Disappointing Finale

Rating: 4/10 (23 December 2014)

The Hangover Part 3 tells the story with the original crew returning but with a far different outcome and end results. Taking more of the leading role would be Alan, and it is clear from the start. The Hangover Part 3 essentially is more focused on his story- since it first revolves around him needing to seek help. While the original quartet are all present and correct, Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), Doug (Justin Bartha) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the screen is overexposed to their nemesis Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), the dead-eyed, fun-loving criminal whose double-cross triggers the plot.
John Goodman plays it straight as rival gangster Marshall with the result that the comedy curdles into something rancid. The cocktail of Tarantino violence, James Bond stunts and Farrelly brothers humor combines like mud, marshmallows and broken glass.
Lensed like a widescreen epic with extravagant vistas of Arizona desert, forests of wind turbines and the glittering neon cityscape of Las Vegas, it looks like a Tony Scott movie. Unfortunately it sounds like a film made by a bunch of adolescent, self-congratulatory movie nerds after a drunken night.
The script itself is the real hangover. There is an honorable tradition of disreputable behavior in cinema involving the consumption of alcohol. We are lead to believe that since the creators/writers/crew of the film have heard all of the criticism about its second installment being too similar to the original, they decided to change its pace and try a different approach for The Hangover Part 3. What we have here is a film that has lost its touch and we are left with a non-comedy, with several decent actin sequences.