I also think that people are a bit too negative towards GFIII. I felt it was a good movie, just not at the level of the other 2.

Were there things in it that didn't make sense or were poorly explained? Sure, but that's true of the first 2 movies as well (e.g. who opened the drapes). But, while people think those details add to the intrigue of GF and GFII, they use them to dismiss GFIII.

To me, the main area in which GFIII doesn't hold up to its predecessors is in the acting. Eli Wallach and, especially, Sofia Coppola were TERRIBLE.

Maybe the real question should be how different GFIII would have been had Winona Ryder not backed out.