What Are Perfect Duologies That Should Have Never Had a Third Film?

[j9ac9k]

The third film finished the arc, TDK did not.

I agree. Although I think if someone wanted to think of Batman's origin as a duology, then those two films set up Batman's world and his never-ending fight as we know it from the comics. But Nolan wanted to tell a story that had an ending. (for Bruce, that is)

[Frobisher]

The Batman begins and The Dark Knight. Perfect Duology

Nah, watched the trilogy over the weekend (Batmania!) and Rises is just as good as the other two. "That's a lovely lovely voice!".

[Zero Hunter]

You can say it all you want but Rises was not a good movie when compared to Begins and TDK. The quality fell off a damn cliff. Tom Hardy as Bane is still just as much a joke today as Mister Freeze from the old movies, and that is pretty bad. Nolan got to much up his own ass trying to be clever and forgot to actually tell a good story that made sense.

[JBatmanFan05]

I have to side with:

The Godfather
The Terminator

Also probably: Ghostbusters I & II (and yes, I love both, II is quite underrated)


Back to the Future Part III was great, so definitely not that series.

I'll leave in Godfather, but I do think Godfather III and/or Coda is better than many many film sequels. III/Coda could have worked (even without Michael vs Tom Hagen). It was an interesting exploration into Michael's (Catholic) guilt and the (Catholic) punishment he was bound to have for his (Catholic) sins. I find III/Coda a good bit underrated.
Probably the best argument for Godfather I & II is not that III/Coda is bad, but that I & II are on such a rare height of heights.

[Mace Dolex]

The Christopher Reeeve Superman films should have ended after part 2, even with the controversy surrounding Richard Donner's firing and Richard Lester having to complete Superman II it still turned out a perfect duology.

Even the Salkinds were left not knwoing what else to do with Superman III until one night they saw Richard Pryor on Johnny Carson and the rest is history.

[ChrisIII]

One thing Poltergeist III kind of screws up is also that the ghosts (or at least Kane) kill at least two people-whereas the first two films had no (living) body count. Even the attacks on Robbie (The tree, clown and in II the braces) were mainly meant as a distraction for them to grab Carol Anne, and the more malevolent scares and illusions (such as the face melting scene) were to prevent the rescue of Carol Anne.

[Gaastra]

Superman 3 did give us a great lana lang and still like the junkyard fight so it's not all bad.

Did anyone say shrek yet? Should have ended with shrek 2.

Home Alone 3 may be an example of a film that shouldn't be done. They recognized Macaulay Culkin had aged too much and it would stretch credibility to have his character run into the burglars a third time

Then they made home alone 4 and 5 where he fights the crooks again!

[Catlady in training]

Agreed about The Mummy and Home Alone.

If we count Burton and Schumacher movies as a single franchise, then Batman Forever should definitely count.

[sunofdarkchild]

Terminator is the big one. 3 taken as it's own film isn't bad, but any continuation after 2 hurts the franchise.

Jaws. The first was a masterpiece. The second wasn't a masterpiece but was still a fine film. The 3rd and fourth movies were disasters.

[ChrisIII]

Funny thing is some of the marketing for Jaws: The Revenge described as "The third film in the trilogy" and the film pretty much ignores 3D, apart from Michael being a scientist.

[Captain Craig]

Terminator is the big one. 3 taken as it's own film isn't bad, but any continuation after 2 hurts the franchise.

Which I'm 180 degrees opposite. Any Terminator film that doesn't get past Judgement Day isn't honoring the promise of the Future, as bad as it is, where Kyle Reese comes back.
T3 if for no other plot point was daring to do just that. I recall sitting in the theater watching those missles zig zag across the sky and thinking, "Damn, they really did it, they really did it"

[Midvillian1322]

Rush Hour
Scary movies( I recall the first two and then rest all blend together.)
I agree with TDK. I really liked 1 and loved 2. I do not like rises at all.

[JBatmanFan05]

Funny thing is some of the marketing for Jaws: The Revenge described as "The third film in the trilogy" and the film pretty much ignores 3D, apart from Michael being a scientist.

I was really glad when the Jaws: The Revenge original US ending (the bloody boat stabbing of the shark) finally ended up an extra on the 2016 bluray. Jaws: The Revenge is like a guilty pleasure for me, for some reason I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMDmJcmTOIY

[Rev9]

Blade 1 and 2 ,BladeTrinity was horrendous

[ChrisIII]

Rush Hour
Scary movies( I recall the first two and then rest all blend together.)
I agree with TDK. I really liked 1 and loved 2. I do not like rises at all.

Wasn't the third Rush hour more of a direct sequel to the first? (With the same girl getting kidnapped?) I haven't seen the whole series though.