Solo en casa 3

Home Alone 3 has a lot of unfair criticism. I mean, how many of you would really have wanted a 16-year-old Mac Culkin doing the same-old same-old to Harry and Marv. Of course it was a better idea to do in a different direction and with John Hughes still producing and writing you know there's going to be a good amount of imagination and creativity.

This time around we have 8-year-old Alex Pruitt defend his house against international criminals. Stuck at home with Chicken Pox with both his parents tied-up in work matters, Alex suspects foul play on his snowy street when he witnesses strangers poking around in his neighbor's house. Of course, no one believes an imaginative 8-year-old so he has to deal with them himself.

It turns out that a toy car Alex got from the old-lady across the street is actually a Trojan horse to smuggle a priceless defence microchip to the North Korean mob. They really ought to hire better criminals as they fall for every one of Alex's sadistic booby-traps.

Yes, that is basically the whole plot but it gets enough mileage out of it and it's still very funny. Set in January, it lacks the Xmas feel of the first two, but I guess that would have just been a distraction. John Williams' theme only gets a brief recital at the start, but from then on it's an adequate (if not exceptional) score from Hans Zimmer pal Nick Glennie-Smith. Despite these key differences of characters and theme, it still feels like it has enough continuity with the others.

It's a totally worthwhile and enjoyable sequel that has a bad rep for no reason. Home Alone 4 on the other hand...now THAT is BAD!

Home Alone 3 tells a whole different story then the original two. Instead of the McCallisters, we meet the Pruitt family and in particular the main character Alex. A computer chip worth ten million dollars is placed into a toy car by our four villains in an attempt to get through airport security. There is a mix up at the airport, and the toy car ends up in the possession of an older woman who gives it to little Alex as a gift. The four bad guys track the car to a neighbourhood in Chicago and break into a series of houses looking for the chip. Alex (who is HOME ALONE with chicken pox) see's the crooks breaking into the houses an calls the cops, only to look like a prank caller each time. The villains looking for the chip eventually realize that little Alex has it and that's when the fun begins - Home Alone style.

I actually enjoyed Home Alone 3 as a kid and as an adult now. No, it isn't as good as the original films and no Alex Linz is not Macaulay Culkin. But this movie gets points for breaking off from the McCallister storyline. I mean how many times can that family forget the same kid? Young actor Alex Linz who plays Alex in Home Alone 3 does a great job taking on this big role, he manages to not put in an annoying performance like so many child actors can be do these kind of movies. The crooks include three men and one female, and I like that they added a woman into that villain role. They all are good actors and add plenty to this movie.

The best comedic moments come from the crooks, especially David Thornton as 'Unger'. There are some ho-hum funny moments which fall flat such as the talking parrot and a few scenes with Alex's older brother and sister who "torment" him. Another flaw was the actual "home alone" bit, and the fact that Alex isn't really home alone as we've seen in the first two films. His mother leaves him for a couple of hours as he recuperates from Chicken Pox, hardly the same as Kevin McCallister went through. And I don't like that it doesn't take place ON Christmas. But those drawbacks don't take away from the whole movie at all.

Home Alone 3 isn't great, but it takes some risks by moving from the original plot and adds some smarts it with the computer chip story. These aren't your simple criminals like the wet bandits were, they are after far more than some jewellery and expensive silverware. I recommend Home Alone 3 for sure!

6/10

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

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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Precocious youngster Linz—a target of torment for his older siblings and uptight next door neighbor—is stuck at home with the dreaded chicken pox. He stumbles upon a top secret computer chip that makes him the target of four, high-precision international spies determined to re-obtain it, but the feisty youngster is determined to defend his home at all costs. The whole thing is pretty formulaic, but smarter crooks, an appealing cast, and a surprising amount of unexpected laughs help overcome the script's familiarity and wild leaps of logic. Not very original, but there are more than enough good gags and amusing situations to make it worth a look. **½