Before

When I heard they were making Before Midnight, my immediate reaction was:

Like Jimmy, I am a big BIG fan of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.  Btw, crush on Jimmy: solidified.

Before Sunrise was brilliant in that it created romance without declarations of love or all that fluff that we associate with romance.  It was captivating while being virtually plot-less.  It was beautiful because we were able to witness Jesse and Celine connect first on an intellectual level, then on an emotional level.

Before Sunset, much in the same style as the prior was even more romantic because it was about the one who got away.  There was a heightened tension between Jesse and Celine.

In Before Midnight, Jesse and Celine are together at last!  In a way, the third film is very similar to the previous two.  We have the same characters:  Jesse is still a forever-young romantic and Celine, still a feisty feminist.  The dialogue is fluid and smart.  We even have a scene or two in which Jesse corrects Celine's English, a recurring bit throughout the trilogy.  What's different is the reinforcement of Celine's personality.  She is much more confrontational and vulgar in this movie, so much to the point that it feels like gratuitous comic relief.  The dynamic of their relationship is different.  They do not hold hands while walking together, which I found odd at first, then relatable.  The two fight as all matured couples do and it is hard to watch.  

Before Sunrise and Before Sunset were hopeful.  Before Midnight is the reality of love.