Artwork: DreamWorks Animation

Chris Luckett

Most movie trilogies follow the best-to-worst pattern of 1-3-2, where the third movie corrects for the overreaches and underestimations of the first sequel but still doesn’t top the original. Of course, while everything from American Pie to X-Men follows this rule, there are less common trilogy patterns, too, like that demonstrated by the Return of the Jedi effect.

First sequels are commonly worse than the original, but when the few that somehow manage to equal their originators are almost always followed by a third entry that just can’t quite match the first two. Iron Man 3, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Mockingjay, Part 1, and Insidious, Chapter 3 have all had this issue in recent years.

The question now is, after the boldly refreshing Kung Fu Panda and the unexpectedly powerful Kung Fu Panda 2, is the third adventure of the prophetic panda Po destined for the same fate? Continue reading →