The Hangover Part III

Does anyone really care about the Hangover bros all that much? Their hopes, their dreams, their friendship? Or do we just want to see them make a bunch of bad decisions under the influence of mind-altering, memory-wiping substances and then frantically try to piece together the shambles of the night before? The franchise focused on the latter, it seemed, but with The Hangover Part III, it appears it's the former that's taken precedence. And that's what makes this alleged “epic finale” to the trilogy (what, it's a trilogy now?) such a letdown. Apparently we're supposed to have embraced Alan (Zach Galifianakis) – once endearingly strange, now annoyingly so – and his 'Wolfpack' buddies Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) to our hearts over the course of these movies. So when they find themselves in peril at the hands of belligerent crime boss Marshall (John Goodman, phoning it in), who's been ripped off by unofficial Wolfpacker Mr Chow (Ken Jeong), the stakes are seemingly raised from the aftermath of drunken, druggy shenanigans to a matter of life and death. And one is inclined to say, 'So the fuck what?' Director Todd Phillips still has a strong visual sense and a flair for the odd outrageous moment but the cast members seem to be going through the motions with one eye on the clock. As a result, it's not so much a celebration as... well, an obligation.

In cinemas nationally.