Wieder allein zu Haus

I think this film was always on a hiding to nothing, as the public were never going to accept a 'Kevin clone', so beloved/associated was Macaulay Culkin with this franchise.

But, having said that, 'Home Alone 3' is great fun, and well deserving of a watch with an open mind.

It's got a great script from John Hughes, that actually ups the ante on the scrapes that Kevin got into, and the slapstick is on a par, if not better than what's gone before.

I enjoyed this film, I hope if you give it a chance you will too.

Home Alone 3 is an OK movie, but not as good as the original.

The humor isn't as funny, the plot is the same as before, and worst of all... they replaced the main character of the originals: Kevin! Sadly, his substitute is pretty odd, and WAY too smart for his age. Kevin was one of the things that made the original so fun. But, some of the stunts are clever, (like the one with the gun) just not clever enough.

Skip this unnecessary installment.

Do yourself a favor and watch the originals, which are much better than this movie.

5/10

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This is NOT part 3 of "Kevin's Adventures", but rather a brand new "home Alone" situation. The setting is still suburban Chicago during the Christmas season, the family is still "upper middle class", and even the theme music is very similar to the predecessors. This time, however, the "kid" is NOT abandoned by his entire family who took off for their Christmas Vacation. This time our pint sized hero is left unattended only for hours at a time, while he is at home and sick with the measles. A gang of foreign spys is after a top secret multi-million dollar computer chip stolen from the US Air Force. Of course, they hide it in a battery-operated toy that ends up with "the kid".

Although the "boobie trap" routine could be viewed as just another rip-off from the first two films, the "gags" seem a bit more sophisticated and less forced in "3". The mere fact that our hero is not dealing with "wet bandit idiots" this time around makes the whole show less of a "kiddie circus". The third running is also leaving out the mushy side plots which would've gotten tiresome by now. All in all this is a fun show for the whole family. I showed this film to my 4th grade class and they gave it 20 thumbs up. Not for the "grown-up" comedy critic, but definitely a winner with kids.

Four high-tech industrial spies are trying to smuggle out a top secret military microchip to North Korea. A mixup at airport security leaves Mrs. Hess with the microchip hidden in a remote control car. After Alex shovels Mrs. Hesses' driveway, she gives him the car as payment. The spies have tracked the chip to Alex's neighborhood, and faces off against Alex who is home sick with the chicken pox.

I like the cat and mouse game, but the premise is way too serious. It's not so kid friendly to start. But this is not a horrible sequel. The fact is the kid isn't Macaulay. And the movie doesn't have as much whimsy as the previous two. The bad guys are real bad guys, not the silly Wet Bandits.

For those of us who want to see Scarlett Johansson, she has a minor role as the sister. It's nothing special to write home about. She does have a few scenes.

I don't think the film is as bad as the rating suggests, but it does pale in comparison to the first two films, which are holiday classics to me! There were some bits I liked, but some bits where improvements would have been appreciated.

The positives are that Alex D Linz makes a cute and charming lead, though Macaulay Culkin is definitely better. The film does look lovely, and there is evidence of some detailed direction. And the parrot was awesome. Believe me, this film is much better than the vomitous Home Alone 4.

The negatives are that some of the violence, that was classic in the first two films, seemed to have been reduced to cartoon slapstick. Another problem was that I didn't recognise any of the characters, and the uneven script didn't allow them to develop properly. Also, I do miss the antics of the Wet Bandits, the new villains weren't as effective.

All in all, a perfectly adequate, but uneven film, that is much better than its abysmal follow up. 5/10 Bethany Cox