The Rule of Three, simply put, is that stories, jokes, photographs, etc. are all more pleasing when there are three parts. That’s why we have “a priest, a rabbi and an atheist walk into a bar…”; the holy trinity; the photographic rule of thirds (link); The Pledge, The Turn and The Prestige.
The narrative arc of storytelling is also usually best as three parts: Exposition yields Rising Action yields Resolution
(from Plot, Theme, the Narrative Arc, and Narrative Patters by Professors Ron Layne and Rick Lewis, Sandhills Community College). The Japanese call this Jo-ha-kyu.
You can even try it yourself. Imagine you are at a game rooting for your team. Try shouting “fight! fight! fight!”. Now try shouting “fight! fight! fight! fight!”. It doesn’t work. It feels off. And so does Sucker Punch. Zack Snyder presents a visually interesting piece, unfortunately it is out of balance with itself and the Rule of Three.
Warning: I’ll try not to include spoilers, but it just might happen.
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