Back To The Future lll 1989, Star Wars Episode lll: Revenge Of The Sith 2005, The Matrix Revolutions 2003, Terminator 3 Rise o the Machines 2003, and XMEN The Last Stand 2006
The grand finales for each of these respective series are all here regardless of whether they were good endings or not. This is probably the most divisive marathonon out of all three parts pertaining to these respective trilogies. Not every walked away satisfied with each of these films mainly because they either took directions that people didn't agree with overall or they concluded trilogies that lacked in comparison to their predecessors like Revenge of the Sith. In most cases, these third entries ended up being the least well received entries in their franchises but in retrospect, it's extremely hard to live up to the standards of the first two films before it. The first movie of the evening is Back To The Future lll, the third and final installment in the time travel trilogy starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. The final chapter finds the characters of Doc Brown and Marty McFly in western times with Doc Brown on the verge of being killed by an antagonist named Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen during the western time in 1885. Upon discovering this, Marty McFly decides to travel back in time to rescue his friend. Back To The Future lll although making significantly less than he first two films domestically with 87 million at the box office still earned respectable reviews as the concluding chapter of this fun and adventurous trilogy. The second movie in the lineup is the concluding chapter to the Star Wars prequel trilogy titled Star Wars Episode lll: Revenge of the Sith. Picking up about three years after the events of Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker played by Hayden Christensen finds himself falling closer and closer towards the dark side under the apprenticeship of Chancellor Palpatine played brilliantly by Ian McDiarmid. When he fully becomes the apprentice of the Emperor under the name Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi played by Ewan McGregor is forced with the decision to protect Padme Amidala and her unborn child from the clutches of Vader, as well as facing his once friend now turned enemy. Revenge of the Sith is universally considered by Star Wars fans and moviegoers to be the best film of the prequel trilogy which isn't saying much given the quality of the films before it, but provides a strong bridge between the prequel trilogy and the original films. It also remains the only prequel to get a certified fresh on rottentomatoes with 80 percent and holds a 7.7 on imdb, representing a generally satisfaction with audiences. The third movie in the lineup is the finale to the Matrix trilogy as well as a continuation of the events of The Matrix Reloaded. The Matrix Revolutions brings the trilogy full circle as well as diving many fans of the first film with it's approach towards concluding the events setup by the previous film such as the war against the machines, Neo deciding he has to face Agent Smith and defeat him in order to bring freedom to the people of Zion, and protecting Trinity. Matrix Revolutions was critically panned upon release with 37 percent approval rating on rottentomatoes and a box office of just 139 million domestically representing the worst box office performance of all three movies. Revolutions took criticism for characters and story arcs taking a backseat towards special effects, even though it didn't have scenes that ran as long as The Matrix Reloaded. Now that 12 years have passed, it can safely be said that Matrix Revolutions wasn't that bad although many will choose to leave their experiences of going into The Matrix at the first movie. The fourth film in the lineup is Jonathan Mostow's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. In this third installment in the popular Terminator franchise, a cyborg named The Terminator or T-800 is sent back through time to protect a drifter named John Connor and his future wife Katherine Brewster from a nuclear attack as well as a new enemy called The Terminatrix, a female cyborg sent back through time to assassinate both targets. Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines is a case of audiences being too hard on it. It never had any chance of reaching the heights of it's predecessors as being a landmark film, but it is far from the disaster that Terminator Salvation turned out to be which temporarily halted the series. Rise of the Machines still left a generally favorable impression upon audiences when it was released garnering a 7.3 out of 10 on imdb and 70 percent on rottentomatoes. The question this marathon asks is are we being too hard on Terminator3?
The fifth and final movie of the evening is Brett Ratner's very divisive entry in the original XMEN trilogy titled XMEN 3. Picking up right where the events of Bryan Singer's X1 and X2 left off, XMEN 3 places Xaviers team battling an evil and more powerful version of Jean Grey called The Pheonix. While doing so, the humans have supposedly developed a cure for mutants which takes away their powers forcing Magneto and his band of mutants to take action against the human race. XMEN 3 generally remains the most divisive XMEN film that centers around the main team because of it's reckless disregard for killing off important characters such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Professor X without much buildup or emotional attachment during the movie. It also takes a backward direction from what the end of X2 was building up to which was to chroncile the entire Pheonix saga of the XMEN storyline and show Wolverine and Cyclops finally teaming up to lead the team, Rogue realizing the full potential of her powers, and the use of sentinals. Although the film was the most successful at the box office with 234 million, it generated the worst reviews with 58 percent on rottentomatoes and put the franchise in a limbo for 8 years until it was properly fixed with Bryan Singer's Days Of The Future Past.
So what are these movies trying to say ultimately? XMEN 3 Says that just because someone is different doesn't mean that they are bad. Terminator 3 Rise of the Machine says that the future is set and that you are what your destiny allows you to be and can't run from that. The Matrix Revolutions says that sometimes you must perform the ultimate sacrifice to save the rest of humanity. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Star Wars Episode lll Revenge of the Sith says that the fear of loss makes people do things they originally wouldn't normally do, and Back To The Future lll says that you must do what you must in order to save a friend, even if it means going back through time for them.
Our finales for this evening:
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