REVIEW - 'The Hangover Part III'

"The Hangover Part III" **
The Wolfpack is back and once again shenanigans happen that are out of their control.  This time around, Alan (Zach Galifianakis) is being taken to a rehab facility in Arizona by Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Doug (Justin Bartha) after recent incidents involving his father's funeral and a giraffe.  But along the way to Arizona the 'Wolf Pack' is run off the road and taken hostage by Marshall (John Goodman).  Taking Doug as collateral, he gives the rest an ultimatum:  Find Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) or Doug dies.  Why Chow?  Because he stole $21 million in gold bars from Marshall after a heist, and he wants it back and wants Chow dead.  This includes stops in Tijuana and Las Vegas, and cameos from Heather Graham as the now ex-escort/stripper Jade from the first movie and 'Bridesmaids' Melissa McCarthy as Alan's love interest. 

Well, the main positive here is that at least it is different than the other movies.  Part II was practically a carbon copy of the first movie (with some minor, darker variations) so it is nice to see something different.  But at the same time, it strays from raunchy comedy to a semi-serious crime thriller with dashes of comedy thrown in every now and then.  Now I did chuckle every now and then and laughed out loud once, but most of the time I was just kinda watching it silent in my seat as the movie went darker and more serious and wasn't playing the dark twists for laughs.  I don't mind dark humor, I just didn't think it was done very well in this movie.  I guess the only other positive I can think of is John Goodman as the main villain Marshall.  He's fairly good and intimidating and but it does feel like he's from a completely different movie.

Now comparing it to the others, well, it's definitely the least of the three.  'The Hangover' was funny and for the most part unpredictable and crazy.  'The Hangover Part II' took the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach and as stated earlier was a carbon copy of the first movie with minor, darker variations of certain events.  I did laugh every now and then but the more and more it resembled the first movie the less and less I liked it.  A funny scene during the end credits of Part III does tease a possible Part IV, but I'm pretty sure that Part III is last call for the 'Hangover' Trilogy. 

Overall, I did chuckle every now and then but it does take itself a little too seriously for the most part. Do I recommend it?  Well, if you're REALLY INTERESTED in seeing how the trilogy ends, you might as well go see it.  If you disliked the other movies, you'll dislike this one.  Or if you're bored and want to sit in an air conditioned theater for 2 hours.......go see 'Star Trek Into Darkness'.  Or 'Furious 6'.  I only saw it to finish up the trilogy, so take that however you want.