Third Movies in a Trilogy are a mixed bag

With The Dark Knight Rises coming out in two days, I was thinking about the history of three movies, and how they typically turn out.  So, with that said, here are some thoughts of some three movies that I have seen.  It's not at all comprehensive, as there are some notable ones (Indiana Jones, The Transporter, Nightmare on Elm Street, and others) that aren't listed.  But, let's take a look, and see what will can possibly be an outcome for the Dark Knight Rises.

Batman Forever

Grade:  B- [Average, But Not Memorable]

The perfect place to start with my short history of third movies is to go to the last time the Batman Franchise had a third movie, in this case the much maligned, but under appreciated Batman Forever, which is where we'll start.

The 90's Batman franchise is a notable one because it's third film just had such a different change in approach, theme, feel, and audience in it's third film.  For starters, the most notable changes are the changes in director and star, in which Tim Burton and Michael Keaton left the franchise, and were replaced with Joel Schumacher and Val Kilmer. Schumacher's vision for the film was quite different.  Instead of the dark, dangerous Gotham City, we got something that seemed like an almost hideous version of Vegas, with lots of neon and florescent graffiti.  And the almost pornographic shots of butt, chest and crotch shots of Kilmer trying on the Batsuits were a little much.  And did Batman really have to have nipples?

And yet, there is plenty to like about the film.  Val Kilmer was arguably the closest translation of the character we received in this series, and while his Batman wasn't quite the intense dark character we received with Keaton, he was a very capable one.  Jim Carrey stole the show as the Riddler, and is the best villain that we had in the series with the exception of Jack Nicholson's Joker.  And while this movie wasn't really the dark and serious film we had expected after the first two films, it was still enjoyable in an oddly campy way.  All in all, Batman Forever was okay, nothing special, but it did exactly what it wanted to do.  I'll expand more on tomorrow's article, about ALL the Batman films.

Spider-Man 3

Grade:  D- [Extremely disappointed, does not age well either.]

Conversely, the third movie in the Spider-Man franchise is infamous for, frankly, sucking.  There are countless problems with Spider-Man 3, so let's get started.

To being, the biggest problem with the film is that there is just too many storylines going on, with none of them really receiving any sort of proper resolution.   For starters, there are too many relationship issues that are going on.  The Gwen-Peter-Mary Jane love triangle is hinted at, and even given a few bones, but it is never really developed into anything, which makes you wonder why it was even included.  Plus, Peter and M.J.'s relationship is itself ignored, and placed on shaky ground for no other reason at all except for some minor insecurities on both sides.  Harry and Peter's relationship is never really resolved, and never has any truly emotional moments until the end.  


Another problem is that there were too many villains in this film, with Venom, Harry-Goblin, and the Sandman.  We'll begin with the most expendable, although most well portrayed, in the Sandman.  His storyline was rather thin, even with the attempt to tie him into the origin story from the first film, and while his storyline is really the only that was resolved in any satisfactory fashion, it was superfluous and shouldn't have been done.  Instead, it should have focused on Harry fighting Peter, and Venom, who very well could have decided to team up with Harry to draw out and destroy Spiderman.  That would have made for a much more streamlined film, and would have allowed for something with more depth and character development than what we got.

Finally, I have to take Raimi to task about how Venom was developed.  For an iconic villain, the potential was there for the character to really have been done well.  Instead, Venom's origin in the movie was flawed and poorly executed, and the casting of Eddie Brock was also botched.  Really, who thought that Eric Foreman had the potential to be a mancing, evil brute?  I sure didn't, and it showed.  For all of his acting skill, and really, Topher Grace does have some chops, he simply does not fit.


Plus, if there was a way to make your hero unsympathetic in a single movie, this was it.  Peter Parker made to be kind of a douche in this movie.  In the beginning, he was really arrogant and cocky, which is in total contrast to the previous two films.  The cheap yucks that were shown later in the film felt out of place with the sneaky, and situational humor displayed in the previous two films.

Overall, the film suffers because it is too busy, and those plot angles that were chosen to be developed were poorly done.  Overall, with how badly the third movie was fumbled, it's no wonder the film franchise was restarted, although money, time, and politics were a big part of that as well.

Once Upon A Time In Mexico (Mexico Trilogy)

Result:  B [Above Average, Quite Entertaining]

The Mexico Trilogy is an unlikely trilogy, in that it was created out of an indie film that became a hit in a huge way.  When it's unintended sequel (originally, Rodriguez was to make a remake of El Mariachi), it created enough steam to eventually result in a third film.

Let's get one thing straight here: this isn't the Lord of the Rings we are talking about (more on that in a bit.)  Instead, the Mexico Trilogy is meant to be a series of violent fun.  And they are.  If you're going to look for anything more than that, you are going to be disappointed.

The casting is dynamite, with the two leads from Desperado coming over into this new film.  Banderas is back with all of the vengance fueled emotion from the first film, and Hayek, whose part is limited, none the less maintains quite the presence in this film. Johnny Depp, new to the series, but is shown as not being an outsider to what has happened, is pretty much center of film, and comes off as an excellent charming, but dangerous puppet master. Eva Mendes oozes sex appeal as the femme fatales, and I even liked the casting of Enrique Iglesias as one of Bandera's friends.  And he doesn't attempt to try and stretch the part.  My sister, quite the Iglesias fangirl, said it best:  "He was brought in to be hot, and he delivered."

The soundtrack, much of it selected and composed by Rodriguez himself, is a great one, giving it that unique modern latino flavor.  The action is violent, yet plentiful, with enough of the outlandish to give it that bit of fun.  The visuals are also well done, maintaining that dirty, gritty feel that was born in El Mariachi, and refined in Desperado.  

The only real qualm I have with this film is the casting of William Dafoe as the head baddie.  Was there no one else available?  There are plenty of latino actors that could have done this role a lot better than Dafoe, who is at his absolute corniest and worst in this role.  Or maybe even a younger drug king pen, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, or someone else?  Even Al Pachino, who has done some stinker of performances recently, probably would have been a better fit than Dafoe painted in razaface.

Overall, movie does not take itself seriously.  It's a modern day spagetti western, still maintain it's loyalty to the original, still having continuity among all films, and providing enough resolution where it closes the story with much satisfaction.  Great third movie.

The Matrix Revolutions

Grade:  F [SUCKED!!!!}

The original Matrix was a fascinating movie, filled with revolutionary action sequences, groundbreaking visuals, witty writing, and an intellectual core around which it all was constructed.  The Matrix Reloaded continued the narrative, although it took a little long to get starter.

The Matrix Revolutions, however, was a terrible film.  It was incredibly overdone, overanalyzed itself and was consumed with it's own philosophical masturbation, and just disappointed fans of the series.


For starters, Ghost And Niobi are back, and have way too much of a role in the film then they deserve.  I never liked either of the characters, as I felt that the only reason for their inclusion in the series was to sell the mediocre video game Enter The Matrix. Neo is a bystander in his own movie, and his own appearances in the film are really limited. 

The movie itself is far too long, and like Reloaded, takes far too long to get started, especially with the  whole “let’s rescue Neo” beginning, which is resolved with a uninspiring ending.  And some of the interesting characters from first movie aren’t used effectively enough, which is disappointing.

There are other issues raised in this and the prior movie that aren't sufficiently explored, with the issue of programs developing human emotions kind of mentioned, but never being elaborated upon, which would have been great.  Also, why wasn't Neo's growing real world powers explored more?  I think that would have been a worthwhile issue to explore.  Finally, more could have been done with Neo and Trinity in the core.  Rather than them flying in, I would have loved for a ground view of the giant machine city. 


But I suppose my biggest disappointment in the film is it's ending.  The entire Neo-Smith battle at the end is rather anticlimactic, since Neo couldn’t win and ultimately had to sacrifice himself in order to stop Smith.  Plus, the Death of Neo was ultimately pointless, as all it resulted was a stalemate.  There is no real victory to be had.

There are some good moments to be had.  Hugo Weaving is easily the best part of the movie, with him stealing almost every scene his is in, and his evolution into a deliciously evil baddie.  Plus, the final battle in Zion is well done, although it's entirely too long, and really is only there to launch the Kid into a moment of relevance.  Really, I think of any movie on this list, this had to be the one that is the most disappointing.  I still do not own this movie, in spite of the numerous times I could have bought this for a Lincoln in the Wal-Mart bargain bin.  I honestly wish for second trilogy to redeem the ending of the first.

Lord Of The Rings:  Return Of The King

Grade:  A.  [Epic movie.]

If there is a movie that DKR should hope to emulate, it's this film, the best of it's series, and arguably on the list of one of the best ever made.

The Dark Knight series shares a lot in common with the LOTR series, in that it has it's stars, it's writers, it's production crew and it's director for all of it's films.  The movies also share the trait in common that they all have the same, how to explain, style to how they are shot, written, and directed, which goes from the biggest and most dramatic scenes to the smallest, most minute of the deleted scenes.  Also like the LOTR, the Dark Knight movies are made to be a epic, one long story that is designed to be watched in sequence, although unlike LOTR, all three of the Dark Knight movies could be watched as stand alone films if necessary. 

Hopefully, DKR will emulate Return of the King, in which the entire franchise comes to it's epic conclusion, and that the characters that we've grown to love get, if not a sense of dramatic accomplishment, then at the very least a sense of peace.  All in all, here's hoping.

The Godfather, Part III

Grade:  C- [Mediocre, looks even worse due to time and comparison of the first two.]

The original Godfather, and it’s superior sequel, the Godfather Part II, are some of the greatest films ever made.  It featured some fantastic acting, brilliant writing, and overall some wonderful filmmaking.  They were also wonderfully self contained, and truth be told, didn’t need to have a third movie.  So why was there one?  Simply put, Francis Ford Coppola did it for the money.

The problems start with the story and the writing, which is simply boring.  And the few interesting angles taken in the plot are simply outlandish.  Seriously, what the hell was the purpose of the attempt to do the whole Vatican outline?  And even the entire conflict with Zaza seemed just lukewarm, without any real danger.  Overall, things could have done better, but weren't.

Much of the cast isn't great either, as many of the characters we have grown to love are absent.  The lack of Robert Duvall is painful, and he is missed.  Dialogue isn’t great, almost painful and awkward.  Much of the acting is mediocre, bordering on terrible, with Sofia Coppala getting a large portion, and maybe slightly undeserved portion of the blame (there's a lot of it to go around.)  That said, I did like Andy Garcia’s portrayal of Vincent Mancini.

Overall, The Godfather Part III attempts to bring a franchise to an end that really had already had it's own conclusion.  To simply open it up, as one would open up a coffin of someone already long dead to close it up and rebury again, results in the same thing:  nothing pleasant.  

 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

Grade:  C. [Everything even looks old and sad in this film.]

Like The Godfather franchise, the Terminator franchise never needed a third movie, as the entire story had been giving a satisfying conclusion at the end of Terminator 2.  In fact, an epilogue had even been filmed for the scene, depicting an elderly Sarah Conner watching John, now Senator Conner, playing with his daughter.  The epilogue was taken out of the final take for fear that it would destroy any chance at a sequel.  T2 remains one of the great Sci-Fi movies ever made, and ranks high on a list of the best movies ever made during the 1990's.

And then Terminator 3 was made.  Not only was it made years after a direct sequel to the first two films would have had any sort of real relevance, but the whole thing just feels like it was made just to make a fast buck.   The wheels start to come off when you find out that Judgement Day was inevitable, making the events of Terminator 2 look absolutely futile.  Second, the technology itself in the film doesn't look futuristic at all.  The T-1 Terminators, which are introduced in this film, are incredibly cuddly looking in my opinion, and are perhaps the least intimidating mechanical bringers of genocide ever introduced.  Finally, the writing itself is terrible, with the same storyline being recycled from the first two movies, with nothing really new being added.  However, the story does redeem itself slightly for the plot twist in the end, in which Conner and his future wife, Catherine, discover that in reality, the entire central mission of the film was for naught. That was rather clever, although I do wish that the entire movie could have been appropriately written to accommodate such an ending.

The cast itself is no great shakes.  Arnold Schwarzenegger looks his age in this film, and acts as every bit outdated as his model is by this movie.  And plus, while I get that this is a different Terminator being sent back, what happened to all that wonderful emotion and logic that the machine had learned throughout the second movie?  Instead, we get a ridiculous "Talk to the hand" moment, paired with a equally ridiculous soundtrack cut.  Kristina Lokken is also fairly flat, and I certainly wonder if her robotic acting really is her acting.  Nothing about her Terminator model really is all that revolutionary, and essentially comes off as half assed.  Things certainly could have done better.  Finally, John Connor and Catherine Brewster, our central characters of the film, are uninspiring, boring, and certainly could have been done better.  Connor was recasted with Nick Stahl, who actively does his best to make you wish that the T-X is successful in it's task, and Brewster is played by the normally talented Claire Danes, who is absolutely wasted in this movie.  There is no chemistry between the two, and much of their dialogue is just awkward, and at times even cringe worthy.

Overall, this movie was unnecessary, and while it made money, you got the feeling that, if it absolutely had to be made, that it could have been made better.

Army of Darkness

Result:  A- [Fantastic film!]

Similar to the Batman franchise, the Evil Dead trilogy also takes a wild and unexpected turn in it’s third film.  Rather than remain in the forest, as was seen with Evil Dead, and Evil Dead II, the later of which completely eradicated the need for the first film, it instead drops our intrepid hero into a setting in which he is out of his depth and yet able to rise to the occasion.

Army Of Darkness is a lighter film than it’s predecessor, both in terms of tone and actual visuals.  The setting is different, taking place in the middle age, and the writing is rather brilliant as well.  There are more than enough funny moments and hilarious one liners to be had, which plays to the strengths of Bruce Campbell, while having quite a bit of action mixed in to keep things honest and balanced.  In fact, it’s possible that this performance in Army of Darkness is what has kept Campbell finding gainful employment over the decades, as well as cement his status as a cult icon.  I love this film, and do occasionally drop an Ash like “Groovy” every once in a while because of it. 

 Superman III

Result:  D.  [Disastrous!]

After the controversy surrounding the axing of Richard Donner in the prior film, the franchise instead decided to move into another direction.  And boy, was it a different direction.  For starters, the movie takes a different approach, instead choosing to focus on Superman’s dark side, as well as having a villain that was attempting to symbolize the “Greed Is Good” vibe of the 1980’s.

That said, holy shit, was this the best they could do for casting?  In understand most of the prior cast jumped ship because they were angered at how the firing of Donner went down.  But hiring Michael Gopin’s former spokesperson sure worked out well, now didn’t it?! Second of all, why the hell is Richard Pyror in the film, and worse, cast as the second villain in the film?  Seriously!  What the hell is he doing here?  My guess is that he was there to add more star power, as well as potentially add some comic relief to the film, which he does.  But that said, surely another approach could have been taken with the role.  Someone that actually fits the role of minor computer geek accidentally creates the computer that Matthew Broderick will combat in War Games.  

The storyline is just awful.  The Man from UNCLE and Daddy Rich conspire to corner the market on such typical super villain targets such as oil, and coffee.  Desiring to find a way to prevent Superman, and possibly Juan Valdez, from foiling their plans, they attempt to replicate kryptonite, but botch it, and instead cause Superman to turn evil.  And that’s really all I’m going to elaborate on it, because the writing, and the movie itself are just ass.  Not as much as Superman IV was, but almost.

Actually, there is one more thing to question about this film.  The big, evil computer at the end of the film, was that supposed to be fucking Brainiac?!  Jesus, I think I would have preferred seeing his ass in this film.  See, there is another problem that Superman has.  He has arguably one of the worst Rogue’s Galleries in comics.  Outside of Luthor, Zod, Brainiac, and Parasite, what else is there?  This was the early 1980’s, so Doomsday hadn’t been created yet.  In any case, not much.

There are some good parts of the movie.  Seeing evil Superman run around and make mischief with his superpowers was hysterical, especially when you consider it was almost everything that someone with Superman’s powers would do, from blowing out the Olympic torch to snooping on hot chicks.  And the good vs. evil scene of Clark Kent Vs. Evil Superman was very epic, and kinda symbolic.

Overall, though, Superman III is a pale comparison to it’s predecessors, and gets worse with age.  It would spawn the even more horrible Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, and would eventually result in these two movies getting disowned forever from the Superman franchise.

Back to the Future III

Grade:  B [Fun as hell!]


The Back to the Future trilogy was always a lot of fun, in seeing how Marty McFly would arrive to a different setting, accidentally fuck something up (usually in 1955), and would try his best to fix things to prevent a worse future (in which case, non-existence or a hellish version of Hill Valley).  But really, was there enough juice left for a third movie?  Not really, in that Doc, who had accidentally wound up in 1885, was rather happy in the past, and 1955 Doc even thought it be a wonderful way to spend his golden years.  Marty could have returned to his current time, and all would be well.  Unfortunately, discovering Doc would be shot to death over eighty bucks was enough for both of them to get Marty to transport himself, and then strand himself, in the past.

There really isn’t much of a plot here, other than trying to save Doc and get the two of them home.  Perhaps some further involvement of the past McFlys would have been nice to see, and maybe someone not related to Biff Tannen serving as the villain.  But overall, this movie is a lot of fun, from the numerous western scenes, the small references to futuristic advances (Frisbee, D.W. Griffith, Wild Gunman), and while the writing isn’t top notch, it doesn’t have to be.  Simply put, Back to the Future Part III is a whole lot of fun.  And really, there’s no other way to describe it or break it down than that.

RoboCop 3

Grade:  D  [Franchise killer!]

The original RoboCop was an interesting story in terms of what made a person a human being, a look into the inequalities between lower and upper classes, as well as several questions regarding morality.  It was also  darkly comedic, and overall a good film, albeit an unappreciated one.  RoboCop 2 was largely inferior to the original, and yet still stayed more or less around the original's moral core.  It allowed for further questioning as to whether or not RoboCop could still be considered human, and to what extent could the man allow himself to at least try and separate himself from the machine.  It was also incredibly violent, and also a lot of fun.

RoboCop 3, on the other hand?   It's an inferior third movie to what was a solid sci-fi franchise, as much of what made the first two movies memorable was ignored.  The violence was turned down immensely, giving this film the only PG-13 rating of the entire series.  Peter Weller was gone, and while Robert Burke was okay, Weller put in a kind of heart into the role that made you emotionally invested into the character.  


The movie's plot itself was recycled from the past movies, mainly OCP wanting to bulldoze old Detroit and build a brand spanking new city in it's place.  Only this time, they have help from a Japanese Corporation, and a army of psychos dubbed "Johnny Rehabs" to assist.  RoboCop and Lewis are caught in the crossfire, resulting in Lewis' death and Robo being seriously damaged, and as such, Robo joins the side of the Rebels to help bring about a conclusion that will save the old city and it's residents.   


I would have really preferred a new villain for this film, and more of the OCP Vs. RoboCop conflict just comes off as old and tired.  The rehabs are cartoonishly violent and evil, and you don't really invest much emotional assets one way or another when you see them.  The Japanese robots are remarkably bad and comical, and yet also make Robo look incredibly outdated, even with the discovery of some of his option parts in a Police Warehouse.  You have to wonder, could OCP have done some corporate espionage when they created RoboCop, and given him a more human appearance.


All in all, RoboCop 3 wasn't a god awful movie, but it was terribly written and directed enough, even with the assistance of Frank Miller, that it killed the franchise, damning it to sad Direct To Video movies, and eventually paving way for a reboot.

Superman Returns

Grade:  B  [Solid, even underrated film.]

Whoa, wait, why is Superman Returns in here, seeing as how it's the FIFTH film in the franchise, and not a third?  Because, simply put, Superman III and IV are so terrible that this film was written as a way to properly resolve the two Donner films and replace the other two as appropriate sequels.

The storyline is rather fitting in Superman terms:  Lex Luthor threatens to destroy the world in typical mad scientist fashion.  But what was even more impressive was that they also chose to have Superman disappear for a time, resulting in an almost indifference from the public, which is partially fueled by his neglected babymomma, Lois Lane, who is lifelessly portrayed by Kate Bosworth.

Brandon Routh does a fair job as Superman, and while I would have preferred Jim Caveziel getting the part, as he was reportedly interested in the part, I think that the producers wanted an actor that resembled the departed Christopher Reeve.  And to be honest, I can’t bust their balls on the decision to do so.  Kevin Spacey is an awesome Lex Luthor, and is arguably the best part of the film.  Overall, it’s not bad, and unlike the sequels it replaces, it gets better with age (unlike Bosworth’s acting).  It almost succeeds in capturing the magic the franchise had under Donner.  But, that said, the franchise was still dead, and will remain so until Man of Steel comes out next year, and hopefully rocks everyone’s socks off.  

Return of the Jedi

Grade:  A [Epic]


I'd be remiss if I didn't mention arguably the most famous trilogy in movie history, the Star Wars trilogy (and it's much lesser, but still famous prequel trilogy.)   ROTJ is almost immediately downgraded a bit because it is a weaker film than Empire Strikes Back.  However, that is only a small quibble, as ESB is the best film of not just the trilogy, but also of the entire franchise.  That said, it is very well written, as it provides all elements to end not just the conflict of the Rebellion against the Empire in a concise package, but also the fall and rise of Anakin Skywalker.  


The movie begins well enough, resolving any last issues from ESB, with the rescue of Han Solo as well as showing that Luke has successfully transformed himself into a Jedi Knight.  After some sand dune action, and Carrie Fisher in a bikini, forever embedding herself in the hearts, minds, and fantasies of nerds everywhere, the film is essentially split into three parts:   the Death Star Assault, The Assault On Endor, and Luke's Saving His Father.  And all three are mixed back and forth seemlessly, with one minor, diminutive, and furry exception.

The Ewoks kind of throw a wrench into the mix.  For starters, their part of the movie, in which you encounter them, and they are subsequently wooed over to the rebel cause is one of the only parts of the movie in which it genuinely drags.  Apparently, Lucas originally wanted to use Wookies, but because he wanted a primitive race, and Chewbacca proved that Wookies were anything but, he improvised, cutting a Wookie in half to make the Ewoks.  That said, there are a lot of them, and they are brave little bastards, and those two factors alone, combined with an assist from the rebels, proves to be more than enough for them to suit Lucas’ purpose for them.  That said, it’s a little improbably to think that the Empire was ultimately brought down by the combined efforts of the Rebels and the Care Bears, but what the hell, it’s sci fi.  And they have provided one of the more memorable ending songs of a trilogy (crap, Yub Nub is now in my head.)

Both battle sequences are well done, giving the world one of the most memorable space fight scenes every, as well as what could be one of the most action packed and borderline ridiculous routs ever portrayed on film.  All of these build up to Luke's goal: to bring his father back to the light side of the force.  The Emperor's performance is one of the best of the series, showing an evil manipulative nature that would eventually force anyone to take action, as is Vadar, who vacillates between being evil and being torn about where his loyalties go.  It's clear he wants some sort of relationship with his son, although on his side of the force, and his discovery of Leia being his daughter, and his chilling breathing of the word "sister...." is just well done.  All of this builds up to one of the most epic lightsaber duels, albeit a short one, showing Luke almost straddling the line between Good and Evil, before ultimately coming away from it.  It's all fantastically done, as is Vadar finally choosing to become Anakin once again, and choosing to defy his master and save his son, although at a heavy cost.

All in all, the original trilogy gets a lot of stuff right when it comes to how to properly end a saga.  Though it does have a few warts, Jedi is an iconic film.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Grade:  F [This movie is a load of ass]

The first Pirates movie was a great movie, loads of fun with all kinds of swordplay, drama, and shenanigans.  And then they made the sequels, which, to be honest, are crap.

Pirates 3 can point it’s finger at Pirates 2, which sucked all the fun that made the first movie such a success and instead created some ill concocted story about The East India Company wanting to expand their business at the end of a cannon, using Will and Elizabeth as a way to get to Jack, who is dealing with his own issues in that he has a debt to pay to Davy Jones.  It was a tale wrought with half assed romanced, unnecessary double crosses, piss poor agendas had by all, and a giant squid that occasionally came along to wreck as much havoc on the film as bad Mexican food does to the system.  The only real great parts of the film are seeing Jack go down fighting against said squid, and the return of Barbosa.  

And yes, the third movie found a way to be even worse.  For starters, the Will and Elizabeth relationship was already beginning to approach the level of insufferable in the second film.  The third movie found a way to ratchet this up a few notches with plenty of angst and distrust.  Because he was dead, the awesomeness of Jack Sparrow is delayed until one third of the way through the film, and even them he is in the background enough that he does nothing to alleviate the terrible writing.

The special effects and even some of the visuals of the film were good, but they are largely wasted on the listless plot, and even worse, the movie was just too long.  So much of it was just bloated, and with a lot of needless filler, and little to no storyline advancement.  The final fight scene itself was good, but did not need to be close to fifteen minutes long.  And the way that Will was killed off, when really Jack should have gotten the axe, to fulfill his wish of sailing forever, was just a terrible plot device.  All in all, Pirates 3 was bad, and thankfully stuck a knife in the era of Will and Liz, who won’t be seen again (although Bloom wants in on a fifth pirates movie if one is made.)

The fourth film in the series, while panned by critics, isn’t too bad, and actually returns to a lot of the roots that made the original film good in the first place.  Hopefully, if there are two be two more sequels coming, they actually get qualified writers that remember that.

Alien 3

Grade:  C [Average]

Alien 3 is an average film at best, and is not the best of the series by any means.  However, when you consider that this film was in danger of not getting made.  So many people got involved in not just the writing stages, but also the production and direction stages as well, along with pressure from the studio to hurry up and get this film made.  Still, with all that in mind, and considering that filming began without even much of a script planned, you have to give David Fincher a load of props for being able to get it done.


That said, this isn't a great offering, and only symbolized the decline of the franchise after Ridley Scott began the journey of Ellen Ripley, and James Cameron refined it.  Fors tarters, none of the characters are really likable, and even Ripley herself isn't what she used to be.  It's incredibly depressing and bleak, even for an Alien film, with none of that small kernal of hope that you had at the end of the prior films.  And while the idea of dropping Ripley and the Aliens inside a prison planet does have some possibilities, they aren't really brought to the full potential that they could have been, which I blame for the lack of a stable writing staff.

That said, this film does have it's moments.  I did like the return of the claustrophobic approach to the Alien franchise, which was what made the Scott directed original so great.  And while there was plenty that could have been done better, the final product isn't too bad, when you consider what Fincher had to go through to make this thing.  And the ending was pretty satisfying, with Ripley having been carrying a queen, and when given the option, chose to end the threat, if not forever, than at least for a time.  Tragically though, it wouldn't end the series.

Toy Story 3

Grade:  A [Epic]

The decision to make a third Toy Story was highly question, in terms of just what new ground could be covered.  And yet, this third vehicle proved that there was just enough gas left in the tank to create a memorable tale that was sad and heartwarming at the same time.

Toy Story 3 covered what the final fate was of the toys after Andy had finally grown up, and outgrown the toys themselves.  While most of the prior toys had departed, the core was still together, due to Andy holding enough sentiment to keep from parting them.  And the toys themselves sought any avenue available to allow themselves to have a purpose again, even if it meant butting heads with Woody, their fearless leader.

Suffice to say, it was a worth sequel, one in which our old characters interacted quite well with many of the new characters that were introduced.  And while the conflict and drama amongst the toys was rather mild, unlike what we saw in the prior two films, it shows just how close the toys had grown over the years, and the amount of respect they maintained for one another.

The best scene, however, has to be the ending, in which Andy gives his toys to Bonnie, including Woody, with whom he discovers he still is very much attached to, in spite of his negligence.  The following scene, in which Andy plays with the toys one last time before he says goodbye is heartwarming, and even brings a tear or two to my eye.  All in all, the decision paid off handsomely, and I don't just mean in the box office and merchandising department.

So, in closing, there are plenty of things that can go right and can go wrong for The Dark Knight Rises.  We'll just have to see and hope it's more Return of the Jedi and Return of the King than it is Spiderman 3.