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SALT LAKE CITY — "Iron Man 3" is just days away from opening and fans are shaking with anticipation for the new film. While we can't give you the film itself, we can at least try to keep you occupied for a few more days.
Since this is the third installment of "Iron Man," we thought we'd take a look at five of the greatest film trilogies.
A few rules to begin.
These are films that had three in the franchise; this is why we are not including "Indiana Jones." If the fourth had never been made, it would be on the list and we'd all be much better off.
Other than that, the list should be pretty straightforward, even though on a couple of the picks we're going to have to do some explaining.
Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series concluded just 10 years ago, but it's already considered a classic.
Tackling such a broad and in-depth story as "Lord of the Rings" would seem almost impossible, but Jackson pulled off the impossible.
The series won a total of 17 Academy Awards, and the last entry, "Return of the King," took home 11 on its own.
While the new Jackson/Tolkien trilogy "The Hobbit" is garnering favorable reviews, it appears nothing will touch the bar "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy has set.
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Here's one of the picks that requires some explanation.
There have been four Bourne movies, but there are only three Jason Bourne films.
The fourth film, "The Bourne Legacy," shares the universe of the first three films, but it utilizes new characters and story lines. With that said, we're counting Bourne as a trilogy.
When "The Bourne Identity" hit theaters in 2002, audiences weren't prepared for how solid the film was going to be.
Matt Damon quickly became our new favorite secret agent and the film was intriguing, entertaining and plain old fun.
Identity was followed by "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum," both of which are just as solid if not better than the first.
As a whole the trilogy rivals the Bond series, which is amazing considering there were only three Jason Bourne movies compared to 17 Bond films.
When Pixar released "Toy Story" in 1995 it left the entire world speechless. The animation was unbelievable, and on top of that it was just a downright great movie.
Pixar quickly followed up with "Toy Story 2" in 1999, but then took an 11-year hiatus before releasing "Toy Story 3" in 2010, and it was worth the wait.
The film was the perfect capstone for an already near-perfect franchise.
The first two films have a 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and the third film has a 99 percent. I guess there was one critic who hates fun.
The films are the perfect family fare; they are clever and eye-popping for the kiddos while having a deep and interesting story for the adults.
In 1989 Tim Burton reintroduced us to Batman, and we fell in love with the caped crusader all over again. Then came the George Clooney Batman, and he became the laughing stock of the super hero world.
Fast-forward to 2005, and little-known filmmaker Christopher Nolan gave us "Batman Begins" and reignited the Dark Knight, turning him into the coolest superhero of all time.
"Batman Begins" set Bruce Wayne in a real-world scenario, and it was mesmerizing. Christian Bale made us soon forget about Clooney and Val Kilmer, remember when he was Batman, and even made us start to forget that Michael Keeton ever donned the cape and cowl.
Nolan followed up his first Batman film with "The Dark Knight," which is arguably the greatest super hero/comic book film of all time. The movie's story is deep and moving, the action is non-stop and the acting, particularly from Heath Ledger, is second to none.
In 2012 Nolan finished his epic trilogy with "The Dark Knight Rises." While the film may have fell a little flat in some areas compared to "The Dark Knight," it still delivered an action epic and one of the greatest conclusions to any trilogy ever put on the silver screen.
Here's some more explaining. Star Wars is really two different trilogies. We have the original trilogy, and then whatever that was that George Lucas threw up.
So, for the sake of our sanity and our fandom, let's just assume that only that first trilogy exists or just treat them as two totally different franchises.
The original Star Wars trilogy defined modern sci-fi and is still one of the biggest pop culture references more than 35 years later.
Kids today still love these movies because they're full of action, plot twists and some of the coolest characters ever created. Finding a better villain than Vader and a better scoundrel than Han Solo is next to impossible.
These films have held up over time, and they will always be what sci-fi filmmakers pattern their films after for the rest of time.
The original Star Wars trilogy has to stand as the greatest movie trilogy of all time.
What other trilogies do you love? Let us know on the comment boards, Facebook or send an email.
