It began with Star Wars back in 1977.
Lucas gave us the start of an unforgettable Trilogy. Dazzling audiences with amazing visuals, memorable characters that would stick to them after they left the theater and an ending that closed very well. Now I know in one of my previous articles said Return of the Jedi was #5 on my most disappointing list, but after giving it some thought, the ewoks may have been greatly unneeded, but they weren't too disappointing to land it at that # 5 spot. After watching it recently I concluded: Return of the Jedi overall wasn't up to par to its predecessors but it still was a great ending nonetheless. It wrapped many story lines up, left a few open for sequels in the future (if there is any), and left fans loving Lucas...until 1999. Star Wars redefined the word 'Science Fiction'
After Star Wars departed, some thought they would never again see a great trilogy like it again. But a year after Return of the Jedi, Temple of Doom hit theaters. In my opinion, I thought it was a spectacular movie, and it carried on the Indiana Jones Trilogy, one that redefined the word, 'Adventure'. Harrison Ford played an iconic role that Tom Selleck passed up. (Thank god) With excellent direction by the legendary Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones dazzled audiences the way Star Wars did, a refreshing break at the movies. With a great ending with The Last Crusade (My personal favorite), Indiana Jones was just as Iconic as Star Wars, but not near as popular.
Over the next twelve years we as the audience became witness to several trilogies that failed to reach the heights of Indy and Star Wars. Trilogies like Back to the Future, Die Hard Jurassic Park (it had the worst closing on this list), and even The Next Generation of Star Trek. But in late 2001, we got one that dared to rival Indy and Star Wars.
Lord of the Rings once again brought a dazzling masterpiece to the audience with three well crafted and honorable movies that received a ton of Oscar Nominations and awards. With this, Peter Jackson entered the realm of best directors in history with his 3 stunning movies Fellowship, Towers, and King. We as the audience will forever love this trilogy and we are currently anticipating the arrival of the much needed 'The Hobbit'. Lord of the Rings is as good-if not better-than Indy or Star wars. LOTR redefined the word 'Fantasy'
Then we the audience again saw a few more trilogies fail. The Matrix, X-men, Terminator, and Spider-man all could have been awesome trilogies but instead their third installments came to a shameful close. It was a shame to see that happen because the first two films for all of those trilogies were great and/or iconic in my opinion. Those trilogies redefined the word, 'disappointing'
But...The Bourne Trilogy ended in 2007 and once again brought back the magic to the screen. The best action trilogy to date, toppling over Die hard and Lethal Weapon (LW 4 isn't a movie. Its a TV movie) in money and in popularity. Delivering awe-inspiring visuals, suspenseful plots, and memorable performances, The Bourne Trilogy redefined the word, 'Thriller'. Matt Damon was perfect for this lead roll and Paul Greengrass gave us two awesome Bourne Movies that stuck to their source material like glue. Its a shame that Ludlum couldn't see them.
Now here we are...with a new trilogy coming to a close. Nolan's batman.
It Began, then it went into Knight, and now it Rises again. Batman Begins made us forget the Joel Schumacher failures and gave us what Batman should have been all of along. Haters can hate all they want, but it looks more apparent that his trilogy will be the best CBM trilogy to date (and possibly the best for years to come)
With the 'Rise' of many extremely positive reviews, some generating Oscar buzz for Nolan, and some even predicting it to have the biggest non-3D opening ever, I ask you, what word will The Dark Knight trilogy define?
thoughts? comments? let me know folks!