The Best Movie Trilogies Of All-Time

With War for the Planet of the Apes coming out this weekend, it will conclude the new rebooted trilogy. With that being said, it’s time for another movie list. Today, we will be looking at the best movie trilogies of all-time. By doing that, I will be only be at the 3 films involved; not the franchise as a whole. Let’s start off with the honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Mad Max, Terminator, Die Hard, Harry Potter
10 The Daniel Craig James Bond Trilogy: Like these new Planet of the Apes movies, the Daniel Craig 007 movies were like CPR for a franchise. Craig is 7th James Bond and is widely considered to be the best ever. Casino Royal set up the roots of Bond becoming 007 and Skyfall talks about his life as a child. Something we never saw in any of the previous incarnations. Both Casino Royal and Skyfall are in the conversation for the greatest 007 movie ever made. It’s just a shame that Quantum of Solace didn’t come close to those two.
9 The Jason Bourne Trilogy: While Matt Damon was a well-known actor at the time, the Bourne Trilogy turned him into a star. The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum tell the story of assassin Jason Bourne who tries to remember who he is after getting amnesia. The action in the entire series is stellar to go along with an intriguing plot. But the only issue with these movies is that they feel too similar.
8 The Back to the Future Trilogy: It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, Back to the Future is one of the greatest movie ever made. It’s smart, funny, and relatable to anyone of any age. Marty McFly became an icon for the 80s. Following the major success, Part II and Part III followed. While they weren’t nearly as good as the first, they still were a ton of fun. Plus, everyone loved Part II’s imaging of the future with Jaws 19, flying cars, and the Cubs winning the World Series (like that would ever happen).
7 The Godfather Trilogy: Many people tend to say that The Godfather is the best movie ever made. Many people also tend to say that The Godfather: Part II is the greatest sequel. These two movies tell the story of the Corleone crime family. It shows the rise of power of the family and shows what a life a crime can do a family. They’re just iconic movies with iconic characters. But the main reason that this isn’t higher on the list because Part III couldn’t capture the same magic from the first two.

6 The Captain America Trilogy: The only series from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America by far has the best movies. The First Avenger shows how Steve Rogers became Captain America, The Winter Solider shows Captain America in the modern world, and Civil War shows Captain America’s continuing distrust with the government. Steve Rogers’ character development is the best in the entire series and the movies do a great job of showing his progression. But if you want to get his full arch, then you have to watch The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron. That can be a bit much for some.
5 The Indiana Jones Trilogy: If you guys read my article talking about my favorite movies of all-time, you’ll remember that Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite movie ever made. Indiana Jones is one of the most iconic characters ever created and luckily his movies live up to his name. Each movie is unique in his own way and made for some surprising moments for Indy. While Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade aren’t really connected to one another; they’re still incredible movies.
4 The Dark Knight Trilogy: People tend to forget this but back in the 90s, Batman was considered a dead franchise. Then Christopher Nolan came along, casted Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, and the rest of history. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises truly show the beginning, the middle, and the end of Batman’s incredible journey. Throw in some iconic villains and you have the best superhero trilogy ever made.
3 The Toy Story Trilogy: Getting 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is really, really hard. Well the Toy Story trilogy did it twice. Toy Story 3 couldn’t quite reach the same magic as it only got a 99%. That’s right, out of 526 reviews only 4 people didn’t like one of the movies. So it’s safe to say that these movies are beloved by many and for good reason. The beautiful message about this trilogy as a whole is about growing up; something that everyone can relate to. Plus if you didn’t cry at the end of Toy Story 3, I’m pretty sure you don’t have a soul.

2 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: While what Toy Story did on Rotten Tomatoes impressive, The Lord of the Rings trilogy blows that out of the water. Not only did The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King each make of $850 million dollars, but each film got nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. The only other trilogy to do that was The Godfather trilogy. And if you’re wondering why Lord of the Rings is here and Godfather is at 7, it’s because of each series’ 3rd movie. While the quality The Godfather went down and The Lord of the Rings went up. If you’re able to sit down for a day watch all 9 hours of Lord of the Rings in arrow, trust me it’s worth. Yes, I did it.
1 The Original Star Wars Trilogy: While Lord of the Rings is fantastic in every sense of the word, it still touch the original Star Wars trilogy. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi for without a doubt the greatest trilogy ever made. It follows the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia as they try to defeat Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire. It’s a cliché to say but it’s so true here. Star Wars is truly timeless. Going back and watching these 3 movies is just an amazing experience. Each film builds off the last and it leads to the perfect ending. Every character went through incredible development and every character has a purpose to the overall story. I honestly don’t know if anyone will ever knock this off from the number one spot.

Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)