Top 10 Third Installments in Movie Franchises that Suck

Third installments in movie franchises usually turn out to be bad. So let’s take a look.
The items in this list have been selected by the author of the list for you to vote and comment on.
The Top Ten
1 The Godfather, Part III

This film has to be one of the most disappointing sequels of all time. It doesn't really have the same feel as the first two and it doesn't particularly add much to move the story forward. Most of it is pretty dull and the film is mostly a drag. The performances, at least for the most part, are still great. The only exception to the great performances is Sofia Coppola. Her performance is so monotoned, so bland, and just bad! The final stretch of this film can be entertaining, but I was just so uninterested by it! Even that couldn't save this film! I think the first two movies are the only ones you should see. This seems to weigh down the series as a whole and doesn't really provide any closure you can't get from just watching the first two. the are a few redeeming qualities, but not enough to say it’s even worth three hours of your time.

I thought it was fine, but nothing compared to the first two. I did like how Michael was trying to get out of his crime business, but they keep dragging him in. And Sofia Coppola’s acting, as you mentioned, is terrible! When she was onscreen, I could barely concentrate on anything else but her abysmal acting. I though the ending was very abrupt. Overall, this movie just made appreciate the first two movies more. But it wasn’t terrible either.

2 Spider-Man 3

I honestly don't know what happened here. This is easily the weakest in the trilogy. This film has too many villians that you don't even know who’s the main villian if this film! I couldn't even tell who it was! Venom suffers from a lack of screen time and was poorly treated! Sandman was a bland villian who lacks the intimidation of the Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus! It also seems to focus on the villians instead of Spider-Man. The story is weak, certain scenes drag on, and the film can get flat. Like there’s a scene where at the Nightclub, Peter hits Mary Jane in the face. The characters were also downright awful. The worst thing about the film is emo Peter! He just turns into an arrogant, despicable jerk! The final battle that we’ve gotten was really weak and disappointing. This is not the worst Spider-Man film. TASM2 holds that title. But at least this is not as bad as that.

Godfather 3 isn't really bad, just disappointing. THIS, on the other hand, is the worst of Marvel's movies (yes, it's actually worse than Howard the Duck).

This movie is the best on the list in my opinion

3 Shrek the Third

The first two films were really great! But this was really bad! The film lacks the charm of the first two because almost every joke in this film is incredibly tasteless and not funny. The story is really weak, Shrek has to find Arthur who will be the next king of Far Far Away. The villian from the previous film was reused. I guess the writers were just lazy that they couldn't find another villian for this one. He’s also not intimidating as Lord Farquaad, the Fairy Godmother, or Rumpelstilkin. King Harold’s death wasn't even emotional, he does two fakeout deaths. The pacing is also very inconsistent. There is also some plot holes. After Shrek 2, how would Prince Charming be able to roam free? This film is one of DreamWorks’ worst films. At least the fourth was an improvement. I feel like the upcoming reboot will be worse than this one.

Favourite Shrek movie

4 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

This is where the franchise went downhill. This was the first Terminator film to be considered bad. This unnecessary sequel is pretty much bad. This sequel rehashes Judgement Day, the characters are bland, the story doesn't feel as gripping or tensioned as the first two films, and the action seems to be dated and fake now thanks to the overuse of CGI! It also borrows fan favorite scenes from the earlier films and just inserts them along with dialogue from also the earlier films because the writers were too lazy or unoriginal to create their own. Of the top of my head, the minigun scene and the truck scene are the biggest offenders. And that psychiatrist, let’s not talk about that! This was just a sequel that was just made for the money! Judgement Day closed the story perfectly! It should’ve ended there! I still adore the first two Terminator films, but this one was very disappointing.

I think it was the best Terminator movie

5 Superman III

This film is way better than The Quest for Peace, no denying that. But this film is still pretty bad. Firstly, who on Earth thought that it would be a good idea to give Richard Pryor a role in a Superman film!? The story is weak as it ignores the first two Superman films, most of the acting is awkward and bizarre, the special effects are also poor. There’s a scene where Webster’s sister is turned into a robot by the supercomputer. That looked fake! Also, Robert Webster is a poorly developed main villian and isn't intimidating in any way, shape, or form. The dialogue is laughably bad. Like I said before, it’s way better than the fourth film.

Nah, this is my favorite of the originals

6 X-Men: The Last Stand

This film is a perfect case for why Hollywood isn't doing well at the box office. The film takes a franchise of two good films and regurgitates generic Hollywood crap. The dialogue is full of cliché statements, and corny attempts at statements with deep meanings. The dialogue sounds like the script of a novice. Another issue is the character development. No history is given for the newly introduced characters. The viewer is left to simply accept the character at face value, without any explanation for their character, their history, or their power. The story also seemed rushed. If you liked to first two movies, then I would suggest not seeing this one. Because it’s pretty much a let down.

7 Alien 3

This one was a let down. As a fan of the first two Alien films, I was excited to see this one, but I wasn't impressed. This was a step backwards from Aliens. Alien3 doesn't have surprise, thrills, and it just doesn't feel like an Alien film. There were some good things about the film, but not enough. There’s no eerieness or creepiness, that worked in Prometheus, but Prometheus had good scares and thrills. This film also doesn't have a good plot. It can get confusing and makes no sense at times. The special effects in this film looks better than the ones in the last film, but that isn't enough to save the film. The film lacks suspense, scares, and thrills. It has a thin weak plot that makes little to no sense. Well, at least it’s better than Aliens vs. Predator!

8 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

This is a big improvement of the first two prequels, but its still not good. This is easily the best in the prequel trilogy. The reasons why is because it actually feels like a Star Wars film. The action is entertaining, and it also changes into a different tone. I love how Anakin became Darth Vader. But, it still had the same problems as the first two prequels. It added a bunch of plot holes, the dialogue is pretty poor, and Hayden Christensen still isn't convincing as Anakin. The acting is also pretty bad. The best thing about this film is the final battle! I thought that battle was just awesome! The film also still has cringe from other prequels. This film is pretty bad, but at least it’s not as bad as the first two prequels.

This is a sixth installment, but it still is one of the worst. Not THE worst-even THIS is better than...the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Actually it's my favourite Star Wars movie

9 Jurassic Park III

I really enjoyed the first film, I thought Lost World was alright, but this was pretty awful. What made Jurassic Park so great is the wonder and suspense. This has none of that. The plot is extremely predictable, and the characters are unpleasant and boring. The film doesn't also understand that the franchise’s incons are the Raptors and the T-Rex. As this film basically spits on them both. Also, the effects has really downgraded a lot. Which is strange considering the grander budget. Unlike The Lost World, this film doesn't give the feeling of a Jurassic Park movie, but rather feels like a ripoff film, trying to cash in on a franchise. It gives us all the well known things of these films, but the problem is that it doesn't give anything else that made the original great! Instead, it tries to be relatively short to keep the kids entertained! Personally, this is the worst Jurassic Park film.

I actually like it a lot

10 Taken 3

This film didn't need to get sequels! Taken was such a great film that should’ve been a standalone action gem! The title is also misleading. Nobody gets “taken” in this film. The title is called “Taken” for crying out loud! The way this film was shoot was poor at best. No scene lasted longer the three minutes to achieve the same relentless pace I enjoyed in the first film. The dialogue is so cheesy! The put in every cliché line from any action film you can possibly think of! One dimensional characters that sound like complete idiots! There was a scene where Mills plugs a USB into a LAPD computer, and the computer voice says, “You are currently accessible the LAPD hidden files”. Just in case people in the theater missed this. Some of the action sequences were so unrealistic that even a nine year old would find it a push to believe let alone us adults. This was a poor way to end a dying trilogy. Hopefully it stays dead.