Did We Need Part III? Yes. Did We Need This Plot? No.

Rating: 4/10 (9 November 2013)

There's just no way around it: The Hangover could have used a third (and final, hopefully) installment, but this is NOT good enough, in any way, shape or form, to match up to the excellent original and solid sequel.
The main issue is the plot, which feels as hashed together as I can imagine the entire film was. The performances of the main characters are still as solid as they've ever been, but Bradley Cooper has come a long way in between Hangovers and his presence is almost...overbearing? It's hard to pinpoint, but none of the actors (including a more involved Ken Jeong as Chow and a unnecessarily involved John Goodman as the film's antagonist) are helped by the thin and void story.
Without spoiling it, I'll just say that the plot itself chokes the humor out of the film. Each of the previous Hangovers worked by creating situations that were, in and of themselves, hilarious, and then adding the reactions of a handful of excellent comedic actors. A bit of improv must have come into play as well, and even that feels cut off for most of Part III. The potential danger that created the tension in the first two films is diluted to the point where it doesn't work how it's supposed to work: as a platform for the humor. Nothing is better than a good laugh when you might be expecting things to go wrong...and even when they go wrong in Part III, you can't seem to find it in you to care as you once did.
In the end, you'll most likely wonder, like myself, why any of this had to happen in the first place. I'm not talking about the film, but the story within, which is absolutely ridiculous to begin with and gets no better as it continues to unfold. There are some truly funny moments...with such an impressive cast, it was an impossibility to completely avoid that. But these are too far between a shoddy script to justify itself. A poor idea laced into a great overall idea (concluding the series with a bang) makes the entire thing...below itself as a franchise installment.