Review of Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) by Thequietgamer — 14 Nov 2018

Feels kind of like a straight-to-DVD release. The bottom of the barrel premise of monsters on a cruise serves as an excuse to set Dracula up with a love interest. Aside from a new message about being able to find true love twice, this is largely a retread of themes from the first movie. Albeit with a role reversal as Mavis is the one trying to distract from a newly budding romance.

The main characters don't get the attention they deserve as the story keeps getting sidetracked with the antics of its supporting cast. With the movie's attention being pulled in so many directions the whole thing feels unfocused as it jumps between a plethora of gags and set-pieces.

It's comedy and pacing are as energetic as you would expect. The jokes are just more hit-or-miss this time around. Not a big deal as far as the youthful target audience is concerned, but parents, older siblings, and even kids at heart are probably going to be a little bored. It's certainly the most imaginative Hotel Transylvania though. From the Bermuda Triangle to Atlantis, the visuals are bright, colorful, and unique. A nice change of pace from the cartoon gothic imagery of the previous films. The monster designs are also very creative.

The thing the movie does best though is music. Whether it was Dracula strutting on deck to Bruno Mars' 24K Magic or the epic dubstep Kraken battle, most of my favorite scenes were directly tied to the fantastic soundtrack.

An underdeveloped story and overall weaker sense of humor keep Summer Vacation from being as good as it's predecessors. Kids will still love it. Older audiences on the other hand might find that it has a hard time keeping their attention, cute as it may be.