Top 5 Movies of All-Time That Defied the Threequel Curse

Call it a curse, perhaps even laziness on the part of Hollywood creatives, but second sequels have an unfortunate tendency to disappoint. With Iron Man 3 finally in the books, audience opinions remain divided ranging anywhere from the best film of the trilogy to an atrocious bait-and-switch. 

For the fanboys out there treating Iron Man 3 like it's one of the worst botches ever, it's nowhere among the worst. In fact, Iron Man 3 ranks on the better side of impressive third chapters in a series.

While Iron Man 3 comes up short in making this list, there are still sequels out there with enough fuel in the tank to keep the cinematic momentum going. There are only a handful that can boast this claim and even fewer that can be called the crowning achievement in a series. 

The five films below certainly stand out from the countless missed opportunities found in second sequels. 

"Raiders" Triumphs Again in Limited IMAX Engagement

The fedora, the bullwhip, the iconic jacket, it can only be one man...Indiana Jones!

Bringing Raiders of the Lost Ark back into theaters was not only a genius way for us to revisit the first of the iconic Indiana Jones franchise, but in typical George Lucas fashion, also a way to introduce younger audiences to the man with the bullwhip and fedora (if a certain Kingdom of the Crystal Skull hadn't already scared the masses away four years ago). That's all fine and nostalgic, but at its core, the re-release of Raiders back into theaters (and for the first time in IMAX as well) is primarily marketed to capitalize on the upcoming Blu-Ray release.