Tags: movie franchises | sequels | triquels

The first one's a hit; the second's a marvel, and the third? Did 2007 turn out to be the year of the triquel?

Will they be third time lucky, or thrice as sucky as the first? For starters, it's hard to tell because one's a rebel hunted by an evil corporation, the other's an amnesiac assasin and the last one's a mix matched pair of wise asses.

All three have a similar background - the magic formula worked and the first two installments were major successes, soaring high at the box office.

But there's always the burning question that audiences around the world never fail to pose - can third movies pack as much punch as the first, if not, the second? Shrek 2 saw a whopping $916 million international gross earnings while Spiderman 2 raked in more than $784 million worldwide, They haven't even stopped counting the Pirates take. No wonder there's so much hype about these upcoming sequels.

Sequels have a tough mould to break out from, if you think about it. The directors, producers and scriptwriters all know that it'll be compared to its predecessors. People wonder if it'll be as touching as the first, or if the theatrics will beat the last sequel. Will it be as well received or will it go down the drain like leftover popcorn in the box - trashed and left to the rats.

In Resident Evil: Extinction, the Umbrella Corporation has failed to control a series of world-wide T-Virus outbreaks, which has infected and killed nearly every human living on the planet. Alice (Milla Jovovich), now in hiding, once again joins forces with Carlos Oliveira and L.J. , along with new survivors Claire Redfield, K-Mart and Nurse Betty to try to eliminate the deadly virus that threatens to make every human being undead... and to seek justice. Alice finds a notebook telling of a place up north without infection, and attempts to steal a helicopter with the survivors.

While Resident Evil has dark issues to face, on the other hand, Rush Hour 3 is a charmer. You'll see the return of the mismatched pair that have endeared themselves to audiences worldwide.

Chris Tucker returns to the big screen after a six-year absence as he reunites with the all-star team of co-star Jackie Chan, director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson to deliver the third installment of the blockbuster Rush Hour franchise, which sees the beloved action comedy duo reprising their roles as LAPD Detective James Carter and Chinese Chief Inspector Lee respectively.

This time around, the two must travel to Paris to battle a wing of the Chinese organised crime family, the Triads. It's packed with plenty of adventure for everybody except the censors in China who believe Rush Hour 3 is "fundamentally anti-Chinese.".

Against a video game super hero fighting for revenge and a buddy-cop action comedy, what does The Bourne Ultimatum bring to the picture? Action, lots and lots of it. I liked the first two - both films had plenty of pizzazz and attitude. This sequel has a plot quite unlike the first two installments.

The first film was amazing and got me hooked (The Bourne Identity) and then that was followed up by The Bourne Supremacy and now we will see the latest in the Bourne series of movies, The Bourne Ultimatum. In this chapter we see Bourne racing to discover the final mysteries of his past and trying to stop him is a government agent trying to track him down after a shootout in Moscow.

Damon has stated that he will not return for any more "Bourne" films, even though there are more books that the film is based on. So do yourself a favour and check out the film in theatres in August.