‘Super Troopers 3’ Review: A Cult Comedy Franchise Seeks No Converts in Instantly Forgettable Third Go-Round
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- "Super Troopers 3" arrives 25 years after the 2001 original and 8 years after the 2018 sequel, now backed by Disney rather than the nearly $5 million crowdfunding that funded the previous installment.
- Broken Lizard comedy troupe members reprise their roles and share writing credit, with Brian Cox returning as retired captain O'Hagen, Nat Faxon joining as new captain Markowski, and "SNL" star Andrew Dismukes as rookie Coy.
- The plot hinges on Kevin Heffernan's Farva becoming engaged to Thorny's sister Sarita (Hannah Simone), with the Variety review calling the resulting wedding-farce subplot evidence of "a certain dearth of ideas."
- A thin Canadian drug-ring investigation subplot serves largely as filler for the other three Broken Lizard members, padded with "unfunny business about electric cars and maple syrup."
- "Super Troopers 2" earned $32 million at the box office, but the review argues the third film exists primarily because the cast is "amusing themselves" rather than responding to popular demand.
- The Variety review characterizes the franchise's humor as "wildly scattershot and frequently, knowingly lame," concluding the film offers "no persuasive reason to exist on the big screen."
Why it matters: The review frames "Super Troopers 3" as a downgrade in identity — from a scrappy, nearly $5 million crowdfunded underdog story to routine Disney-backed franchise maintenance — with the Variety critic concluding the Broken Lizard troupe is now "amusing themselves" rather than answering audience demand, draining the sequel of the event status that defined the 2018 film.
