The trilogy is the purest and most perfect iteration of the cinematic franchise because it offers a definitive beginning, middle, and end. While this might seem like a simple way of describing story formatting, it’s something that has become far too rare due to Hollywood’s obsession with franchises. It is rare that film series that have a satisfying ending are allowed to conclude on their own terms without being forced into obsolescence by critical or financial burdens. The first three Indiana Jones films, for example, might have been considered to be an all-time great trilogy, on the level of Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, had there not been two lesser sequels that followed them. A similar complaint could be lodged against the Bourne and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, which screwed up their perfect track records with unnecessary sequels that didn’t even reunite the entire original casts.