The rare 3rd film that's just as good or better than the 1st or 2nd film in a series

[Rowsdower!]

I've been rewatching the American Pie films on HBO and while the third movie is terrible, the fourth one is great and really brings things back around to where they should be. It's the conclusion the series needed. So I feel like the best thing to do is just watch 1, 2 and 4 and just forget 3 exists. It's a perfect trilogy that way.

 

[Broseph44]

Oh yeah, definitely forgot about BTTF Part 3. I prefer it to Part 2.

I'm with you on this one. I've always loved 3 more than 2.

 

[Loki882]

-Toy Story 3.
-Kung Fu Panda 3.
-Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
-Back to the Future Part 3.
-Captain America: Civil War (The Winter Soldier is still my favorite of the three, but quality-wise this is a respectable #2).
-Batman Forever (I prefer it to the Burton films honestly, especially Returns).
-Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (prefer it to Temple of Doom easily).
-Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (MUCH better than the first two PT film).
-Die Hard with a Vengeance (better than Die Hard 2).

 

[redhawk23]

Nightmare on Elm Street 3 may just be the best film in the series. The first is a classic but Dream Warriros has great characters and a balance of scares and humor.

 

[Donnie Darko]

I don't see it this way, but I think a lot of people think The Dark Knight Rises is better than Batman Begins.

This series was originally called "the Jersey Trilogy," so if it counts, I'd put Chasing Amy up with Clerks and Mallrats.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Also, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is better received than 2.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I hope to see Thor: Ragnarok strongly surpass both of its predecessors.

 

[Soapy]

I don't care about the opinions of critics and general audiences, so I'll just list some third movies in a series that I think are on par with or surpass at least one of their predecessors.

Trigger warning: Opinions

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Alien 3
Rocky III
The Godfather Part III
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3
Jaws 3
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Star Trek Beyond
Iron Man 3
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Spy Who Loved Me
The World is Not Enough
Skyfall
Clear and Present Danger
Die Hard with a Vengeance
Rambo III
Mission Impossible III
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Escape from The Planet of The Apes

I hope to see Thor: Ragnarok strongly surpass both of its predecessors.

Geez. I would hope.

 

[Xrated48]

1. Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith- best of the prequels
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade- not as good as the first two imo but still great.
3. Toy Story 3- also not as good as 1 and 2 but still great.
4. Captain America Civil War- second best cap film
5. Nightmare on Elm Street 3- better than the second
6. Harry Potter POA- really solid third film
7. Lord of the Rings Return of The King- Best LOTR film
8. The Dark Knight Rises- not as good as the first too but still good
9. Star Wars Episode VI ROTJ- same as number 8
10. Fast Furious Toyko Drift- personally was the best film for me until Fast Five
11. MIB 3- redeemable qualities make it better than 2

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Oh yeah, definitely forgot about BTTF Part 3. I prefer it to Part 2.

Me too. At the very least, I feel the quality is pretty consistent across the board.

Although from series that ran much longer than 3 sequels:

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 is usually considered far superior to 2, and while not as scary, gave us he more humorous Freddy.

Friday the 13th Part 3D gave us the hockey mask, and is pretty well remembered.

Army of Darkness, while a much different film, is probably the most well loved of the Evil Dead films.

Paranormal Activity 3 is probably the best one besides the original.

Also, special shout out to Ghostbusters: The Video Game, as it's as a good a GB3 as we'll likely ever get. Plus, despite my love of GBII, it is a better story, but just happens to be stretched pretty far for the game aspect.