Trilogy Week Part 3

Hey everybody, and welcome to the conclusion of Trilogy Week.  Today I'm going to reveal my all-time most marathonable trilogy.  Before I do I'll quickly recap the week:
I'm counting down the top 5 most marathonable trilogies.  Not necessarily best, but most marathonable.  That is, the best to watch back-to-back-to-back.  Before you ask, I'll just tell you that yes, I have marathoned all five of these trilogies.  So far we have:

5. The Lord of the Rings
4. The Ocean's trilogy
3. Indiana Jones
2. Star Wars

And here it is, the one you've all been waiting for...

The Jason Bourne Trilogy

Consisting of The Bourne Identity, (directed by Doug Liman,) The Bourne Supremacy, (Paul Greengrass,) and The Bourne Ultimatum, (also Paul Greengrass,) the Bourne trilogy follows the adventures of the elite spy Jason Bourne as he travels across the globe in search of clues to his troubling and mysterious past.

So what makes it so marathonable?  First of all, all three movies are independently awesome.  They all have intensity and action to spare, and the stories and dialog are impressive.  The cast, led by Matt Damon, but also featuring many other great actors such as Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and more, all turn in great performances.  The soundtracks are also excellent.

But three great movies does not a marathonable trilogy make.  They have to have a connection to each other.  And that's where the Bourne trilogy excels.  There are tons of tiny visuals and throwaway lines that link the movies to each other.  Also, their timeline overlaps, making watching them in sequence very easy while keeping all of the plots understandable.

These three movies function as a trilogy better than any other three on the list, with the possible exception of Lord of the Rings.  But the Bourne trilogy moves along at a much more brisk pace, making it significantly easier to marathon, and also making it a more engaging experience.  There is zero dead time in all three films.  If you leave the room even for a second, you'll probably miss something important.

So there you have it, my top five.  Feel free to sound off in the comments section.  I'd love to hear what your top five are, and why.  That's all for trilogy week folks.  I sure hope you liked it.

Until next time,
-Harry

P.S.  There are two honorable mentions for this list.  The Godfather trilogy, omitted because of its length and lack of a quality third film, and the Beverly Hills Cop trilogy, omitted because it's just too damn silly.