Top 10 Movie Trilogies of all time, according to critics

The Top 10 Trilogies of all time, as rated by critic scores accumulated on Rotten Tomatoes. I would never have guessed the number 1 slot but it makes sense, spoiler alert it's not the Star Wars prequels. Let me know what you choices would be.

10: Captain America

Easily the strongest series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America goes from strength to strength, as each move improves on the last, and breaks the mould with the third movie being the strongest in the series, although the Winter Soldier runs it pretty close and is my favourite of the three. Nick Fury’s escape scene in his SUV is the highlight in that movie. Civil War also boasts the most complex villain seen in the MCU thus far, and it is a breath of fresh air as he actually achieves his objective. It’s always nice to see the bad guys win every once in a while.

The First Avenger: 80%

Winter Soldier: 89%

Civil War: 90%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 86.3%

9: The Godfather

The Godfather Trilogy would have undoubtedly been higher up this list if The Godfather Part III wasn’t an absolute steaming turd. It was a disastrous bookend, and does the previous two movies a serious disservice. The Godfather trilogy is two thirds a great trilogy. I try to just consider it as a two part story. The only thing that can mentally erase Part III is swigging back on some bleach.  

The Godfather Part I: 99%

The Godfather Part II: 97%

The Godfather Part III: 67%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 87.6%

8: The Dark Knight

After the disaster that was Batman and Robin, the caped crusader franchise appeared to be at an end. Joel Schumacher had single handily destroyed the franchise. If the studio was to stand any chance of successfully rebooting the Batman series they would have to take a drastically different approach, which they did. Christopher Nolan brought a new and ambitious vision, to set Batman in the real world. The painful memory of Arnold Schwarzenegger spouting off one liners as Mr Freeze was all but a distant memory now (“Ice to see you”, “What killed the Dinosaurs? Da ice age”). Who would have though a super hero movie would win the academy award for best supporting actor. Heath Ledgers portrayal of the Joker was mesmerising, a performance that has yet to be matched in a big screen comic book adaptation. Why so serious?

Batman Begins: 84%

The Dark Knight: 94%

The Dark Knight Rises: 87%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 87.6%

7: Planet of the Apes

When I first watched Rise of the Planet of Apes I was pleasantly surprised as it was actually rather good. My expectation for Rise of the Planet of the Apes was in the basement and this was probably in part due to Tim Burton’s disastrous interpretation of Planet of the Apes featuring Aperaham Lincoln. Much like the Captain America trilogy, the Planet of the Apes trilogy goes from strength to strength and improves with each film.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes: 81%

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: 90%

War for the Planet of the Apes: 93%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 88%

6: Star Wars

The original Star Wars was a game changer. It upped the benchmark to when it came to science fiction and what was achievable with special effects. A New Hope was so good that it set what felt to be an impossible standard for any sequel. The Empire Strikes back delivers something bigger and better, and also give us one of the most famous twists in cinematic history. Return of the Jedi was the weak link but the rescue of Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt was amazing as was the attack on the second Death Star, and how bad ass was Luke flirting with the Dark Side?  

A New Hope: 93%

The Empire Strikes Back: 94%

Return of the Jedi: 80%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 89%

5: The Dead Trilogy

George A. Romero redefined the horror genre, and introduced cinema goers to zombies. The low budget original is one of the, if not the greatest horror movies ever made. The movies were smart and included a strong dose of satire that is still relevant today. Pretty much every attempt at a zombie movie since has failed to capture what made the Living Dead great, with the exception being Shaun of the Dead.

Night of the Living Dead: 96%

Dawn of the Dead: 92%

Day of the Dead: 82%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 90%

4: Cornetto Trilogy

Why is it called the Cornetto Trilogy you may ask. It’s because in each of the films we see the protagonists purchasing or eating a cornetto at some point in each of the movies. Each movie is very different from the last, there are no returning characters and they are their own enclosed stories. However in terms of scope and characters they all sit within the same universe. You could easily imagine PC Nicholas Angel tackling the zombies in Shaun of the Dead, whilst rocking out to Queen.

Shaun of the Dead: 92%

Hot Fuzz: 91%

The World’s End: 89%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 90.6%

3: The Lord of the Rings

It’s an impossible task to pick your favourite Lord of the Rings movie, however I am going to put my neck on the line and say that my favourite is actually the lowest scoring outing from the critics, the Fellowship of the Ring. For me it set the scene perfectly and we really felt that we were on the journey to Modor with Frodo, Sam and the rest of the crew. The Fellowship of the Ring was a solid starting point for Peter Jackson to build upon, and he did just, each movie was as good as the last. At one time the Lord of the Rings was deemed to be un-makeable. As technology advanced, Tolkien’s amazing world was finally able to be made into the masterpiece that reflects the brilliance of the story being told. The less said about the Hobbit the better.

The Fellowship of Ring: 91%

The Two Towers: 96%

Return of the King: 95%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 94%

2: Man with No Name

I need to get this out of the way but Sergio Leon is an utter genius, and I am often confused when he seems to be overlooked when discussing who is the greatest director of them all. I don’t think there is any director working today that can come close to Leon’s brilliance, with the exception of Quintin Tarentino who was obviously heavily influence by the great man. He was the maestro that created the spaghetti western, and the Dollars trilogy is as perfect as it gets. From quirkiness of casting the same actors as different characters in the trilogy, to the amazing soundtrack, the dollars trilogy is as near perfect as you can get. Although called the man with no name trilogy, Eastwoods character takes on the name, albeit nicknames of “Joe”, “Manco” and “Blondie”.

Fistful of Dollars: 98%

For a Few Dollars More: 94%

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 97%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 96.3%

1: Toy Story Trilogy

Well this is a real turnout for the books. When people think of the greatest trilogies ever made they instantly shoot for, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Toy Story however carries the highest critic rating and it would be difficult to see why not. The movies are so universally liked by adults and children alike. The first movie was ground breaking and was the first feature movie that was entirely computer generated.  The characters were likable, coupled with great story telling, and brilliant work from the voice actors.

Toy Story: 100%

Toy Story 2: 99%

Toy Story 3: 100%

Rotten Tomatoes Average: 99.6%