Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

The Hotel Transylvania movies probably are, with The Meyerowitz Stories, the only Adam Sandler movies I enjoyed. They pale in comparison with Pixar's movies, but they are nice animated flicks. But nice is not enough for me so I didn't really care about Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation when it was in cinemas. And I shouldn't have cared about it now either as it is a significant step back compared to the other two of the series. 

This third instalment follows Dracula (Adam Sandler) as he is depressed because of the lack of a love life. In other to bring back his joy, his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) arranges for her father and the whole monster family to go on a monster cruise. As soon as they board, Dracula falls for the captain of the ship, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), unaware that she is a Van Helsing and that she has something planned for him. 

Plot-wise, there's absolutely nothing new as it's the antagonist wants to kill the protagonist but eventually fails kind of story that we have seen a million times before, and because of the romantic subplot between Dracula and Ericka, and the way it's built up, you, whether an adult or a child, can foresee its outcome right from the start. The predictability isn't the only problem though as the storyline is quite boring, not to mention how stupid it is —they defeat a Kraken with the Macarena. Do I need to say more? 

Also, because of the unusual setting, the film felt strange as if it wasn't a movie of the series but only happened to have the same characters, characters who have no development whatsoever and very little if no impact on the plot. This time around, there are even more supporting characters which leaves Dracula's friends, Frankenstein (Kevin James), Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade) and Murray the mummy (Keegan-Michael Key), Dracula's son-in-law Johnny (Andy Samberg), and Wayne the werewolf (Steve Buscemi) very little screen time.

Sony Pictures Realising

Another problem with Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation is that it's not that entertaining. Most of the jokes are clichéd, pretty simple and basically recycled from the first and second film, and they also use some jokes over and over again throughout the film. As for the scenes, some are pretty good —the opening which quickly introduces the Dracula-Van Helsing rivalry, and the DJ battle at the end is kinda cool— but most moments are forgettable to say the least.

The animation is the only aspect that has improved. It is very colourful and more detailed than ever —the characters' facial expressions and body movements are terrific— and the setting, although weird for a movie that should be set in a hotel, looks stunning.