What's with all the flak?

Rating: 10/10 (4 June 2013)

OK, so I actually loved this movie. Hangover 3 manages to pull off the near impossible (and super rare) feat of being true to the original while presenting a fresh story. In part one, I'll remind you, four friends travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, but instead of a few pleasant antics involving alcohol, recreational drugs and maybe a one-night-stand they wake up with their lives in complete disarray and without a clue as to what happened the previous night. Part 2 was kinda the same deal, but this time in Bangkok. Part 3 starts off completely differently: Alan has finally lost it, and the wolfpack sets off to take him to the looney bin. Then they end up in Tijuana, Chow turns up, and it looks as if we're in for another Hangover, this time in the Mexicali. Then things take a completely unexpected turn.
I would bet good money that you will love the third installment if you were partial to the humour of the original film. If you're not into its innovative but very physical and crude humour, then you should obviously steer well clear of the sequel.
What I don't get are all the highly negative reviews, both on and off IMDb. Much of what I read is just plain wrong. The jokes a spot on. The plot is anything but a sad rehash of Hangovers one and two. There is no obvious or excessive product placement (if there is any). And so forth. Hangover 3 is bound to be one of the best comedies of this year, and even my girlfriend liked it. So there.