20 Fascinating Movie Trilogies That May or May Not Feature DeLoreans

It is commonplace to say that the second parts tend to be darker. The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Temple of Doom, House Party 2 — second parts go to grittier, more disturbing places than their wide-eyed, world-introducing first parts, but you surely know all of this. Who are we kidding, you can probably recite the script for House Party 2 from memory. Here’s something we just realized 17 seconds ago, though. Yes, second parts in a trilogy are usually the darkest, but which ones are the lamest? As we will see, the pattern soon emerges: it’s the third installment. House Party 3? Don’t even get us started.

And here’s something else that’s interesting — quick, name a trilogy in which the lame one is the first entry. That’s actually not a common phenomenon, although one good example is the original Bourne trilogy. Yes, Identity is average, but at least it was interesting enough for Greengrass to make Supremacy and Ultimatum  (and no Bourne film ever again). Also, picking unblemished trilogies is hard, because there are also your Jurassic World trilogies or your Killer Tomatoes Eat Frances messing up the neat number three. But whatever, you probably also know all of this. You probably have Killer Tomatoes Eat France tattooed on your retina. What other patterns might arise as we examine other trilogies? Will they feature DeLoreans? You’re just gonna have to see.