Stylish but barely mediocre overall

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

I liked "Beethoven 1 & 2", and I knew this sequel was not likely to be as good, so I never had high expectations for it.I got what I expected. An average movie. There *is* some entertainment value, but it's nowhere near as good as the 2 of its predecessors.The acting was... not very good (to put it mildly).Well, Judge Reinhold was great, as always. A very underrated actor.The wife was also decent enough.But the kids were terrible, though. With so many talented child actors waiting to break through, they selected these good-for-nothing brats? They must have relatives amongst the crew, because I don't believe anyone would pick such talentless people based on a fair selection process.The kids in "Beethoven 1 & 2" were excellent. They were convincing in their roles, and their characters were pretty interesting and charismatic. That's what this movie is lacking: likable characters (except for Judge Reinhold -- he *is* very charismatic).I know movies in this genre are not supposed to be serious or realistic, but this was a bit much. That story with hackers made very little sense and was insultingly unconvincing (not quite as bad as in "Beethoven's Big Break", but still...). And the hackers themselves are p***-poor actors.All in all, it's probably a half-decent movie for pre-school aged kids, and it's just about watchable for adults, but... leaves a lot to be desired.

I was babysitting a couple nights ago and my cousins are in love with the Beethoven movies, so we watched all of them and had a movie night. I remember loving the first and the second Beethoven when I was a kid, so in some ways I was interested in seeing where the story took off for the Newtons. But this turned into your typical family film that wasn't really original or believable. The "villains" seemed to be homosexual morons who seemed out of place of wanting a disc of valuable information and the whole family was predictable stereotypes.Beethoven for no reason explained has been shipped to George Newton's brother, Richard who is taking his family to a reunion where he'll meet Geroge and Alice and give them Beethoven. I guess Richard rents a movie that these criminals thought would never be rented, in the case there is a DVD of secret information that the criminals must have back. They chase the family around with Beethoven who will make sure that these guys will not hurt the family, although with these certain villains, I'm pretty sure that's not a strong possibility.It was really bad acting and not even a good enough movie for a family afternoon. I'm not sure why my cousins liked the movies, because I raised them better than that with movie knowledge, but oh well, I guess these movies must have something special in them. So, I guess I will give it an extra point.2/10

Of all of the Beethoven movies, Beethoven's 3rd is the funniest! The second was pretty good, but this one has some hilarious moments. I don't care what anyone here says, I liked it. The 2 "bad guys" were hilarious. "I felt a great disturbance in the force, as if 7 gnomes cried out at once, and were silenced." The lanky dude is esoteric like this, either you get that style of humour or you don't. I do, so I think it's funny. The other guy is a speed junkie who drinks caffeinated beverages by the scads and has some pretty funny physical comedy scenes. Judge Reinhold was a great dad in this movie, and has some funny lines. The Shakiest Gun in the West, "That was one of the highlights of the trip", for pete's sake! Funny stuff.

SOME SPOILERSSummer sequels are usually bad enough, but when it comes to straight-to-video sequels...? They're even worse."Beethoven's 3rd" does nothing to change that.Judge Reinhold, once an actor who actually appeared in theatrical releases, stars as one of the seemingly endless Newton bunches. His brother, once played by the ten-times-better Charles Grodin (who has long since ended his film career and gone on to write books and become a news journalist for CBS), has dropped off the Saint Bernard Beethoven on his brother and his wife (Julia Sweeney) before they go on an RV trip. Aww, what a cruel thing to do. But, in reality, it's just as easy way of getting a sequel put together. Grodin won't come back? Get him a brother and avoid his appearance in the film! For example, at the end of the film, Reinhold is supposed to meet up with his brother, where they are politely informed by some old man that the original Newtons are still in Europe. Most likely for another year. Another YEAR?!?! Boy, how did they jump from a week to a year in Europe? Perhaps the film execs coaxed them into it...The thing with "Beethoven's 3rd" is that it doesn't even try to come off witty, or even funny at that. Countless gags just do not work. Take a typical example: the bad guys in the film are a hyper-active caffeine addict and a "Star Wars"-quoting freak, both of whom are supposed to be funny but are not. In one scene they are trying to get into the Newtons' RV to steal a DVD (long story). They run around like children with little black capes on. Before they do so, they equip themselves with night-vision-goggles and a type of spray that blinds people. We hear Baddie 1 say, "Now, whatever you do, do NOT look at light with your goggles on, and do NOT release your spray!" We know exactly what's going to happen next, and sure enough--no surprises here--they look at light and release their gas cannisters. I mean, how *bleeping* obvious can you *bleeping* get? The filming style seems like a ten-year-old directed it. A mentally-challenged ten-year-old. In one bit, Reinhold is supposed to be struggling in an RV with Beethoven, and to make it look like the RV is shaking, the director wiggles around a handheld camera, left and right, left and right. That trick is one of the oldest in the book. In the "Cheap Effects" book. What was their budget--two dollars?And then, with all of that, the humor is literally non-existent. Instead of being at least AMUSING and SLIGHTLY FUNNY like the original "Beethoven" film (which I like mainly because it is a sweet, good-natured family film), this flick single-handedly rips off every genre and every joke. Ever. At times it's a bad mix between "National Lampoon's Vacation" and "Turner and Hootch," at other times a rip-off of "Star Wars" and "Meet Joe Black." See what I mean by bad combinations?And furthermore, this sequel is completely cashing in on the first two flicks. I can put up with certain things in films, but I feel the most cheated when I know that a sequel was slip-shoddly put together to bring in some money and nothing more. That is when I really hate a film. But "Beethoven's 3rd" is still one of the worst films I've seen in a long, long time, regardless of being a cheap sequel.The gags aren't there, the wit isn't there, the attaching and likable characters aren't there, the dialogue isn't there. Heck, the entire movie isn't there. Followed by an equally-horrible 4th (and 5th?) sequel(s), I'd say this franchise is dead weight. What was once amusing and interesting because of attaching characters and a light-hearted script is now another chip off the ol' sequel-cash-in block. Avoid at all costs.1/5 stars -John Ulmer