The Hangover Part III Review
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast Headliners: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifinakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong
Cast Headliners: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifinakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong
Original Release Date: May 23, 2013
At long last, the long,
spread-out-over-years, and complex Hangover franchise has reached its
conclusion. The Hangover III re-unites the Wolfpack once again. Things seem normal at first and it seems as
if the stage is set for another “re-paint” of the usual formula, but things
change. A common criticism of the second
film, which I agree with, is that it was The Plot of Hangover 1: Asia
Edition. Many of the same story twists
and even jokes were re-used, and in a mostly inferior and senseless way. Luckily, this film is different.
Alan (Zach Galifinakis), Doug(Justin Bartha), Stu(Ed
Helms), and Phil (Bradley Cooper) face a comedic adventure which is truly more
of an adventure this time. The film makes a conscious effort to be the most “serious”
yet, with a vibe and pacing more akin to an action thriller than a slapstick
comedy. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if it was in satire or in seriousness, but it
actually worked for the most part. Sometimes
I felt actual emotion and tension (lolwut?) Instead of a usual “waking up from
a hangover” (hence the name, though a stay to partway through the credits for a
shockingly hilarious classic style scene is recommended) the structure is one
of heist and revenge. John Goodman as
Marshall is the most real and biggest threat the boys have faced yet, and the
things he does make things even more thrilling than last time. We all know the true mastermind is Leslie
Chow (Ken Jeong), and some of his best stuff ever is in the Hangover 3. The
return to Vegas by the end of the movie was as mart move too, a perfect
playground for everyone’s favorite Asian playboy.
The majority of the laughs come from Chow and Alan aka
pretty much Zach Galifinakis under a character name. These two super best
friends yet also arch nemeses (it makes sense in context) are hilarious with
most of everything they say and do. In comparison, Stu’s freakout’s are worn
out and one can really forget that Doug (duh!) and even Phil are there. I think
Bradley Cooper was pretty under-used this time, especially because when he was
involved he was funny.
The problem with the Hangover 3 isn’t that it’s idiotic
or silly, which is to be expected. The problem is in that much of the humor
involves simple cameos and references to past events. A person who hasn’t seen
the first two films wouldn’t be appreciating many of the gags and characters in
this, so as a standalone film it doesn’t have much support. Some of the jokes are so stupid that they
aren’t even funny in a stupid way. But, there are some great laughs to be had.
And hidden under all those laughs is a speck of emotion and adventure which has
always been there for a series which has fused surreal insanity and gritty realism.
I think fans disappointed with 2 will
enjoy this one better, I sure did. It won’t change the world or anything, but
at least it’s good to see the gang’s story reach a at least decent
conclusion. 7.75 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment