So the Wolfpack is officially back for a third comedic romp but what was supposed to be a laugh-a-minute treat suddenly evolved and focused on character development, particularly for Zach Galifianakis' Alan.
The humor is still neatly packed into the third installment but it's not as blatant or crass as it was before. The movie works on a timeframe and as such, there's a certain sense of maturity that will be required as sequels rise from out of nowhere. And this is what it's doing to the characters of The Hangover. Gone are the days when Doug was just a soon-to-be groom or Stu was a some girl's bitch. Sad to say, they've somehow 'grown up', though not for the better
Oh by the way as early as now I can say this "Don't Believe the Hype".
Galifianakis was a hoot in this one. But rather than simply drugging his 'wolfpack' friends, things just kind of unraveled thanks in part to Allan's ongoing communication with Mr. Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong). Zach as Allan was amusing, entertaining and downright funny. He had a couple of great moments in the film and even managed to tie up some loose ends and create new ones.
Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms also have their moment with the latter doing better with the comedy and the former goes for the 'looking good' on screen. Cooper's Phil as always assumes a leader role here while Helm's Stu gets to be the 'butt' of jokes. If i may interject as well, why can't something bad happen to Phil for once? That'd make it more interesting in my humble opinion.
In terms of story structure, The Hangover Part III is very similar to the past two movies; in fact its actually now a formula for this film. At this point in time however, it's starting to go stale for my taste. I was actually hoping that they'd inject something new to the franchise but that's Hollywood for you, never taking a risk on a franchise until it's a little too late.
So aside from the now-iconic cast, and story points, there's also the visuals. Unlike in the The Hangover II, the nitty-gritty stuff is kept to a tolerable level. We instead get a cleaner looking movie featuring the return to Caesar's Palace. And it's not just Vegas we visit in this film, almost half of the scenes also occur in Mexico where Chow's been hanging out.
One inherent weakness for The Hangover Part III is that it can become an inaccessible film for moviegoers. The screening I attended had several guests who've never seen the last two films. This gave me the notion that they would probably be scratching their heads on some key scenes.
Regardless of this weakness, the Hangover Part III is still a hilarious movie. There's still some weird shit that's happening here but hey, it's part of the charm that made The Hangover a popular movie in the first place right. The movie, much like protagonist Allan, is growing up and branching into something bigger. Let's just hope that (if) the next movie comes out, it follows where we left, because well, just catch the film when it opens May 29.
One last thing, do stick around as there's a mid-credit addition for Part III.
Verdict: 6/10
Special thanks to Warner Bros. Philippines for the invite.
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