It’s hard to imagine, but sometimes a third movie can actually be better than the second movie in a franchise, though it doesn’t happen all the time. The movies listed below are of course personal choices and some that people would absolutely agree with since they did come off better than their predecessors if only by a little bit in some cases since the bar had been lowered quite a bit. But the fact is that a third movie can learn from the mistakes of the second and make a comeback for the franchise that can be nothing short of awesome since the movie avoids the obvious pitfalls and either goes back to the formula that worked in the first place or touches upon it and does something that the audience might not have expected. When that happens it becomes possible for a lot of fair-weather fans to make excuses as to why they might have stepped away, to begin with, but never stopped loving the franchise altogether. In such cases, it’s easy to just shake your head and realize that people are going to come and go as they please and give reasons for loving one movie and not another. It’s pretty normal really, but the third movie in a franchise being better than the second is wonderfully abnormal and it’s great when it happens.
Here are a few third movies in a franchise that are better than the second.
5. Die Hard: With A Vengeance
A lot of people might disagree with this one since there are plenty of people that happen to think that Die Hard 2 was something special. But the continuation of a supposed vendetta between McClane and the brother of Hans Gruber was a little more enticing than the main point of the second movie. It also brought up a much more personal issue in America since the unity that so many people want but don’t always see was found with McClane and Zeus, who was played by Samuel L. Jackson. Like the other stories it did fall flat just a bit at some points, but overall this was a fun movie that had plenty of action and didn’t put a person to sleep.
4. Rocky 3
This was a hard selection to make since Rocky 2 was pretty good as well since it showed Balboa and Creed going at it again, and Rocky finally winning the title. But the third movie was great since it showed that as tough as he was, Rocky had limits. This is kind of where the fourth movie went off the rails since if Clubber Lang could put a hurting on Rocky, Drago should have been able to kill him outright. But seeing Balboa and Creed working together this time around was nice, and it was kind of a nice change of pace to see Paulie become the cranky and irritating brother in law without the abusive nature still hanging about him.
3. Rise of Skywalker
Can you hear the rabid Star Wars fans? It shouldn’t be too hard since many felt that Rise of Skywalker was as big of a flop as its predecessor, The Last Jedi. But unlike TLJ, ROS managed to finally treat Luke Skywalker with some respect and gave a final look at Han Solo as he reappeared as a memory to console his son. Also, the final battle was a little more satisfying than the fight between Kylo and Luke since despite being a bit anticlimactic, it was still filled with special effects that were impressive in a way no matter what any VFX artists would like to say. This movie edged out the second movie just enough to be worth the mention.
2. The Matrix Revolutions
So both sequels didn’t measure up to the original, that’s a confident statement and one that’s not too hard to back up. But the third movie at least started to make sense as the ending began to take shape. There was no way for Neo to burn Smith out of the system without the help of the system, which forced a compromise that was reluctant but necessary. In this manner the machines and Neo worked together to solve a common problem, and in the end, Neo achieved what he’d set to do, he gained a measure of peace between the machines and humanity, and in doing so he was afforded a great deal of respect.
1. Oceans Thirteen
It’s hard to say whether it was Al Pacino’s presence, the fact that the guys pulled together to get justice for Reuben, or if the third story was just bound to be better than the second, but Ocean’s Thirteen managed to top Ocean’s 12 pretty easily. It was kind of a return to the idea that Danny Ocean was always a few steps ahead of those that he was trying to get back at, and it’s one reason why this movie was so much better.
I’m kind of looking forward to arguments regarding these movies.
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