SUBSCRIBE
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
No Result
View All Result
  • MOVIES
  • TV
  • GAMING
  • TECH
  • COMICS
  • SNEAKERS
  • TOYS
  • VIDEO
  • WIN
Fortress of Solitude
No Result
View All Result

The 3rd Film Curse

Home > Movies > 13 Films That Suffer From The 3rd Film Curse

13 Films That Suffer From The 3rd Film Curse

Staff WriterbyStaff Writer
October 13, 2020
in Movies
Tags: Movies

It’s 2020 and the “3rd film curse” is still a thing. Even after years of filmmaking, this is still a problem in Hollywood today.

“Third time is a charm” is a phrase often used in everyday life, but not when it comes to the world of cinema. Fans have noted a strange trend; the third entry in any trilogy is always noticeably weaker than its predecessors.

Think about it. Just how many good threequels are out there?

There have only been a handful of trilogies that have survived the curse, most notably The Bourne Ultimatum, Toy Story 3, The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

But the majority of threequels are destroyed by budget problems, director conflicts and just-plain-awful production, culminating in low box office returns and proving that the third cut is the weakest.



Here is a list of films that have suffered from the 3rd film curse…

1

Superman III

A superhero film that focuses more on a comedian than its protagonist is damned for trouble. Superman III proves to be an unworthy sequel, despite an awesome Superman versus Clark Kent sequence. Proof that Donner was a superior director to Lester.

A superhero film that focuses more on a comedian than its protagonist is damned for trouble. Superman III proves to be an unworthy sequel, despite an awesome Superman versus Clark Kent scene. This is proof that Donner was a superior director to Lester.

2

The Expendables 3

Expendables 3



If The Expendables 3 proves anything it is that you don’t mess with a winning formula. It’s the first instalment in the gratuitously violent franchise to avoid an R rating and earn an audience-friendly PG-13. Watching the ageing badass heroes without the gore proves to be quite a bore. Of course, that is only one of the many problems with the film.

3

Batman Forever

Ah, the cursed Batman Forever. Joel Schumacher managed to take the dark and gloomy world created by Tim Burton and turn it into comic book dribble. The best thing about this threequel is that it isn't Batman and Robin. Well, that and Seal's Kiss by a Rose. Ta da ta da da da...

Ah, the cursed Batman Forever. Joel Schumacher managed to take the dark and gloomy world created by Tim Burton and turn it into comic book dribble. The best thing anyone can say about this threequel is that it isn’t Batman and Robin. Well, that and Seal’s ‘Kiss by a Rose’.



4

The Dark Knight Rises

Yes, The Dark Knight Rises. Fans have to admit that the third film lacks the resonance that its two originals held. While its remarkably better than most threequels it still doesn't live up to its first two instalments, thanks to a poor ending and an anti-climatic outcome for Bane - the real star of Rises.

Yes, The Dark Knight Rises. Fans have to admit that the third film lacks the resonance that its two originals held. While it’s remarkably better than most threequels (and probably just manages to survive the 3rd film curse), it still doesn’t live up to its first two instalments, thanks to a poor ending and an anti-climatic outcome for Bane – the real star of Rises.

5

MIB III

If only Will Smith could use that device on audiences to help them forget the terrible MIB 3. Despite an awesome performance by Josh Brolin as a younger Tommy Lee Jones, the last instalment was plagued with an unfortunate script. It just felt so 90s!

If David Fincher has proven anything over the  course of his career it is that he wasn't responsible for the awful Alien 3. The studio clearly didn't know what to do with the franchise. Alien Resurrection proves that!

6

Alien III

If David Fincher has proven anything over the course of his career it is that he wasn’t responsible for the awful Alien 3. The studio clearly didn’t know what to do with the franchise. Alien Resurrection proves that!

7

Spider-Man III

A textbook example of the third film curse, Spider-man 3 suffers from being... well, emo and messy. The over-abundance of villains helped sink the Spidey franchise right down the spout.

A textbook example of the 3rd film curse, Spider-man 3 suffers from being… well, emo and messy. Throwing everything and the kitchen sync at the story, the over-abundance of villains helped sink the Spidey franchise right down the spout.

8

X-Men III: The Last Stand

The Last Stand is utterly devoid of soul. It is nothing more than a visual effects extravaganza, with Ratner introducing as many mutants as he possibly can to make up for the poor script.

The Last Stand is utterly devoid of soul. It is nothing more than a visual effects extravaganza, with Ratner introducing as many mutants as he possibly can to make up for the poor script.

9

Shrek III

Who knew that the charm of the characters of Shrek would wear off? The third instalment lacked everything that made the original two cool. Completely uninspired.

Who knew that the charm of the characters of Shrek would wear off? The third instalment lacked everything that made the original two cool. Completely uninspired. The same jokes for a third time running.

10

Matrix Revolutions

How can one of the best fight scenes in film history also be one of the most anti-climactic? The Matrix Revolutions. Despite our best efforts to love the franchise, Revolutions makes it quite difficult. Dammit, why couldn't Neo just beat Smith?

How can one of the best fight scenes in film history also be one of the most anti-climactic? Despite our best efforts to love the franchise, Matrix Revolutions makes it quite difficult. Dammit, why couldn’t Neo just beat Smith? Why couldn’t it all make more sense? Why did Trinity have to die? Why did Neo have to go blind? Why did it have to end in mystery?

11

Robocop 3

Honestly, Robocop 3 is nothing more than a really long toy commercial.

Honestly, Robocop 3 is nothing more than a really long toy commercial. This is the 3rd film curse in full effect.

12

Blade Trinity

Three bankable actors. What's wrong with this picture? Blade: Trinity underutilized its heros and villains to create a sloppy vampire flick. The ideas had so much potential but never lived up to its predecessors.

Three bankable actors. What’s wrong with this picture? Blade: Trinity underutilised its heroes and villains to create a sloppy vampire flick. The ideas had so much potential but never lived up to its predecessors.

13

Iron Man 3

Not even the great Tony Stark could dodge the 3rd film curse. His third outing, while not as bad as the second film, is probably at the bottom of the list of ranked MCU films. Even though the first Iron Man was spectacular, the sequels failed to capture the fun and excitement of the first film. Robert Downey Jr. instead found success with Stark in the Avengers films.

Can you think of films that have broken the 3rd film curse?

ShareTweetSend
ADVERTISEMENT

POPULAR

  • The 15 Most Powerful Anime Characters Of All Time

    The 15 Most Powerful & Strongest Anime Characters Of All Time

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 10 Best Anime Series Of All-Time

    2 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The 15 Most Powerful Characters In The Marvel Universe

    26 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why Johnny Cage Isn’t In The Mortal Kombat 2021 Movie

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 12 Most Powerful Characters In The DC Universe

    180 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Related Posts

doctor strange 1978 Movie
Movies

Marvel, We Haven’t Forgotten That 1978 Doctor Strange Movie

by Rick Austin
April 5, 2021
Adam Wingard Is Working On A ThunderCats Movie
Movies

Adam Wingard Is Working On A ThunderCats Movie

by Caryn Ganess
March 30, 2021
movies at home
Movies

How To Watch The Best & Latest Movies At Home

by Caryn Ganess
March 18, 2021
Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Sequel No One Wanted
Movies

Space Jam: A New Legacy – The Sequel No One Wanted

by Staff Writer
February 27, 2021
The Wizard of Oz - 1939
Movies

The Wizard of Oz Remake to be Directed by Nicole Kassell

by Staff Writer
February 22, 2021
ADVERTISEMENT

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments 10

  1. Avatar Eric says:
    7 years ago

    Expendables 3 didn’t fail because of the rating, it failed because people pirated the film a month ago and bad word of mouth made others not use their own judgement. Many PG-13 action films have great scenes

    Reply
  2. Avatar Eric says:
    7 years ago

    Other films that suffered the 3rd film curse,
    Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: not a bad sequel, but it definitely takes a huge downfall from its predecessor.
    Scream 3: With a rewrite and falling out with writer Kevin Williamson, this film suffered from losing a bit of its Scream charm, even making Gale Weathers so dependent on Dewey
    Superman Returns: Technically this is the 5th live action film, but its continuity its presented as the 3rd film and its a huge bore.
    Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift: Well we now know if nots the 3rd film continuity wise, but it was a huge step down as it was the 3rd film released, although, 2 Fast 2 Furious wasn’t exactly ground breaking either.
    Resident Evil: Extinction: While many tend to not enjoy these films(even though they keep going to see them)this film was a small drop from Apocalypse, although it does do one thing no other bad 3rd film does and that be better than the first film(however Apocalypse is still better than both)
    Rush Hour 3: This film just seemed to go through the same motions as the first film, except weaker. Its not a terrible film but its just weaker
    Rambo 3: Just a huge letdown, the plot is pretty good but the execution is just terrible, Stallone is still great though and Richard Crenna is allowed to do something, so that’s a small bright spot
    Iron Man 3: Although, technically this is Tony Starks 4th time out, 5th if you count his After Credit came in The Incredible Hulk I didn’t mind this film much, but many hated its recycling of plot and the change in the villain.
    Predators: This went through so many rewrites, first it was a team up with Arnold and Danny Glover, than it was a remake, than this, while the other two films are never mentioned this is considered a rebooted 3rd film. I still am waiting for that team up film
    American Wedding: Well this franchise was never masterpieces but this was definitely not the first two films

    Reply
  3. Avatar Jarrod Saunders says:
    7 years ago

    Wow, Thanks Eric. Great feedback!

    Reply
  4. Avatar Eric says:
    7 years ago

    No problem, another thing I had to point out is a lot of the time the 3rd films are so bad because the 2nd films are so great.

    Reply
  5. Avatar Carlo Hendricks says:
    4 years ago

    Lol, ONLY 13….?

    Reply
    • Avatar Fortress of Solitude says:
      4 years ago

      Could have been a 100, but we have other things to do too. :)

      Reply
  6. Avatar James Patrick Phillips says:
    4 years ago

    One franchise that I can think of is too epic and told that curse to bugger off, Harry Potter. Prisoner of Azkaban was awesome.

    Reply
    • Avatar Douglas Vincent Berry says:
      4 years ago

      PoA is honestly the first really good book in that series, though, so it seems natural that the movie would follow.

      Reply
  7. Avatar Matthew Langford says:
    4 years ago

    Three’s a crowd.

    Reply
  8. Avatar assman says:
    5 months ago

    mad max 3-garbage absolute, godfather 3- total garbage, i mean really bad, indiana jones and the jerry lewis crusade- come on! this film is way over rated! sean scares birds with an umbrella that bring down a combat airplane…yeeeesh. only thing worse is #4 which i didn’t see. dont have to you instinctively know. return of the jedi-ewoks, and zombie death star(the trench is now pipes!) star wars-wow! empire-holy s***! jedi…nooooonooo

    Reply

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude

Fortress of Solitude has become one of the most popular geek entertainment interest websites in South Africa and covers news and reviews on movies, games, comic books, gadgets, TV series, toys, sneakers and more.

The articles on Fortress of Solitude are written by a group of talented, professional and experienced freelance writers, all experts and leaders in their various fields.

Categories

  • Board Games
  • Books
  • Comic Books
  • Competitions
  • Gaming
  • Internet
  • Movies
  • Podcast
  • Sneakers
  • Tech
  • Toys
  • TV Series

Newsletter

Sign up for news in your inbox.

  • For more information on COVID-19
  • About Us
  • Authors
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy & Site Disclaimer
  • Contact Fortress of Solitude

© 2021 Fortress of Solitude, a division of Fortress Entertainment. Registered in South Africa. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Movies
  • TV
  • Gaming
  • Tech
  • Comics
  • Sneakers
  • Toys
  • Video
  • Win
  • Contact

© 2021 Fortress of Solitude, a division of Fortress Entertainment. Registered in South Africa. All Rights Reserved.