturbing, the "bring me the eyes of the Oracle" part is brought up and then completely dimissed, the Train section is weird, the "Love is a Word, Neil" part is pretentious, etc.  The tunnel scenes, battle scenes in Zion are really good, except for the kid=I believe, Neo! parts.  Neo and Trinity go to 01 is decent.  The Neo vs Smith battle seems to be a little off in places, but has some good stuff to it.  The rainbow finale is bizarre.  As I said, I still like the movie... it's just incredibly uneven to me.

(IMDB: 2=7.1 3=6.5)

I've always kinda liked Batman Forever, maybe it's just nostalgic for me. Of course it's more a kiddie film but still. I don't like Batman Returns that much so Forever is more fun to watch. The first one is the best of these 4.

Edit: forgot Indy. I'm one of those people who don't like TOD at all so TLC is better.

A lot of this just comes down to personal preference.  Therefore I wouldn't have listed the examples if I thought I could have asked the question without offering them.

But do you agree generally?  Is there something about Part 3's that's often more broken that Part 2?

Maybe I should have asked it this way:

What trilogies (quadrilogies) have satisfactory endings?

RU.08 said:

I find your list a little... strange. For instance:

Alien3: the ONLY reason people didn't like the movie is because they killed Hicks, Newt and then, eventually, Ripley.

That's a big part of the frustration early on... but I think the movie is way worse than that.

It's much better than Ressurection or AVP.

While I would agree with this personally, it has nothing to do with how good 1 and 2 are. 

Robocop III: Funny you put in T3, but left this out, this was a much worse movie - comparatively speaking - than T3.

Good catch.  I would have put this on the list had I thought of it.

Rocky III: As sequals go, this one was decent, nowhere near as bad as Rocky V.

RU.08 is TheBoost's sock CONFIRMED!

 What about Saw III - probably the best of the 6 sequals :) Certainly better than the disappointment of Saw II anyway!

 I haven't seen the Saw films.  So... No comment.

Return of the Jedi is a notable exception!

But I suspect any number of sequels (not only IIIs) fall short because they try too hard to reinvent the story to make it interesting. The effect might be more pronounced for IIIs because at that point it isn't just about a great original story but more about getting something/anything up on the screen to make money for the producers. By the time of IIIs, the original writer and director might be gone as well as many others initially involved.