As boredom begins to set in, here are a few of the best three-piece narratives to look out for on your steaming services or on demand channels. These are three films that form part of a singular story and do not take into account prequels, unwanted sequels or reboots. Considering the circumstances, we take look at dystopian alternatives.
The Purge; The Purge: Anarchy; and The Purge: Election Year
Several years from now an authoritarian government has taken office and a key principle of their reign is a one-night crime frenzy to release the public’s primal urges. The first film focuses on a single family’s ordeal when they become targets of a middle-class mob.
The sequel spreads its scope to a larger city, highlighting the motivations and fear of individuals caught in a horrific social experiment. The third instalment then takes viewers to the ballot box and the attempts at smashing the system.
The tension is well built, the unhinged brutality is grandiose and the questions asked about our humanity are poignant. The iconic siren is unforgettable.
The Terminator; T2: Judgement Day; and T3: Rise of the Machines
The time-travelling machines from the franchise are some of the most know figures in cinema. Viewers of the newer releases would find it easy to pan over the earlier films but they are the reason studios attempted to milk audiences with Salvation, Genisys and Dark Fate.
The 1984 original shows Schwarzenegger at his Mr Olympia peak in one of the best action movies of that decade. T2 blew audiences away with its cutting-edge CGI as did Edward Furlong’s performance of a pre-adolescent John Connor.
Debate rages about Rise of the Machines but its ending is a fitting way to create the scenario necessary for the first film. The seven-year gap between the first two and the subsequent 12 year wait for the trilogy to be complete gives it a suitable multi-generational progression.
Planet of the Apes (Rise; Dawn; and War)
A total of eight Apes movies have explored the dystopian conquest of the human race by our simian cousins. Charlton Heston’s 52-year-old original was a marvel of its time but the last three have without doubt crafted the most coherent and plausible narrative.
Caesar’s journey from orphaned captive to self-sacrificial general is one of the best character arcs of the Science Fiction genre. No animal character in the history of cinema has been made so human.
The Matrix; Reloaded; and Revolutions
Neo’s bullet-dodging antics spawned a thousand imitations but that is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. The lines of green code are synonymous with the cyber cynicism of the late 90s and the turn of the millennium.
The original delved deep into the questions of how far our dependence on machines would take us and what inherent dangers lay ahead. It was sleek, edgy and gritty with every scene carrying with it a certain gravitas.
The two-part sequel took Neo’s messianic saviour qualities to new lengths, but not without the patient and considered progression that ultimately leads to him facing the system that created him.
Max Max; The Road Warrior; and Beyond Thunderdome
A career-defining role for Mel Gibson as a man who can be said to simply be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A police officer in a rapidly deteriorating society, a journeyman who stumbles on a fortress city under siege, and then a victim of robbery simply wanting to get his things back.
In the end, his victories outweigh his losses as he continues to roam the outback in search of a purpose. The reluctant hero triumphs over impossible odds, and the remote desolation of the locations reinforces the helplessness created by a civilization in ruins.
