It's rare for the third installment of a movie franchise to be considered especially good, but a rare few are able to break the boundaries of expectation, becoming the best entry in their respective series. Threequels usually have a hard time living up to expectations, often billed as the epic conclusion to a trilogy that isn't able to ultimately fulfill its promises. Infamous movies like the terrible The Godfather Part III give third installments a nasty reputation, but some of them manage to stand out as the best in the business.

Threequels that work as the best installment of their given trilogies or movie series are able to finely hone the formula of their franchise over the course of the previous two films, resulting in an expertly crafted experience. Some serve as gripping finales as well, rounding out a set of three with grace and tact. Even if they may not have the best reputation, the best threequels stand among some of the greatest movie sequels of all time.

10 Goldfinger

The James Bond Franchise

The numerous James Bond movies run a wide gamut of quality, from critical stinkers like Die Another Day to masterpieces like Casino Royale. Standing at the top of the heap, however, at least in of where the original Sean Connery movies are concerned, is none other than 1964's Goldfinger, the third James Bond film ever made. Here, Bond has to stop his latest villain from plundering the gold reserves at Fort Knox in order to prevent a global economic crisis.

Goldfinger managed to find the perfect middle ground between the first two films, not too over-the-top with its unrealistic antics while not veering too far into the territory of a stuffier, more grounded espionage thriller. The film established so many memorable tropes for the franchise going forward, from Bond's tricked-out Aston Martin spymobile to memorable enforcers like Oddjob to hilariously-named femme fatales like Pussy Galore. Everything about Goldfinger simply works, and the film has long continued to cast a deep shadow over the franchise decades later.

9 Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban

The Harry Potter Series

It can often be difficult to pick a favorite Harry Potter movie, with a lot to enjoy over the lengthy lifespan over the series. Everyone may be entitled to their own personal favorites, but when averaging out the regards of each film, it's clear that Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban stands head and shoulders above the rest. Harry's third year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is dampened by the escape of Sirius Black, a crazed convict and Voldemort er who supposedly wants Harry dead.

Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban is quite a busy film, yet it manages to somehow pull off the delicate balancing act of its many intricate plotlines, from Sirius' escape to the descent of the ghastly Dementor jailers to Professor Lupin's lycanthropy. Not only is it the best Harry Potter movie, but it's also one of the best films to utilize the concept of time travel, succinctly depicting a causal loop with Hermoine's Time-Turner in a clever way. From the plot to the performances to the special effects, Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban is the series in its prime.

8 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Every entry in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy offers a high level of quality, with easy cases to be made for each installment being the best of the three. However, special respect must be itted for The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King for being not only another phenomenal adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved work, but a stunning conclusion to the fated story that doesn't disappoint on any level. Picking off where the previous film left off, the movie unleashes the chaotic Siege of Gondor.

The film is essentially one massive conflict, still the most impressive fantasy battle ever put to cinema, interspersed with the final leg of Frodo's long journey to destroy the ring. Frodo, Sam and Gollum's more personal and perilous journey provides a nice contrast to the exhilarating action, and Jackson spares no expense in weaving together what seems like every notable fighting force in Tolkien's world into a single cohesive war. With two different cuts to choose from, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King is even better, with one enjoying better editing and another exploring Saruman's fate.

7 The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The Dollars trilogy

Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy is by far the greatest continuous Western series ever created, even if the films don't actually make up a continuous story, instead more related by actors and themes. This time around, Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name is Blondie ("the Good"), a treasure hunter after a hidden cache of Confederate gold in the wake of the American Civil War. Competing with him for the booty is the opportunistic Mexican bandit Tuco ("the Ugly") and Lee Van Cleef's Angel Eyes ("the Bad"), a sadistic mercenary.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly revolutionized the Western, with Leone's penchant for alternating extreme closeups and long shots revolutionizing pop culture along with the film's iconic score. A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More are both great in their own right, but neither come close to matching the same level of cinematic mastery and cultural impact as Leone's magnum opus. In fact, the Dollars trilogy is a great example of a threequel overshadowing the relevance of the first two films completely.

6 Logan

The Wolverine series

It doesn't matter if 2017's Logan is counted among the trilogy of films centering specifically on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine or the entire Fox X-Men movie universe. Either way, it's easily the best movie of the bunch, blowing out of the water the superhero schlock of even the most well put-together comic book adaptations. Logan takes the X-Men universe far into the future, showing an aging Wolverine caring for Professor X who discovers a remarkable new mutant - A clone made from his own DNA named X-23, a.k.a. Laura.

The secret to the success of the film is that Logan isn't just great for a comic book movie, but a genuine and dramatic piece of cinema that works as a sort of neo-Western character study. Hugh Jackman is at his most vulnerable here, not the invincible killing machine from earlier films, but a decrepit old man trying to find more to live for than simple base survival. Compared to the previous two Wolverine-centric films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine, it isn't even a fair contest.

5 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon's Vacation series

The National Lampoon's Vacation is some of comedy legend Chevy Chase's most iconic work, and in an interesting twist of fate, the Christmas-themed installment ends up being the most phenomenal one. This time around, the hapless Griswold family actually stays home, despite the name of the series, and plays host to a series of obnoxious and kooky family over the winter holiday. The ensuing slapstick ends up affecting the entire city, with some of the most memorably hilarious scenes in a Christmas movie ever conceived rolling out along the way.

By the time of the third movie, the chemistry between the actors in the Griswold family unit were really able to come into their own, resulting in a natural, flowing torrent of comedy in which the laughs come fast and furious. Bits like the infamous dinner scene and the jaw-dropping explosive climax really hammer home how the film was able to take up a valuable spot as a Christmas season classic. Chevy Chase simply doesn't outdo his performance here in the other National Lampoon's Vacation movies, leaving an impossible standard for the others to follow.

4 Thor: Ragnarok

The Thor series

Compared to the other films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Thor series has had an uneven journey. The first Thor in 2011 might be an underrated little superhero flick, but the follow-up, Thor: The Dark World, is among the MCU's most forgettable entries. But with Thor: Ragnarok, Taika Waititi was able to completely re-invent the character from a generic old-English fantasy protagonist to a lovable spacefaring warrior and one of the funniest Avengers.

In this film, Thor embarks on a strange journey through outer space after his secret sister, Hela, breaks free following the death of Odin, shattering Thor's hammer and taking over Asgard. His long journey back is quite an entertaining one, and Waititi is able to balance his signature sense of humor with a wacky science fiction world and startlingly impressive action sequences. It's a shame his follow-up, Thor: Love and Thunder, couldn't live up to the same expectations.

3 Iron Man 3

The Iron Man trilogy

Speaking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the series' most beloved hero has a surprisingly mixed track record for his films. The original Iron Man was a solid enough springboard for the massive media franchise to begin on, but definitely suffered from some growing pains, and Iron Man 2 felt more like a low-effort Michael Bay film. Comparatively, the threequel Iron Man 3 remains the most underrated and masterfully made entry among the solo Iron Man movies.

Being stripped of his resources and forced to contend with a villain capable of manufacturing his own superpowers, Tony Stark is stripped far out of his element. Robert Downey Jr. does some of the best work of his career here, delicately portraying Iron Man's lingering PTSD from the events of The Avengers. Even if the twist villain was a bit of a disappointment for some comic fans, Iron Man 3 has enough creative action, witty banter, and introspective moments of character development to make up for it.

2 War For The Planet Of The Apes

The Planet of the Apes reboot series

Matt Reeves' Planet of the Apes prequel series is one of the greatest movie trilogies to come out of the 2010s, re-inventing what CGI storytelling can do while putting the classic science fiction story into a more thoughtful context. While the first two films were amazing in their own right, War for the Planet of the Apes has a strong argument as the most solidly-constructed of the three. Here, the revolutionary ape leader Caesar comes into conflict with a U.S. Army battalion, the apocalypse of the Simian Flu virus having all but decimated normal civilization.

Caesar is at his most complicated here, with Andy Serkis' brilliant motion-capture performance conveying an animal that takes great pain in the difficult decisions he has to make. Woody Harrelson's Colonel is easily the most memorable villain of the trilogy, and his terrifying loss of sapience due to the Simian Flu virus' evolution is a haunting moment. That's not even to mention the joys of Bad Ape, who provides some much-needed comedic relief for the dark setting. War for the Planet of the Apes is nothing less than a post-apocalyptic masterpiece.

1 Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

The Indiana Jones series

It's hard to stand out as a Stephen Spielberg film, with so much of the blockbuster genie's filmography being nothing short of pure gold, but Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade deserves kudos as an action-adventure film that somehow manages to be better than Raiders of the Lost Ark. Such a statement might be controversial, but is nevertheless painfully true. Here, Indy teams up with his father to find the fabled Holy Grail before the Nazis do.

What puts Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on another level compared to the films preceding or proceeding it is the unmatched screen chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery. The duo works perfectly as an estranged father and son who are forced to go on another globe-trotting adventure complete with deadly puzzles, mysterious ancient organizations, and insidious Nazi soldiers. From the action setpieces to the tender moments shared by its characters, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a rare third movie that shines the brightest of its peers.