Hangover 3: Not nearly as bad as you'd expect (from other reviews)

I'm going to get right to the point. The Hangover Part 3 is a decent third entry into any franchise of films. It's not horrible, it's no Battle Los Angeles, but it's also no comedy classic either. I'm perplexed as to what critics (well who cares what real critics think about comedies, they've never been kind to comedy films in the past, right?) and fans came to expect from a third Hangover film but I'm here to tell you it's really not that bad. It's certainly not as awful as current reviews suggest, and I honestly enjoyed myself for the one hour and forty minute running time I spent watching it on the big screen.

The good news is the creative team decided to take the storyline in a much different direction than the previous installments. That's right, the old formula of seeing the wolfpack wake up after a night of an absurd amount of drinking and shenanigans towards the end of the film's first act isn't happening this time. Instead, it's more of a mystery plot as Stu, Phil, and Alan (Doug's once again relegated to sideline status) try to figure out how to track down Mr. Chow and deliver him to a man named Marshall, played most excellently by John Goodman. As a matter of fact, I'll say that John Goodman owns every scene he's in and that alone prevented this film from "almost sucking" status as far third films goes. Fans may even be delighted at the return of "Black Doug" from the first Hangover film. Old friends, familiar faces are apart of the ride that is Hangover 3, which really helps dovetail everything that's happened from the first film's story arc to the conclusion of this entry. Remember people, this ain't Casablanca, this is a Hangover film, and I think some people forget to realize this isn't supposed to be an instant classic like the first one seemed to be heralded as in 2008.

This isn't to say there's not some points to be made about the film's shortcomings. I'd personally have liked to see less of the Leslie Chow character and more to do for the others involved. It's funny because the story begins with Alan having a forced intervention from his family and the rest of the Wolfpack, but the film really centers around Chow being apprehended. I also think by the third act the story becomes fairly predictable and less humorous in that portion of the film. Then again, a lot of comedies suffer the same fate in losing steam by the end. Nonetheless,  I will recommend that you stay for the end credits. The greatest irony with this movie is the real hangover for the gang doesn't take place until the absolute end of this film. I'm sure that has and will piss many people off, but again, at least the creative team attempted to go in a new direction for what I'm guessing will be the last hurrah for Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis.

Overall I give it 2 1/2 out of 4 stars. Not great, but certainly not a bad comedy by any stretch of the imagination.

Nuff said!