The Film
After the $467 million box-office haul of 2009's The Hangover, it's no wonder that Warner Bros. wanted director Todd Phillips to repeat his success -- and repeat it he did, all the way down to the plotline.
Despite nasty reviews, The Hangover Part II went on to make more than its predecessor. (How is that even possible?) However, it wasn't just critics that were upset with The Wolfpack; fans didn't really appreciate the fact that Part II was basically a carbon copy of the original.
When a third film was first announced back in 2011, Phillips promised not to follow his proven formula. Maybe he should have broken that promise. Even though it made a hearty $351 million, The Hangover Part III actually managed to sour both audiences and critics even more. That's probably because it's not a good film. Well, that depends on how charming you find (spoiler alert!) a decaptitate giraffe, the death of a parent, and mental illness to be.
The Hangover Part III is a certainly dark way to end the trilogy. When you think about it, the entire franchise is pretty dark. However, Part III just isn't funny.
In this installment, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) are back, with Doug (Justin Bartha) getting shafted -- again. Lucky him. Instead, Chow (Ken Jeong) has been promoted to a much more promenant role. After baring his naked bits in the original Hangover and spending most of the second on ice, he's probably earned the bump in pay.
However, the original introduced Chow as a high-rolling gangster. Now, he's a petty thief whose schtick is sort of annoying when it's the main focus of a film. Here, Mr. Chow didn't just steal a measley $80,000, but $21 million -- in gold bricks, no less. The man he stole from is Marshall (John Goodman), who thinks The Wolfpack can somehow retrieve his money. Um, didn't he see the other two films? So while the trio tries to track down Chow, there's no booze, no drugs and no gambling. In other words, there's no fun. Instead, we get to see The Wolfpack being responsible. Who the hell needed a movie about that?
The premise has absolutely nothing to do with a bachelor party. However, it does manage to tie in several elements from the other films, all the way down to another appearance by Heather Graham. Hopefully, this means the circle is complete. Even with the success of The Hangover Part III, Phillips says that the party is over. Be happy.
Feeling a little roofied? Check out Joe Lozito's theatrical review of The Hangover Part III.
The Picture
Even before The Hangover Part III made its theatrical debut, this franchise had raked in $1 billion for Warner Bros. In other words, there's no way they are screwing this one up -- at least when it comes to the picture. The image does run on the warm side. However, Part III's 2.40:1 transfer has plenty of detailed eye candy, from lush greens at the funeral and the dank of the prison in Bankok to the desert and the flashy lights of Vegas.
The Sound
Car accidents, killer chickens, barking dogs, gunshots, and Billy Joel; The Hangover Part II is filled with the type of insanity you'd expect from one of these movies. It also has great DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track to convey all of that insanity. It's a pretty immersive track, but everything is nicely balanced, with dialogue always remaining clear and centered.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
I'm one of those people who always defended The Hangover franchise, which is making me feel sort of stupid right now. I absolutely still laugh at the original and even got a few chuckles out of its sequel. However, there's nothing funny about The Hangover Part III. Yes, it's worse the Part II -- and that's really saying something. The audio and video are awesome, but that doesn't actually make this film watchable. It's hard to imagine anyone liking The Hangover Part III, including the people that star in it.
Product Details
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