September 28, 2025 • 27 mins
The source provides an extensive ranking of the ten most definitive science fiction movie trilogies, evaluating them based on their storytelling quality, innovation, cultural impact, and lasting legacy within the genre. Each entry briefly summarizes the films within the series, such as The Original Star Wars Trilogy and The Matrix Trilogy, explaining why they are considered influential masterpieces. The ranking highlights how these trilogies, which also include properties like The Back to the Future Trilogy and the modern Planet of the Apes Trilogy, utilize expansive worlds and compelling characters to explore complex topics like time travel, artificial intelligence, and the human condition. Ultimately, the episode establishes a standard for narrative cohesion and influence, cementing the importance of these multi-film narratives in shaping cinematic history and inspiring future sci-fi works.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back everyone to the deep dive.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Could we be here?
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Okay? So today, well, get ready, we are diving into
something pretty epic. Oh yeah, science fiction movie trilogies. We've
got this source material basically a huge ranking laying claim
to being the top ten of all time.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Wow. Okay, that's a bold claim, a definitive ranking.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Right, and we're going to unpack it because you know,
sci fi trilogies, they're kind of unique, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
They absolutely are. It's not just you know, three movies
strung together exactly. They build these incredible worlds, societies, even
they let these really big, sometimes complex ideas develop over
like a whole decade.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Sometimes, and often they're the ones pushing the envelope technically speaking,
like the special effects, the visual.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Definitely, that innovation part is huge. They often invent the
tech they need.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
So that's what we're digging into today. Why these specific
series made the cut, what makes them stand out as
proper cohesive trilogies?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
And the sources gave us some pretty clear criteria.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Right, yeah, they did. We're looking at the storytelling obviously,
but also the cultural impact, like how much did it
change things?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Uh? Legacy too does it still hold.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Up, right, and that narrative cohesion we mentioned, does it
feel like one big story plus.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
The innovation factor, the tech breakthroughs, and just its overall
influence on sci.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Fi as a whole.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
And you know, when you look at those criteria, you
start seeing a pattern emerge with the cop ones.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
It's their focus on well, us, the human condition.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Even with aliens and spaceships.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah. Absolutely, whether it's a huge space opera or like
a quirky time travel thing, it always seems to come
back to exploring who we are, our strengths.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Our weaknesses, potential for good or not so good.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Exactly, our hopes, our fears wrapped up in these fantastical settings.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Okay, I'm ready. Let's get into this ranking. Where do
we start right at the top.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let's do it the heavy hitters first, the ones that basically.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Wrote the rule book, all right, kicking things off at
number one. No, no huge surprise here. Maybe it's the
original Star Wars trilogy in nineteen seventy seven, nineteen eighty three,
you know, a New Hope Empire Jedi.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, the mythic Blueprint as the sources call it. Yeah,
and honestly, looking at those criteria. It just ticks every
single box massively.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
It really is like a cinematic big bang, isn't it
what George Lucas did. It wasn't just a film, No.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
It was this incredible blend. He pulled from westerns, those
old flash Gordon Syria, Kurosawa, Samurai films and filtered it
all through Joseph Campbell's heroes journey.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Ideas, which made it feel instantly familiar, almost on the typal.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Exactly that core story. Luke the farm boy discovering his destiny,
Lah the princess, Han the scoundrel battling the evil Empire.
It's simple on.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The surface, deceptively simple maybe, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
But that simplicity in a New Hope was kind of genius.
You grounded everyone in this huge, sprawling universe before things
got more complex.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
We kind of take that initial simplicity for Gret now,
but it was crucial absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And then there's the innovation side. We always talk about
the Lightsabers and.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
X Wings, which were amazing obviously totally.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
But the sources really stressed the behind the scenes breakthroughs,
like the founding of Industrial Light and Magic ILM.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Right. ILM was basically created for Star Wars, wasn't it
pretty much?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
They had to invent the tools to make the movie
Lucas envisioned. Think about the dietroflex camera system.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, for the complex base battle shots exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
That motion control let them do multiple passes, layer effects,
create those incredible dog fights, the trench run, stuff nobody
had seen before.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
The sound, you can't forget the sound.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Oh, Ben Burt's work is legendary. The lightsaber hum, the
tie fighter screech, vaders breathing. Yeah, it's iconic. It's like
a whole phonic language for that universe.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
It really is so incredible innovation, huge impact. But the
sources seem to agree that the high point narratively is
the middle one.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
The Empire strikes back. Why is that one always singled out?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Well, I think it's because it dared to go dark.
It introduced complexity and crucially failure.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, a New Hope is pretty straightforward, good versus evil
Empire isn't right.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Luke fails in his training, Hon gets frozen. The heroes
are scattered, there's ambiguity, there's psychological depth, and of.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Course the reveal, the reveal No I Am Your Father,
probably the biggest twist in movie history. It just lands
with such weight.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
It completely changes everything it does.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
And the fact that it doesn't have a happy ending, Yeah,
that it leaves you hanging. That was incredibly bold for
a blockbuster sequel back then.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
It really set the stage for Return of the Jetta
to provide that resolution, that redemption arc for Vader precisely.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
It makes the whole trilogy feel earned. It's just it's
the perfect example of narrative cohesion, massive impact and game
changing innovation. Hard to argue with number.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
One, agreed, Okay, moving on to number two, a very
different vibe, but the sources say equally influential and cohesive.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, we're jumping genres a bit here. Number two is
the Back to the Future trilogy nineteen eighty five, nineteen
ninety Ah.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yes, Back to the Future You're Part two, Part three,
pure fun but also incredibly clever storytelling.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
It's just a masterclass, isn't it. Yeah, especially that first
film Robert Zemechis and Bob Gail. That script is legendary.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
It's like screenwriting students still study.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
It, right. Yeah, it's held up as a model of
air tight plotting. Marty doc Brown, The Deloreum going back
to nineteen fifty five.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
The core concept is simple enough, but the execution.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That's the genius. How it handles cause and effect. Every
little action Marty takes in the past has these immediate
ripple effects. He has to fix his parents, meeting Dodge Biff,
and figure out.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
How to get back the whole lightning strike sequence. It's
just so tightly wound, it really is.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And what's amazing is how the sequels managed to keep
that level of narrative complexity going without, you know, completely
tying themselves in knots.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Part two, especially that jumped to twenty fifteen, which seems
so futuristic.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Then yeah, the hoverboards, the self lacing, Nike's iconics stuff,
But narratively it was really ambitious. Going to the future,
then back to an alter nineteen eighty five, then back
to nineteen fifty five, again overlapping with the events of
the first movie.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
It could have been a total mess.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
It could have, but they managed it by constantly referencing
that original timeline. It showed the dangers of messing with
time in a really clever visual way. You saw the
direct consequences.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
And then for part three they just completely switched genres.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Right, suddenly it's a Western but it works.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
It does because the core is still Marty and Dock's friendship.
That emotional anchor holds it all together even when they're
dodging bullets in eighteen eighty five.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Exactly, that ability to shift from sci fi to comedy
to adventure, even Western tropes, while keeping that heart. That's
why it scores so high on cohesion.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It proved sci fi could be funny, accessible, and still
incredibly smart about its concepts. Just pure entertainment with a
brilliant structure.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Couldn't agree more. A well deserved number two.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Okay, moving down the list, now we're getting into territory
that's maybe a bit more philosophical and I'm definitely visually revolutionary.
Number three is a big one from the turn of
the millennium.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Ah yes, prepared to question reality.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Number three is the Matrix Trilogy nineteen ninety nine, two
thousand and three. So the Matrix reloaded and revolutions.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
This trilogy just exploded into the culture, didn't it. It felt
like it came out of nowhere and changed everything.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
It really did. The Bolkowskis delivered something unique. It was
this blend of like cyberpuck aesthetics, martial arts, action, and
seriously heavy philosophical ideas.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, pulling from Boudrialed plato yea ideas about simulation reality right,
and wrapping.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
It all up in this incredibly stylish package. The black leather,
the sunglasses.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
And the action. The bullet time effect. Everyone remembers that.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Oh yeah, bullet time was groundbreaking. But it's interesting, the
sources point out it wasn't just CGI, right, It.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Was that complex camera rig Wasn't it like tons of
still cameras firing in sequence?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Exactly? A really innovative practical effect merged with digital composition. Yeah,
it gave the action this surreal, almost balletic quality. It
totally redefined slow motion action scenes.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
But beyond the cool visuals, the core idea that reality
is a simulation run by machines. Yeah, that's what hooked people, right.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Absolutely, Neo's journey of discovery, waking up to the desert
of the real and the central conflict. The big theme
the sources highlight is free will versus determinism.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Are the characters making choices or are they just following code?
The oracle the architect. It gets complex, it.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Does, which brings us to the sequels Reloaded and revolutions. Now,
these were definitely more divisive.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, I remember the reaction. A lot of people felt
they got too dense, too bogged down in philosophy, maybe
lost some of the original's impact. So how does it
still rank at number three, especially with that narrative cohesion criteria.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
That's a really fair question. Yeah, and the sources seem
to weigh the cultural impact and the sheer ambition very
heavily here. Okay, even if the sequel stumbled a bit
in execution, maybe got a little too convoluted.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
For something like that architects scene and reloaded, that was a.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Lot you're a huge exposition dump. But think about what
it was trying to do. Framing Neo's chosen One status
not as destiny but as another system of control. It
forced audiences to grapple with these really big philosophical concepts
in a summer blockbuster.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
That's sure, you didn't usually get that kind of philosophical
deep dive between the action sequences.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Right, and that ambition, combined with the first film's perfection
and the overall visual influence, it just had this undeniable,
massive impact. It brought cyberpunk ideas firmly into the mainstream.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
And discussions about AI, virtual reality, the nature of reality itself.
We're still talking about the things the Matrix brought up
over twenty years ago, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Its influence is just undeniable, even with the narrative hiccups
in the later films. Yeah, that justifies the high ranking.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Okay, that makes sense. Moving on to number four. This
one's more recent, a reboot trilogy.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yes, and it's a fantastic example how to do a
reboot right hitting philosophical depth through character and performance. Number
four is the Planet of the Apes trilogy twenty eleven
twenty seventeen. That's Rise, Dawn, and War for the Planet
of the Apes.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
This trilogy really surprised me with how good it was,
especially focusing on the ape perspective.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
It's just a triumph really storytelling, visual effects. It all
comes together, and it hintes entirely on the character of Caesar, right.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
The chimpanzee who gets intelligence from that experimental drug. His
journey is the core of.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
The whole thing, and the sources are unanimous on this.
Andy Serkus's performance as Caesar is groundbreaking.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Through motion capture, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
The technology developed by witted digital combined with circus is
incredibly nuanced acting. It allowed Caesar to convey such a
huge range of emotion intelligence, yes, but also grief, anger, love, leadership.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
You completely believed him, You empathized with the CGI ape totally.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
It's set a new standard for what performance capture could achieve.
It wasn't just about looking real, it was about conveying
a soul, allowing us to connect deeply with a non
human protagonist.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
And the themes it explores they're pretty heavy too.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Definitely, especially in the second film done. The sources really
highlight that one.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
That's the one with the fragile piece between the apes
and the surviving humans in San Francisco.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, and it just masterfully explores these complex societal issues. Yeah,
power struggles, prejudice, fear of the other, the difficulty of leadership,
that break down of trust.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
It felt very relevant. Caesar isn't just a leader. He's
trying to navigate this impossible situation, uphold morality when everything's
falling apart.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
He becomes this sort of tragic figure across the trilogy,
from an innocent raised by humans in Rise to this burdened,
almost Moses like leader in War trying to save his people.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It's a really powerful arc, it is.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And it proves that cutting edge VFX, when they serve
a strong story in deep characters, can deliver something truly
profound about ironically human nature.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, Humanity's downfall through Caesar's eyes. Very effective, A deserving
number four. Okay, we're into the middle of the list now,
numbers five, six, and seven, and these seem to be
trilogies that really carved out or define specific sci fi subgenres.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Exactly foundational stuff. Kicking off this section at number five,
we're heading to the wastelanth.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
I think I know this one. Leather, Dust and Gasoline.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
You got it. The Mad Max trilogy nineteen seventy nine
nineteen eighty five. That's the original run, Mad Max the
Road Warrior, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
George Miller's vision of the post apocalypse. It just feels
so raw.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
It really does, and it basically wrote the visual dictionary
for dystopian sci fi. Yeah, but the evolution across the
three films is key to why it's ranked so highly.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
The first Mad Max is quite different, isn't it Almost
more of a gritty revenge thriller.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Yeah, exactly. It's lower budget, much more focused on Max
Rocketanski himself a cop, seeing society crumble around him and
seeking vengeance. The post apocalyptic setting is there, but it's
still kind of nascent.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
It's The Road Warrior where it really crystallizes.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Right, Absolutely, The Road Warrior or Mad Max two Elsewhere
is the one that defines the genre aesthetic. The scraps
of leather, the mohawks, the souped up vehicles, the desperate
fight for fuel.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
The vast empty wasteland.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yes, it transformed the series from that personal revenge story
into this larger than life, almost mythological battle for survival.
The vehicular combat is just insane.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
And then beyond Thunderdome, that one feels a bit different again,
maybe a bit bigger budget, more world.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Building, definitely. The sources point out that Thunderdome added more
layers to this world. It moved beyond just Maxi's perspective
to show how pockets of civilization might try to rebuild.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Right, you get barter Town with Tina Turner as anti entity, two.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Man enter, one man leaves iconic huh.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yeah, and the whole community of lost children. It explored
different facets of survival and societal reconstruction after the fall.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Even if it's sometimes seen as a bit softer than
Row Warrior, that world building aspect is important for the
trilogy's scope.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And the influence. You see mad Max's DNA everywhere.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Don't You Everywhere, video games like Fallout, countless other movies
that visceral, practical effects driven action, the minimalist storytelling, the
whole esthetic. It all stems from Miller's original trilogy. Just
foundational stuff for post apocalyptic fiction makes sense.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Okay. Number six takes us from the dusty wasteland to
the cold vacuum of space and introduces maybe the scariest
monster in cinema.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You're thinking the Alien Trilogy in nineteen seventy nine, nineteen
ninety two, Alien Aliens, and Alien three.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yep, the Xenomorph Nightmare fuel.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Absolutely, this trilogy is just a cornerstone of sci fi horror.
It masterfully blends suspense, action, body horror, and that sort
of existential dread.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
And again, the evolution across the films is really interesting.
The first Alien, it's pure.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Horror, totally. Ridley Scott directed it like a haunted house movie.
In space. It's slow, claustrophobic building ten and atmosphere you
barely see the creature for a lot of it, and H. R.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Guider's designs just unforgettable.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
That biomechanical look, It's set a completely new standard for
creature design and sci fi horror visuals just disturbing and brilliant.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Then James Cameron comes along for Aliens, and he just
flips the script entirely, doesn't he completely?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
He takes the core elements Ripley, the Xeanwharph's but turns
it into this high octane military action movie. More aliens,
more guns, more spectacle.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
It's amazing how different they are, yet both are considered classics, and.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
That flexibility is a huge strength of the trilogy. Aliens
also deepen Ripley's character enormously, making her this maternal figure
protecting newt leading these tough marines. It added huge emotional steaks.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
She goes from survivor to warrior exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Now Alien three.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
This was tricky, Yeah, it had a famously troubled production, right,
different directors, script changes, huge.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Problems, and the final film is definitely divisive. It's bleak, nihilistic.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
So again, how does it factor into a top trilogy
ranking based on cohesion.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
The sources argue that despite the production woes and the
perhaps uneven result, Alien three provides a necessary, albeit tragic
conclusion to Ripley's arc. How So, it brings her story
full circle back to isolation and facing the creature almost
alone again, but this time with a sense of finality.
It reinforces the idea that the real villain isn't just
(16:24):
the monster, but the whaling Utahni Corporation constantly trying to
weaponize it.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Ah. Okay, so it provides thematic closure, even if the
execution was rocky.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
That seems to be the argument, and ultimately the power
of the first two films, plus Ellen Ripley being one
of cinema's absolute greatest heroes, absolutely it carries the trilogy
into the top tier, and the Xenomar remains utterly iconic.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Fair enough, Okay, Number seven, we're staying in the realm
of deadly threats, but this time they're man made.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Or machine made. Rather, we're talking the Terminator trilogy nineteen
eighty four, two thousand and three. That's the Terminator T two,
Judgment Day and Terminator three, Rise of the same machines.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Another James Cameron connection here at least for the first two,
and just relentless action.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Relentless is the word. The core idea is just fantastic.
This exploration of fate, technology gone wrong, human resilience all
wrapped up in this chase narrative.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Sarah Connor's journey is incredible, from waitress to warrior, trying
to protect her unborn son who's destined to save humanity.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Right. The first Terminator is almost a slasher movie in disguise. Yeah,
low budget, gritty Arnold Schwarzenegger as this unstoppable killing machine.
It's terrifying.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
And then T two it just blew everything away.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
T two was a phenomenon, completely shifted the dynamic, making
Arnold the protector this time, and the visual effects the.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
T one thousand, the liquid metal guy.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah, that required groundbreaking CGI morphing effects, seamless integration with
live action. The sources pinpoint T two as a landmark
moment where CGI proved it could do literally anything. It
redefined blockbuster action.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
But it wasn't just the effects, was it. It had
heart too.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Definitely that relationship between young John Connor and the reprogrammed Terminator.
This machine learning about humanity becoming this unlikely father figure
that gave the spectacle real emotional weight.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I know now why you cry still gets me?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
He too, And the central themes felt and still feel
incredibly relevant. Skynet, this AI network becoming self aware and
launching nuclear war.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yeah, pretty prescient stuff, especially now with all the talk
about AI risks.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Exactly. The trilogy tapped into those anxieties early on.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Now, Terminator three, like Alien three, often seen as the
lesser entry.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Generally, Yeah, didn't have Cameron's involvement and maybe felt a
bit like a retread to some, But the sources give
a credit for one key narrative contribution, which is the ending. Yeah,
it's surprisingly bleak. It basically says, Nope, judgment day is inevitable.
You can delay it, but you can't stop it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Oh right, it actually happens at the end.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
That was bold, very bold for a blockbuster. It gave
the trilogy this fatalistic, uncompromising conclusion, reinforcing the no fate.
But what we make struggle wasn't entirely successful.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So it provided a definitive, if downbeat end to that
specific arc.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Exactly, and that thematic resonance about AI and destiny keeps
the original trilogy relevant.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
All Right, we're nearing the end the list, the final three,
and these seem a bit different, maybe focusing on established
franchises or having unusual structures.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Yeah, that's a good way to put it. At number eight,
we're beaming aboard the enterprise.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Ah Star Trek. Which films specifically, this is.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
What's often called the Star Trek trilogy nineteen eighty two,
nineteen eighty six. It's actually films two, three and four,
The Wrath of con The Search for Spock, and The
Voyage Home.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Okay, interesting grouping, not I two three? Why these three specifically.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Because they formed this really strong, interconnected character arc for
the original crew, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, the whole gang. For
many fans and critics, this stretch is the absolute peak
of Star Trek on the big screen.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Wrath of KHN that one's legendary right, often called the
best Trek film ever Easily.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
It's just fantastic, A really gripping story about revenge, aging consequences.
Ricardo Model bun is Con is an all time great villain, and.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
It felt different from the TV show, more cinematic, definitely.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Nicholas Meyer directed it like a submarine movie in space,
lots of tension, strategy. Those naval style battles felt very intense.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Plus the ending Spock's death.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Huge emotional impact. The needs of the many outweigh the
needs of the few or the one. It cemented the
bond between Kirk and Spock and really resonated with audiences.
It gave the series real.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Stakes, which the search for Spock had to deal with
directly exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
That film is all about loyalty, friendship, sacrifice. The crew
essentially goes rogue risks everything their careers, the ship to
save Spock. It flows directly from the emotional fallout of con.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
It's all about bringing their friend back right, pure character
driven drama.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
And then the voyage hone just completely changes gears again.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
That's the one where they go back in time to
the eighties to save the whales.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Ah, yeah, the one with the whales. It's much lighter, funnier,
more accessible, sending these twenty third century characters into contemporary
well eighties.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
San Francisco double dumbass on you classic.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
But the sources say this tonal shift was actually brilliant.
It broadened the appeal of Star Trek hugely. Brought in
new fans, but still kept the focus on the characters
we love.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And the environmental message Saving the whales gave the humor
some underlying substance.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Exactly. So you have this incredible range across the three films,
intense thriller, emotional quest and then a funny fish out
of water adventure with a message that variety anchored by
those beloved characters. Is why this specific trio is considered
such a high point.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Makes sense? Okay? Number nine is Wait, the sources listens
as a duology.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
This is the most interesting inclusion structurally. Number nine is
the Blade Runner duology nineteen eighty two to twenty seventeen.
So Blade Runner and Blade Runner twenty forty nine.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Right, so there isn't a third film yet. How does
this make a list of top trilogies?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Okay, so the sources acknowledge this upfront. It's included because
the argument is that these two films together creates such
a complete, profound and influential narrative and philosophical arc that
they function in the spirit of a great.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Trilogy, trilogic and spirit. I like that. Tell me more.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, you start with Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner just
an absolute masterpiece of cyberpink filmmaking.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
They'll look alone, that rainy, neon drenched la It defined
a whole esthetic.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Totally, and beneath the visuals, it's asking these huge questions
about what it means to be human, memory, empathy, artificial life,
DECKERD hunting replicants.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
And famously ambiguous, right the whole is DECKERD a replicant.
The bait still goes on exactly.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
It leaves you with these big, unresolved questions. And that's
where A Blade Runner twenty forty nine comes in decades later,
directed by Dennis Filove.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Which was visually stunning too.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Absolutely breathtaking, But crucially it didn't try to answer all
the old questions. Instead, it built upon them. It expanded
the world, explore the implications of replicant society, memory implants.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Following K's story, the new Blade Runner.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Right, his journey of discovering his own identity or lack thereof,
adds new layers to the original themes of manufactured humanity
and the search for meaning. It's a haunting story about
sacrifice and what constitutes the soul.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So the argument is that twenty forty nine acts like
the perfect second and third act combined, responding to and
deepening the first film's question.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Precisely together, they formed this incredibly rich, dense philosophical dialogue
across two films. Thematically, it feels complete, and their combined
influence on sci fi visuals and themes about artificial intelligence
is just immense unparalleled.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Hey, I can see the logic. A duology that punches
with the weight of a trilogy. Very interesting inclusion.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
It definitely sparks debate, which is part of the fun.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
All right, let's wrap it up. Number ten. This one
brings us back to dystopia, but maybe aimed at a
slightly younger audience initially.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah. Number ten is the Hunger Games trilogy twenty twelve
twenty fifteen, which includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and
then Mocking j Part one and Part two.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Okay, so four films, but functioning as a trilogy narratively.
Why the split for the last one.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Well, it followed the trend at the time for Big
Ya adaptations, splitting the final book for more screen time.
But the sources defend its inclusion as a trilogy because
it covers the three distinct acts of Suzanne Collin's original
book series, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So the story arc functions as three parts exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
You have the first film introducing us to Catnus Everdeen,
the dystopian world of Pamm, the brutal games themselves, establishing
her as this reluctant symbol of hope and defiance.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
It really captured the zeitgeist, didn't it, That feeling of
rebellion against an oppressive system.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
It did. And then Catching Fire really raises the stakes.
It's not just about surviving the games anymore. It's about
the brewing revelation, the political machinations of President Snow. Catnus
is trapped in a much larger, more dangerous game.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
That quartercall concept was brutal, forcing past victors back in.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, it showed the capital's cruelty and desperation. It really
deepened the political intrigue and set the stage for all
out war.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Which is what Mocking J Parts one and two cover
the actual revolution right.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
And what the sources praise here is that it doesn't
shy away from the grim realities of war. It explores propaganda,
how both sides use Catnus as a symbol a weapon
the Mocking j exactly, and it delves into the psychological toll,
the trauma, the moral compromises leaders have to make in wartime.
It gets surprisingly dark and complex.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
It's not just a simple good guys beat bad guys.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Ending, not at all. It's quite bittersweet, focusing on the
cost of war and the difficulty of rebuilding. It really
resonated with audiences grappling with themes of inequality, media manipulation,
and government control.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
So it's relevance and its powerful exploration of resistance earn
it the final spot.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
That seems to be the case. It showed how powerful
dystopian wya a sci fi could be hashtag tag outro.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Wow. Okay, that is quite a list. We've gone from
deep space myths to time traveling teens, simulated realities, ape revolutions,
desolate wastelands.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Yeah, it really covers the incredible breadth of science fiction,
doesn't it. From the sheer scale of Star Wars to
the intimate character focus of something like Planet of the Apes.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Or the philosophical depth of Blade Runner. It's amazing how
these trilogies, these serialized stories of shape not just the
genre but cinema itself.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Absolutely. Yeah, they pushed technology forward, They created iconic characters
and worlds, and maybe most importantly, they use these fantastical
settings to make us think about ourselves.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Right, Like we said at the start, exploring the human condition,
we saw how Terminator tapped into early AI fears, how
The Matrix made us question.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Reality, How Hunger Games reflected anxieties about power and media.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
It really drives home that idea of sci fi as
a mirror reflecting our present concerns onto the future, which.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Actually brings up a really interesting final thought for you,
the listener, to consider based on this whole deep dive.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Okay, let's hear it.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Well, think about how uncannily some of these older trilogies
seem to predict or tap into future anxieties, right, AI,
corporate power, environmental.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Issues, Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
So the question is what themes in the newer highly
ranked trilogies on this list. Maybe they're really complex questions
about empathy and prejudice and leadership in the modern planet
of the Apes, or those deep dives into identity, memory
and what it means to be real in Blade Runner
twenty forty nine. What might those themes be telling us
(27:36):
about our hopes, our anxieties, our dreams for the next
hundred years or so.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
What current truths are they reflecting that might become even
more critical down the line.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Exactly what are these modern sci fi masterpieces trying to
warn us about or prepare us for something to chew on.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
That is definitely something to think about. A great place
to leave it. Thanks for joining us on this deep
dive pleasure. We'll see you next time on the Deep
Dive
Welcome back everyone to the deep dive.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
Could we be here?
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Okay? So today, well, get ready, we are diving into
something pretty epic. Oh yeah, science fiction movie trilogies. We've
got this source material basically a huge ranking laying claim
to being the top ten of all time.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Wow. Okay, that's a bold claim, a definitive ranking.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Right, and we're going to unpack it because you know,
sci fi trilogies, they're kind of unique, aren't they.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
They absolutely are. It's not just you know, three movies
strung together exactly. They build these incredible worlds, societies, even
they let these really big, sometimes complex ideas develop over
like a whole decade.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Sometimes, and often they're the ones pushing the envelope technically speaking,
like the special effects, the visual.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Definitely, that innovation part is huge. They often invent the
tech they need.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
So that's what we're digging into today. Why these specific
series made the cut, what makes them stand out as
proper cohesive trilogies?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
And the sources gave us some pretty clear criteria.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Right, yeah, they did. We're looking at the storytelling obviously,
but also the cultural impact, like how much did it
change things?
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Uh? Legacy too does it still hold.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Up, right, and that narrative cohesion we mentioned, does it
feel like one big story plus.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
The innovation factor, the tech breakthroughs, and just its overall
influence on sci.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Fi as a whole.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
And you know, when you look at those criteria, you
start seeing a pattern emerge with the cop ones.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (01:27):
It's their focus on well, us, the human condition.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Even with aliens and spaceships.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah. Absolutely, whether it's a huge space opera or like
a quirky time travel thing, it always seems to come
back to exploring who we are, our strengths.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Our weaknesses, potential for good or not so good.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Exactly, our hopes, our fears wrapped up in these fantastical settings.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Okay, I'm ready. Let's get into this ranking. Where do
we start right at the top.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Let's do it the heavy hitters first, the ones that basically.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Wrote the rule book, all right, kicking things off at
number one. No, no huge surprise here. Maybe it's the
original Star Wars trilogy in nineteen seventy seven, nineteen eighty three,
you know, a New Hope Empire Jedi.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Yeah, the mythic Blueprint as the sources call it. Yeah,
and honestly, looking at those criteria. It just ticks every
single box massively.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
It really is like a cinematic big bang, isn't it
what George Lucas did. It wasn't just a film, No.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
It was this incredible blend. He pulled from westerns, those
old flash Gordon Syria, Kurosawa, Samurai films and filtered it
all through Joseph Campbell's heroes journey.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Ideas, which made it feel instantly familiar, almost on the typal.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Exactly that core story. Luke the farm boy discovering his destiny,
Lah the princess, Han the scoundrel battling the evil Empire.
It's simple on.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
The surface, deceptively simple maybe, yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
But that simplicity in a New Hope was kind of genius.
You grounded everyone in this huge, sprawling universe before things
got more complex.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
We kind of take that initial simplicity for Gret now,
but it was crucial absolutely.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
And then there's the innovation side. We always talk about
the Lightsabers and.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
X Wings, which were amazing obviously totally.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
But the sources really stressed the behind the scenes breakthroughs,
like the founding of Industrial Light and Magic ILM.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
Right. ILM was basically created for Star Wars, wasn't it
pretty much?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
They had to invent the tools to make the movie
Lucas envisioned. Think about the dietroflex camera system.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
Yeah, for the complex base battle shots exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
That motion control let them do multiple passes, layer effects,
create those incredible dog fights, the trench run, stuff nobody
had seen before.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
The sound, you can't forget the sound.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Oh, Ben Burt's work is legendary. The lightsaber hum, the
tie fighter screech, vaders breathing. Yeah, it's iconic. It's like
a whole phonic language for that universe.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
It really is so incredible innovation, huge impact. But the
sources seem to agree that the high point narratively is
the middle one.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
The Empire strikes back. Why is that one always singled out?
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Well, I think it's because it dared to go dark.
It introduced complexity and crucially failure.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, a New Hope is pretty straightforward, good versus evil
Empire isn't right.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Luke fails in his training, Hon gets frozen. The heroes
are scattered, there's ambiguity, there's psychological depth, and of.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Course the reveal, the reveal No I Am Your Father,
probably the biggest twist in movie history. It just lands
with such weight.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
It completely changes everything it does.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
And the fact that it doesn't have a happy ending, Yeah,
that it leaves you hanging. That was incredibly bold for
a blockbuster sequel back then.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
It really set the stage for Return of the Jetta
to provide that resolution, that redemption arc for Vader precisely.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
It makes the whole trilogy feel earned. It's just it's
the perfect example of narrative cohesion, massive impact and game
changing innovation. Hard to argue with number.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
One, agreed, Okay, moving on to number two, a very
different vibe, but the sources say equally influential and cohesive.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Yeah, we're jumping genres a bit here. Number two is
the Back to the Future trilogy nineteen eighty five, nineteen
ninety Ah.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Yes, Back to the Future You're Part two, Part three,
pure fun but also incredibly clever storytelling.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
It's just a masterclass, isn't it. Yeah, especially that first
film Robert Zemechis and Bob Gail. That script is legendary.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
It's like screenwriting students still study.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
It, right. Yeah, it's held up as a model of
air tight plotting. Marty doc Brown, The Deloreum going back
to nineteen fifty five.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
The core concept is simple enough, but the execution.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That's the genius. How it handles cause and effect. Every
little action Marty takes in the past has these immediate
ripple effects. He has to fix his parents, meeting Dodge Biff,
and figure out.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
How to get back the whole lightning strike sequence. It's
just so tightly wound, it really is.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
And what's amazing is how the sequels managed to keep
that level of narrative complexity going without, you know, completely
tying themselves in knots.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Part two, especially that jumped to twenty fifteen, which seems
so futuristic.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Then yeah, the hoverboards, the self lacing, Nike's iconics stuff,
But narratively it was really ambitious. Going to the future,
then back to an alter nineteen eighty five, then back
to nineteen fifty five, again overlapping with the events of
the first movie.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
It could have been a total mess.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
It could have, but they managed it by constantly referencing
that original timeline. It showed the dangers of messing with
time in a really clever visual way. You saw the
direct consequences.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
And then for part three they just completely switched genres.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Right, suddenly it's a Western but it works.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
It does because the core is still Marty and Dock's friendship.
That emotional anchor holds it all together even when they're
dodging bullets in eighteen eighty five.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
Exactly, that ability to shift from sci fi to comedy
to adventure, even Western tropes, while keeping that heart. That's
why it scores so high on cohesion.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It proved sci fi could be funny, accessible, and still
incredibly smart about its concepts. Just pure entertainment with a
brilliant structure.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Couldn't agree more. A well deserved number two.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Okay, moving down the list, now we're getting into territory
that's maybe a bit more philosophical and I'm definitely visually revolutionary.
Number three is a big one from the turn of
the millennium.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Ah yes, prepared to question reality.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Number three is the Matrix Trilogy nineteen ninety nine, two
thousand and three. So the Matrix reloaded and revolutions.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
This trilogy just exploded into the culture, didn't it. It felt
like it came out of nowhere and changed everything.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
It really did. The Bolkowskis delivered something unique. It was
this blend of like cyberpuck aesthetics, martial arts, action, and
seriously heavy philosophical ideas.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Yeah, pulling from Boudrialed plato yea ideas about simulation reality right,
and wrapping.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
It all up in this incredibly stylish package. The black leather,
the sunglasses.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
And the action. The bullet time effect. Everyone remembers that.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Oh yeah, bullet time was groundbreaking. But it's interesting, the
sources point out it wasn't just CGI, right, It.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
Was that complex camera rig Wasn't it like tons of
still cameras firing in sequence?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Exactly? A really innovative practical effect merged with digital composition. Yeah,
it gave the action this surreal, almost balletic quality. It
totally redefined slow motion action scenes.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
But beyond the cool visuals, the core idea that reality
is a simulation run by machines. Yeah, that's what hooked people, right.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
Absolutely, Neo's journey of discovery, waking up to the desert
of the real and the central conflict. The big theme
the sources highlight is free will versus determinism.
Speaker 1 (08:23):
Are the characters making choices or are they just following code?
The oracle the architect. It gets complex, it.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Does, which brings us to the sequels Reloaded and revolutions. Now,
these were definitely more divisive.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Yeah, I remember the reaction. A lot of people felt
they got too dense, too bogged down in philosophy, maybe
lost some of the original's impact. So how does it
still rank at number three, especially with that narrative cohesion criteria.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
That's a really fair question. Yeah, and the sources seem
to weigh the cultural impact and the sheer ambition very
heavily here. Okay, even if the sequel stumbled a bit
in execution, maybe got a little too convoluted.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
For something like that architects scene and reloaded, that was a.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Lot you're a huge exposition dump. But think about what
it was trying to do. Framing Neo's chosen One status
not as destiny but as another system of control. It
forced audiences to grapple with these really big philosophical concepts
in a summer blockbuster.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
That's sure, you didn't usually get that kind of philosophical
deep dive between the action sequences.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Right, and that ambition, combined with the first film's perfection
and the overall visual influence, it just had this undeniable,
massive impact. It brought cyberpunk ideas firmly into the mainstream.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
And discussions about AI, virtual reality, the nature of reality itself.
We're still talking about the things the Matrix brought up
over twenty years ago, exactly.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Its influence is just undeniable, even with the narrative hiccups
in the later films. Yeah, that justifies the high ranking.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Okay, that makes sense. Moving on to number four. This
one's more recent, a reboot trilogy.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yes, and it's a fantastic example how to do a
reboot right hitting philosophical depth through character and performance. Number
four is the Planet of the Apes trilogy twenty eleven
twenty seventeen. That's Rise, Dawn, and War for the Planet
of the Apes.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
This trilogy really surprised me with how good it was,
especially focusing on the ape perspective.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
It's just a triumph really storytelling, visual effects. It all
comes together, and it hintes entirely on the character of Caesar, right.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
The chimpanzee who gets intelligence from that experimental drug. His
journey is the core of.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
The whole thing, and the sources are unanimous on this.
Andy Serkus's performance as Caesar is groundbreaking.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Through motion capture, right, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
The technology developed by witted digital combined with circus is
incredibly nuanced acting. It allowed Caesar to convey such a
huge range of emotion intelligence, yes, but also grief, anger, love, leadership.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
You completely believed him, You empathized with the CGI ape totally.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
It's set a new standard for what performance capture could achieve.
It wasn't just about looking real, it was about conveying
a soul, allowing us to connect deeply with a non
human protagonist.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
And the themes it explores they're pretty heavy too.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Definitely, especially in the second film done. The sources really
highlight that one.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
That's the one with the fragile piece between the apes
and the surviving humans in San Francisco.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Yeah, and it just masterfully explores these complex societal issues. Yeah,
power struggles, prejudice, fear of the other, the difficulty of leadership,
that break down of trust.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
It felt very relevant. Caesar isn't just a leader. He's
trying to navigate this impossible situation, uphold morality when everything's
falling apart.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
He becomes this sort of tragic figure across the trilogy,
from an innocent raised by humans in Rise to this burdened,
almost Moses like leader in War trying to save his people.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
It's a really powerful arc, it is.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And it proves that cutting edge VFX, when they serve
a strong story in deep characters, can deliver something truly
profound about ironically human nature.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
Yeah, Humanity's downfall through Caesar's eyes. Very effective, A deserving
number four. Okay, we're into the middle of the list now,
numbers five, six, and seven, and these seem to be
trilogies that really carved out or define specific sci fi subgenres.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Exactly foundational stuff. Kicking off this section at number five,
we're heading to the wastelanth.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
I think I know this one. Leather, Dust and Gasoline.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
You got it. The Mad Max trilogy nineteen seventy nine
nineteen eighty five. That's the original run, Mad Max the
Road Warrior, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
George Miller's vision of the post apocalypse. It just feels
so raw.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
It really does, and it basically wrote the visual dictionary
for dystopian sci fi. Yeah, but the evolution across the
three films is key to why it's ranked so highly.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
The first Mad Max is quite different, isn't it Almost
more of a gritty revenge thriller.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Yeah, exactly. It's lower budget, much more focused on Max
Rocketanski himself a cop, seeing society crumble around him and
seeking vengeance. The post apocalyptic setting is there, but it's
still kind of nascent.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
It's The Road Warrior where it really crystallizes.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Right, Absolutely, The Road Warrior or Mad Max two Elsewhere
is the one that defines the genre aesthetic. The scraps
of leather, the mohawks, the souped up vehicles, the desperate
fight for fuel.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
The vast empty wasteland.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yes, it transformed the series from that personal revenge story
into this larger than life, almost mythological battle for survival.
The vehicular combat is just insane.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
And then beyond Thunderdome, that one feels a bit different again,
maybe a bit bigger budget, more world.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Building, definitely. The sources point out that Thunderdome added more
layers to this world. It moved beyond just Maxi's perspective
to show how pockets of civilization might try to rebuild.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Right, you get barter Town with Tina Turner as anti entity, two.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
Man enter, one man leaves iconic huh.
Speaker 1 (13:49):
Yeah, and the whole community of lost children. It explored
different facets of survival and societal reconstruction after the fall.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
Even if it's sometimes seen as a bit softer than
Row Warrior, that world building aspect is important for the
trilogy's scope.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
And the influence. You see mad Max's DNA everywhere.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Don't You Everywhere, video games like Fallout, countless other movies
that visceral, practical effects driven action, the minimalist storytelling, the
whole esthetic. It all stems from Miller's original trilogy. Just
foundational stuff for post apocalyptic fiction makes sense.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Okay. Number six takes us from the dusty wasteland to
the cold vacuum of space and introduces maybe the scariest
monster in cinema.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
You're thinking the Alien Trilogy in nineteen seventy nine, nineteen
ninety two, Alien Aliens, and Alien three.
Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yep, the Xenomorph Nightmare fuel.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Absolutely, this trilogy is just a cornerstone of sci fi horror.
It masterfully blends suspense, action, body horror, and that sort
of existential dread.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
And again, the evolution across the films is really interesting.
The first Alien, it's pure.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Horror, totally. Ridley Scott directed it like a haunted house movie.
In space. It's slow, claustrophobic building ten and atmosphere you
barely see the creature for a lot of it, and H. R.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Guider's designs just unforgettable.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
That biomechanical look, It's set a completely new standard for
creature design and sci fi horror visuals just disturbing and brilliant.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Then James Cameron comes along for Aliens, and he just
flips the script entirely, doesn't he completely?
Speaker 2 (15:19):
He takes the core elements Ripley, the Xeanwharph's but turns
it into this high octane military action movie. More aliens,
more guns, more spectacle.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
It's amazing how different they are, yet both are considered classics, and.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
That flexibility is a huge strength of the trilogy. Aliens
also deepen Ripley's character enormously, making her this maternal figure
protecting newt leading these tough marines. It added huge emotional steaks.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
She goes from survivor to warrior exactly.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Now Alien three.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
This was tricky, Yeah, it had a famously troubled production, right,
different directors, script changes, huge.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Problems, and the final film is definitely divisive. It's bleak, nihilistic.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
So again, how does it factor into a top trilogy
ranking based on cohesion.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
The sources argue that despite the production woes and the
perhaps uneven result, Alien three provides a necessary, albeit tragic
conclusion to Ripley's arc. How So, it brings her story
full circle back to isolation and facing the creature almost
alone again, but this time with a sense of finality.
It reinforces the idea that the real villain isn't just
(16:24):
the monster, but the whaling Utahni Corporation constantly trying to
weaponize it.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Ah. Okay, so it provides thematic closure, even if the
execution was rocky.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
That seems to be the argument, and ultimately the power
of the first two films, plus Ellen Ripley being one
of cinema's absolute greatest heroes, absolutely it carries the trilogy
into the top tier, and the Xenomar remains utterly iconic.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Fair enough, Okay, Number seven, we're staying in the realm
of deadly threats, but this time they're man made.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Or machine made. Rather, we're talking the Terminator trilogy nineteen
eighty four, two thousand and three. That's the Terminator T two,
Judgment Day and Terminator three, Rise of the same machines.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Another James Cameron connection here at least for the first two,
and just relentless action.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Relentless is the word. The core idea is just fantastic.
This exploration of fate, technology gone wrong, human resilience all
wrapped up in this chase narrative.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Sarah Connor's journey is incredible, from waitress to warrior, trying
to protect her unborn son who's destined to save humanity.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Right. The first Terminator is almost a slasher movie in disguise. Yeah,
low budget, gritty Arnold Schwarzenegger as this unstoppable killing machine.
It's terrifying.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
And then T two it just blew everything away.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
T two was a phenomenon, completely shifted the dynamic, making
Arnold the protector this time, and the visual effects the.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
T one thousand, the liquid metal guy.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
Yeah, that required groundbreaking CGI morphing effects, seamless integration with
live action. The sources pinpoint T two as a landmark
moment where CGI proved it could do literally anything. It
redefined blockbuster action.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
But it wasn't just the effects, was it. It had
heart too.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Definitely that relationship between young John Connor and the reprogrammed Terminator.
This machine learning about humanity becoming this unlikely father figure
that gave the spectacle real emotional weight.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I know now why you cry still gets me?
Speaker 2 (18:15):
He too, And the central themes felt and still feel
incredibly relevant. Skynet, this AI network becoming self aware and
launching nuclear war.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Yeah, pretty prescient stuff, especially now with all the talk
about AI risks.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Exactly. The trilogy tapped into those anxieties early on.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Now, Terminator three, like Alien three, often seen as the
lesser entry.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Generally, Yeah, didn't have Cameron's involvement and maybe felt a
bit like a retread to some, But the sources give
a credit for one key narrative contribution, which is the ending. Yeah,
it's surprisingly bleak. It basically says, Nope, judgment day is inevitable.
You can delay it, but you can't stop it.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Oh right, it actually happens at the end.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
That was bold, very bold for a blockbuster. It gave
the trilogy this fatalistic, uncompromising conclusion, reinforcing the no fate.
But what we make struggle wasn't entirely successful.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
So it provided a definitive, if downbeat end to that
specific arc.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Exactly, and that thematic resonance about AI and destiny keeps
the original trilogy relevant.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
All Right, we're nearing the end the list, the final three,
and these seem a bit different, maybe focusing on established
franchises or having unusual structures.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Yeah, that's a good way to put it. At number eight,
we're beaming aboard the enterprise.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Ah Star Trek. Which films specifically, this is.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
What's often called the Star Trek trilogy nineteen eighty two,
nineteen eighty six. It's actually films two, three and four,
The Wrath of con The Search for Spock, and The
Voyage Home.
Speaker 1 (19:39):
Okay, interesting grouping, not I two three? Why these three specifically.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Because they formed this really strong, interconnected character arc for
the original crew, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, the whole gang. For
many fans and critics, this stretch is the absolute peak
of Star Trek on the big screen.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Wrath of KHN that one's legendary right, often called the
best Trek film ever Easily.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
It's just fantastic, A really gripping story about revenge, aging consequences.
Ricardo Model bun is Con is an all time great villain, and.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
It felt different from the TV show, more cinematic, definitely.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
Nicholas Meyer directed it like a submarine movie in space,
lots of tension, strategy. Those naval style battles felt very intense.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Plus the ending Spock's death.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
Huge emotional impact. The needs of the many outweigh the
needs of the few or the one. It cemented the
bond between Kirk and Spock and really resonated with audiences.
It gave the series real.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Stakes, which the search for Spock had to deal with
directly exactly.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
That film is all about loyalty, friendship, sacrifice. The crew
essentially goes rogue risks everything their careers, the ship to
save Spock. It flows directly from the emotional fallout of con.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
It's all about bringing their friend back right, pure character
driven drama.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
And then the voyage hone just completely changes gears again.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
That's the one where they go back in time to
the eighties to save the whales.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Ah, yeah, the one with the whales. It's much lighter, funnier,
more accessible, sending these twenty third century characters into contemporary
well eighties.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
San Francisco double dumbass on you classic.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
But the sources say this tonal shift was actually brilliant.
It broadened the appeal of Star Trek hugely. Brought in
new fans, but still kept the focus on the characters
we love.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
And the environmental message Saving the whales gave the humor
some underlying substance.
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Exactly. So you have this incredible range across the three films,
intense thriller, emotional quest and then a funny fish out
of water adventure with a message that variety anchored by
those beloved characters. Is why this specific trio is considered
such a high point.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Makes sense? Okay? Number nine is Wait, the sources listens
as a duology.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
This is the most interesting inclusion structurally. Number nine is
the Blade Runner duology nineteen eighty two to twenty seventeen.
So Blade Runner and Blade Runner twenty forty nine.
Speaker 1 (21:56):
Right, so there isn't a third film yet. How does
this make a list of top trilogies?
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Okay, so the sources acknowledge this upfront. It's included because
the argument is that these two films together creates such
a complete, profound and influential narrative and philosophical arc that
they function in the spirit of a great.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
Trilogy, trilogic and spirit. I like that. Tell me more.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Well, you start with Ridley Scott's original Blade Runner just
an absolute masterpiece of cyberpink filmmaking.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
They'll look alone, that rainy, neon drenched la It defined
a whole esthetic.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
Totally, and beneath the visuals, it's asking these huge questions
about what it means to be human, memory, empathy, artificial life,
DECKERD hunting replicants.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
And famously ambiguous, right the whole is DECKERD a replicant.
The bait still goes on exactly.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
It leaves you with these big, unresolved questions. And that's
where A Blade Runner twenty forty nine comes in decades later,
directed by Dennis Filove.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
Which was visually stunning too.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Absolutely breathtaking, But crucially it didn't try to answer all
the old questions. Instead, it built upon them. It expanded
the world, explore the implications of replicant society, memory implants.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Following K's story, the new Blade Runner.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Right, his journey of discovering his own identity or lack thereof,
adds new layers to the original themes of manufactured humanity
and the search for meaning. It's a haunting story about
sacrifice and what constitutes the soul.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
So the argument is that twenty forty nine acts like
the perfect second and third act combined, responding to and
deepening the first film's question.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Precisely together, they formed this incredibly rich, dense philosophical dialogue
across two films. Thematically, it feels complete, and their combined
influence on sci fi visuals and themes about artificial intelligence
is just immense unparalleled.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
Hey, I can see the logic. A duology that punches
with the weight of a trilogy. Very interesting inclusion.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
It definitely sparks debate, which is part of the fun.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
All right, let's wrap it up. Number ten. This one
brings us back to dystopia, but maybe aimed at a
slightly younger audience initially.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah. Number ten is the Hunger Games trilogy twenty twelve
twenty fifteen, which includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and
then Mocking j Part one and Part two.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Okay, so four films, but functioning as a trilogy narratively.
Why the split for the last one.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Well, it followed the trend at the time for Big
Ya adaptations, splitting the final book for more screen time.
But the sources defend its inclusion as a trilogy because
it covers the three distinct acts of Suzanne Collin's original
book series, gotcha.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
So the story arc functions as three parts exactly.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
You have the first film introducing us to Catnus Everdeen,
the dystopian world of Pamm, the brutal games themselves, establishing
her as this reluctant symbol of hope and defiance.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
It really captured the zeitgeist, didn't it, That feeling of
rebellion against an oppressive system.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
It did. And then Catching Fire really raises the stakes.
It's not just about surviving the games anymore. It's about
the brewing revelation, the political machinations of President Snow. Catnus
is trapped in a much larger, more dangerous game.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
That quartercall concept was brutal, forcing past victors back in.
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Yeah, it showed the capital's cruelty and desperation. It really
deepened the political intrigue and set the stage for all
out war.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
Which is what Mocking J Parts one and two cover
the actual revolution right.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
And what the sources praise here is that it doesn't
shy away from the grim realities of war. It explores propaganda,
how both sides use Catnus as a symbol a weapon
the Mocking j exactly, and it delves into the psychological toll,
the trauma, the moral compromises leaders have to make in wartime.
It gets surprisingly dark and complex.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
It's not just a simple good guys beat bad guys.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Ending, not at all. It's quite bittersweet, focusing on the
cost of war and the difficulty of rebuilding. It really
resonated with audiences grappling with themes of inequality, media manipulation,
and government control.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
So it's relevance and its powerful exploration of resistance earn
it the final spot.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
That seems to be the case. It showed how powerful
dystopian wya a sci fi could be hashtag tag outro.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Wow. Okay, that is quite a list. We've gone from
deep space myths to time traveling teens, simulated realities, ape revolutions,
desolate wastelands.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
Yeah, it really covers the incredible breadth of science fiction,
doesn't it. From the sheer scale of Star Wars to
the intimate character focus of something like Planet of the Apes.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Or the philosophical depth of Blade Runner. It's amazing how
these trilogies, these serialized stories of shape not just the
genre but cinema itself.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Absolutely. Yeah, they pushed technology forward, They created iconic characters
and worlds, and maybe most importantly, they use these fantastical
settings to make us think about ourselves.
Speaker 1 (26:39):
Right, Like we said at the start, exploring the human condition,
we saw how Terminator tapped into early AI fears, how
The Matrix made us question.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Reality, How Hunger Games reflected anxieties about power and media.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
It really drives home that idea of sci fi as
a mirror reflecting our present concerns onto the future, which.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Actually brings up a really interesting final thought for you,
the listener, to consider based on this whole deep dive.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Okay, let's hear it.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Well, think about how uncannily some of these older trilogies
seem to predict or tap into future anxieties, right, AI,
corporate power, environmental.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Issues, Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
So the question is what themes in the newer highly
ranked trilogies on this list. Maybe they're really complex questions
about empathy and prejudice and leadership in the modern planet
of the Apes, or those deep dives into identity, memory
and what it means to be real in Blade Runner
twenty forty nine. What might those themes be telling us
(27:36):
about our hopes, our anxieties, our dreams for the next
hundred years or so.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
What current truths are they reflecting that might become even
more critical down the line.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Exactly what are these modern sci fi masterpieces trying to
warn us about or prepare us for something to chew on.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
That is definitely something to think about. A great place
to leave it. Thanks for joining us on this deep
dive pleasure. We'll see you next time on the Deep
Dive
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