CLERKS III

Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are back for yet another Clerks film to complete their 28-year trilogy. I never thought the original would spawn a sequel, let alone a trilogy. The sequel didn't let me down and while this didn't either, it doesn't hold up the franchise as well as the previous 2 entries. Unlike it's successors, this film scales back the jokes a little bit midway through as this is writer/director Kevin Smith's most personal film. Based upon Smith's own heart attack and near death experience, Randal suffers the same and upon surviving, is convinced by his best friend Dante to make a movie. The film is extremely meta, nostalgic, and heartfelt as scenes from both CLERKS and CLERKS II are recreated with a lot of awesome cameos along the way. My biggest grip of the film was how the story in this chapter for Becky (Rosario Dawson) was written. I understand Smith's thinking with her and Dante's storyline but I was hoping for something better and honestly, was quite surprised with the direction she would up going in. If you're a fan of the franchise and of these characters you'll want to check this out to see how it ends. It's a beautiful tribute Smith made for his friends and the fans. But again, this was my least favorite of the trilogy and felt the sequel could have been enough. Talk has been made for years about a sequel to MALLRATS and after seeing how Smith was able to go back to Clerks not once but twice, I'm more open to the Mallrats sequel now. 5.5/10