Clerks III Review - I Assure You, It Sucks! (Spoilers)
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- Опубліковано 14 вер 2022
- #ClerksIII #Clerks #kevinsmith
Written article here:
www.keengamer.com/articles/re...
I finally got to see Clerks III, the second sequel to my favourite film. I had the lowest expectations so I was hoping this would exceed them. It did not.
I recorded and edited this entirely on my phone so I'm sorry if the sound is a bit choppy and the clips seem unrelated.
I'm baffled by the majorly positive response the film has received; I think it's skewed due to people seeing it with the cast. I could be wrong! - Розваги
Beware the spoilers in the comments!
Just like the jay and silent bob reboot that sucked bad too. I'm not sure if Kevin smith ran out of artistic ability or lived in Hollywood amongst the stars for too long to be able to relate to normal everyday people, normal everyday people life, or even be able to relate himself and who he was back in the early 90's before all the fame. Perhaps he should have named the movie "Fame Kills" instead of clerks 3.
This review was hilarious the well full bile and diarrhea this is all modern counter culture destroy what the fans love and watch the fandom burn nihilistic 🗑️👈
Film is a visual medium and a good story is worth seeing regardless. Spoiler warnings are for wimps. Also This is a bad movie, so wha is there to spoil? God, Kevin Smith, where did you go wrong? Was it before the heart attack? I used to love this guy. Now hes a purple jacket wearing crying cuck.
I was disappointed in Clerks 3 as well but it wasn't nearly as boring as your mean spirited review, droning on in your unintelligible British accent. And you're throwing the first two films (both of which I loved) in the garbage because you didn't like the third one? Get down off your high horse, poser.
The one minor character he should have included was the russian "berserker" metal dude
I also wanted to see pickle f*cker
Olaf, metal
"Squirrel neck"
did he say "making fuck?"
he went back to moscow
Clerks 3 is basically the Clerks cast cosplaying Kevin Smith's real life. Randal = Kevin Smith. That said, it seems like Kevin made Clerks 3 as something of personal therapy to come to grips with his existential fears. That's fine. But you can't tell me it's funny or it's why I liked Clerks/Clerks 2.
got depressed from it. Then go to sleep and was even more depressed in my dream. Never happend to me before.
You don't kill off 2 likable characters for absolutely no damn reason. Kevin Smith is the Worst Director in Hollywood and it's not even close.I mean Godamn talk about depression, good grief.
Nah, there's going to be a Clerks 4. Kevin Smith doesn't have a creative bone in his body anymore. Someone should have got him sober before turned his brain into jelly by smoking that sweet maryjane all day.
I’m surprised Smith stopped smelling his own farts long enough to make another movie.
Having just finished it right now I have mixed feelings. What this movie should’ve been was Randall having a mid life crisis realizing he wants to make a movie but meanwhile Dante is coping with the death of Becky while also trying to be a better father and with the stress of the movie Dante has the heart attack realizing he needs to be there for his daughter and decides to hand the keys of the QuickStop to Randall and Elias, it can imply that they’ll be friends for life but the stress of it all has Dante wanting to retire. Brian O’Halloran does do some damn good acting here and his scenes with Becky are very emotional and he still has good chemistry with Jeff Anderson. I hate what they did with Elias here, in the second movie Elias felt like a real character, an innocent person who is surrounded by not so innocent people but here they overpowered him and he felt more shoehorned here than necessary to the story. Killing Dante here just felt too dark and I felt if anything Kevin just lifted it from his movie Jersey Girl, I get it’s supposed to be a story on coping with death but doing it to Dante was unnecessary and this should’ve been Dante coping with the death of Becky
No him dying was bittersweet because on the one hand randall doesn't have dante but on the other dante gets to go be with becky again.
I was thinking about this some more. I'm starting to believe that Kevin has always hated Dante to some degree. We know Dante is supposed to be his surrogate. Randal was the guy he wanted to be while Dante was the guy he was. Think back to the original Clerks ending where Dante is killed. He's been trying to kill Dante since the beginning. I think he views Dante as the manifestation of all his self hate. I think deep down he hates Dante. I think this movie is all about how much he hates himself and killing Dante is his sly way of saying good bye to his own self hate. The only problem is WE love Dante. We forgive Dante because he is human. We saw Dante as the underdog that we wanted to see pull himself out of his own funk. And to some degree we got that with Clerks II.
Also, why the hell would anyone want to become Randal? He's a lonely bitter as fuck misanthrope who I grew to fucking hate by the end of this movie. Couldn't say that about Randal from Clerks II, but fuck I hated Randal from Clerks III.
The problem with this movie is very simple. It pretends to be about Randal but the movie is still about Dante. Dante's story is the more interesting one in the film but it's never fleshed out in any meaningful way. You have Becky telling him he has to move on with life but in the end he chooses death over life. Maybe this film would have worked better if Dante finally got the point as he watched the movie of his life flash before his eyes. Maybe it would have worked better for me if Dante grew and realized what he had in front of him all along. He then turns to Becky and says "it's not my time" and she nods and smiles at him knowingly. That to me would have been a much more sentimental ending to this story. Hell, it would have been an earned ending considering Becky is stressing "you have to live on." But nope, let's kill Dante instead because Smith obviously watched Avengers: End Game and felt he needed a death scene for a cheap tug at the heart strings. Or he's just admitting he hates Dante.
Anyone who says this is a fitting ending to Clerks has their heads up their ass! This to me was a total admittance that he hates Dante. That he sees Dante as being everything that he hates about himself. If the movie is supposed to be about seizing the day then it doesn't work at all. Especially when everything in it is inconsequential to anything come the end! Randal's movie goes nowhere. Dante dies on the operating table. The newly converted Satanist is the only one who gets a happy ending. I guess the message of the movie is sell out, kids! It's the only way you'll find happiness. It's the only message this movie has to impart because otherwise it has no clue what it wants to say.
Okay, now I'm done! I'm flooding up your comments section as is. I should really just go and make my own video on this because this movie is infuriating to me.
You're literally trying to say you know Kevin's self expression better than him.
@@Cultonproductions The movie is as self indulgent as they come. It's really not hard to see all of this when it's right there in your face.
@@Cultonproductions every single line is a self expression that he expressed 30 years ago...
Randal was always a misanthrope, what are you talking about? This is a guy who watched loud transsexual porn while working as a store clerk and spent his working hours at Mooby's trolling and tormenting a poor guy in a wheelchair lol. His contempt and indifference for the feelings of others is possibly his most defining attribute. Realistically. he would probably be homeless or in jail and not still a working member of society. Dante, however, isn't much better. He's not in a funk and he's not an underdog, he's just a complete loser. He's never satisfied with anything in life and just complains endlessly rather than dealing with it or finding a better alternative, regularly has women throwing themselves at him yet still messes it up by being indecisive and duplicitous, and wouldn't even have made any progress in his life if Randal hadn't have prompted him to do so at the end of Clerks 2 with the idea of buying the store. I don't blame Kevin Smith for not wanting to be that guy. No sensible human wants to be that guy. At the end of the day, Dante never stopped being the "I'm not even supposed to be here today" guy and never took ownership of his own life. I guess death is the only direction you can take a character like that. He's not miraculously going to figure out all the answers and start being a better person in his 50's.
I agree with everything you said!
I COULD NOT AGREE MORE, except I DID cry when Dante died 😢
That was messed up.
They should of had it end with Dante waking up in the closet being called in for work the day he off. Making clerks 1 2 and three a dream.
That would have been great.
So you're basically telling me we go from Clerks II where Randal admits that he NEEDS Dante and loves him to Clerks III where he's treating him like he doesn't even matter? What the fuck? I mean, seriously what the fuck? That was the beautiful moment of Clerks II where he finally threw down the armor and admitted that he loved Dante as a friend and needed him to be there by his side. I already knew about the Becky stuff because reviews had already spoiled it. But the central conflict boggles the mind! We saw these characters grow in Clerks II. We saw these two finally realize just how much that friendship means to each other...only for Kevin to piss it away with Clerks III by the sounds of it.
As for Becky's death. What a fucking joke! All because he didn't have access to her as much? Maybe that should have been reason enough alone not to do Clerks III. From everything I've heard, it sounds like he just wanted to remake the prison scene from Clerks II. It sounds like he just wanted to live that moment again.
I already knew about the spoilers. I looked up the Wiki plot line. Dante dying is just....pointless. The only word for it. I remember when they told him killing Dante in the first movie was just a sign that he had know idea how to end his movie. Who knew that almost 30 years later and he still has no clue how to end his movie. Oh wait, he did know how to end it. He ended it perfectly with Clerks II!
Clerks III sounds like exactly what I feared. He didn't have a story to tell with these characters. He can't write in their voices anymore because he no longer identifies with them. He's a Hollywood shill trying to write in the voices of the Blue Collar. Something he hasn't been in a LONG time. He got away with it in Clerks II, but Clerks III sounds entirely past its sell date.
At this point, I can only assume the reason Jeff Anderson truly came back for it is because in the back of his mind he is probably thinking "no more Clerks for me! And if it sucks then Kev gets the blame!" We all know he doesn't really like acting so I'm starting to think maybe that's the only reason he truly came back. To finally put a nail in the coffin for good.
Part of me kind of wants to see it for the train wreck it sounds like, but the other part of me really doesn't even want to bother with it. I think I'd rather just forget about it and treat Clerks II as the true ending to all of this.
Anyways, yours is the one review I've been looking forward to the most! Good work.
It's always great to hear from you, you always reiterate and add to what I've already said so thank you.
It's really bugging me how much love the film is getting, I really do think it's due to screenings with the cast.
@@kanacus Yeah maybe. The guilt of "we can't say bad things because we were in the room with them." I've seen mixed reviews on rotten tomatoes for it. I was still holding out some hope it would be better than Reboot based on some of those positive reviews...but from what you said and what the negative reviews have said...nope, sounds every bit as bad as I/we feared.
The way Kev was describing it in interviews was that he wanted to tell a story about how its never too late to change your ways and do something with your life. Yet the story doesn't seem to reinforce that as the film in the film seems like just a means of flashing Dante's life before his eyes come the end. Then I thought is it trying to go for the angle of "appreciate what you have now because it may not be there tomorrow" but it doesn't seem like it reinforces that idea either. It just sounds depressing as a whole and I really don't know if that's what I want to see from a Clerks film.
Maybe Scott Mosier really was the secret sauce to it all. I feel like without Scott Mosier to be his sound off Kev's writing has progressively gotten worse. That and the weed. I still think post weed Kevin is for the worse in terms of his writing. Thanks a lot, Seth Rogen! As if there wasn't already enough reason to dislike Seth Rogen.
The angle of examining life and death with these characters is a potentially interesting one and maybe it's one that feels personal to Kevin all things considered but from what I've heard you say, it sounds like he has no clue exactly what it is he is trying to say.
Keep in mind, I haven't seen the film. It isn't out in Australia. I guess I'll be waiting until it hits VOD or Blu Ray (or other nefarious means)...but yeah, it sounds like he didn't have a clue what he was saying with it.
Also, the meta humor just sounds lame as fuck. We're talking about the same guy who once wrote gags such as a necrophilia joke or the Porch Monkey scene...and now he's reduced to "remember that time when?" Ughhhhhhh!
I really do feel like he is trying to write for characters that he simply doesn't identity with anymore. That is the glaring problem to me.
Anyways, yeah...I'm glad you at least got to see it...even if it did truly suck and thanks again for making the review.
@@danmann861 I believe it'll be on streaming in December. We should catch up again when you've seen it, it'll be great to know how you feel about it after an actual viewing.
@@kanacus Yeah, I'll check it out when it becomes available just out of sheer morbid curiosity at this point. I'll let you know when I do. But based on your review and another one I watched by another youtuber named Joe Black, it just sounds fucking awful in every way. It sounds like the film within the film is absolutely pointless filler that means nothing other than to provide Dante his life flashed before his eyes. The whole movie just seems like a pointless endeavor.
@@danmann861 I saw Joe Black's video too. I think it's pretty incredible. It's so funny to me because I was going to use comparisons with Rocky Balboa about the nature of hope vs despair in Clerks III similar to what he does.
As someone who found both Yoga Hosers and The Jay and Silent Bob Reboot enjoyable and fun, I expected to disagree with the Kevin Smith haters again on this one. I was heartbroken to find how aggressively unfunny it was. Couldn't last 15 minutes.
I honestly don't know how people can come out of this movie thinking it's good. Randall wanted to make a movie because he had done nothing with his life and no one would remember him except Dante and Elias and of course by the end of it he's left without his best friend. It's super depressing and day ruining. The complete opposite of clerks 2
So it's bad because it's sad .........
@@rannithewitch9553 it's straight up poor writing and the comedy was pretty bad most of the time
Single dumbest thing I’ve ever read on the internet
@@ConnorMcCartney95it’s poor writing and it’s attempts at humor were awful .. I cannot believe the unoriginality of Clerks 3.. it was touching at times but I wanted to laugh as well . I didn’t
@@ConnorMcCartney95 No sir, I didn't like it. Definitely the worst Kevin Smith film I've ever seen. I even liked Jersey Girl and JSB Reboot better than this..
That sucks. I wanted to see Dante live the Dad life and complain about it lol. I wanted to see Randall being a bad influence on Dantes kid but the kid still sees him as an awesome uncle.
I wanted to see Jay and Silent Bob get back from another road trip where its implied that God tapped them as prophets again and talk about wacky things that happened but we dont get to see it so we are just laughing at their description of it
sounds like you're a better writer than smith is
What you described sounds like a good clerks flick, what smith made was not. It wasn't funny, it brought nothing new to the table, it somehow used funny moments from the first film and managed to make them unfunny. I'm a huge clerks fan since the first movie, but if this was gonna be clerks 3 all along then Smith should have let it die with the second one. The execution was so poor and half assed here ( a long with a boring story)I'd honestly have been happier with nothing, and I was HYPED for clerks 3 for years, i literally checked for a release date every month since the first wispers of it being a thing.
Randall should not have been part of the picture as the bad influence of Randall's kid. Dante should just stay away from Randall permanently.
I really liked it. Go see it
Sounds like a good plot.
Out of all the things Kevin Smith could write... and with clerks 2 ending on a happy note for dante...
Why in the world did he go in this direction? Did the actor want to be killed off?
I totally believe that the first draft of Clerks 3 years ago was completely different than this bastardization of the franchise. Plus I suspect Scott Mosier had more influence in the View Askew universe than we know. Notice how he stopped producing and all his subsequent films have been complete shit. There are now two Kevin Smiths since his heart attack.
Okay I watched it again and had to point out the main problem with it; it's tone-deaf.
Randal has a heart attack. It's too serious soo the operating nurse turns up from a party dressed as a witch. Funny?
Veronica makes an off-hand comment about having a family, her and Dante talk about it, ends with sex. Funny?
I think it's a bit sad Kevin Smith used his real life heart attack to capitalise on selling the film.
It says a lot about him really. He's been stuck at that Quick Stop his whole career. Never grew as an artist or a filmmaker.
Yeah honestly Kevin Smith kind of sucks. The first Clerks and Chasing Amy are the only good movies of his in my opinion.
Dante yells at Randall in a wholly contrived bit of melodrama then has a heart attack and falls to the floor. The immediate reaction is a group of unimportant observers laughing and applauding his performance.
Dante dies (Dante fucking dies) and after a touching scene of him essentially going to Heaven he gets a 90 second eulogy in which one person speaks, the dialogue consists of a couple of lazy Star Wars and Star Trek references, there's some prattle about how the ending of The Departed wasn't good (including the ten thousandth cut to Silent Bob mugging in response), and then finally the words "You're not even supposed to be here today" - the same line that was actually a cute little button that was already used at the end of the second film - then smash cut to a woeful Pearl Jam song as the camera lingers on Randall just holding a pose touching Dante's casket.
What the fuck.
@@rodbelding9523 Chasing Amy is horrendous, I liked it back in 97 but it's aged horribly.
Dogma is good , and Red State is good and I think Kevin did try and grow but everything he did failed so now he is stuck making a living off his " classic " films.
@@andysalter7192 Agree about Chasing Amy. It is a truly terrible film that has aged poorly.
i dont really care about him using his heart attack story. the movie was his stories he's told on stage. most of the movie i was like "oh i remember when he talked about this". idk i think i was just expecting more of a comedy than what we actually got. but i didnt hate it. this isnt the kevin smith from the 90's and 2000s. i havent really liked one of his movies since clerks 2.
Because you asked, I liked the movie because events very similar have happened to me. I've lost 4 friends this year to heart attack and I'm only 45. I could see he wasn't drawing from himself the second time it happened, this was a friend in his life after his own. It's a shame what they did with Rosario, I agree with you there, but that made it hit home for me too. I still have my wife but children are not in the cards. I've been placed where I would rather run away then walk into.
Point being it's a movie that hits me personally, right where I am right now. The same way all the movies have been because of our age and circumstance. I'll never watch it again, but I'm glad I did.
I understand where you're coming from and I respect your point of view. Thanks for your clear and concise response.
I guess wanting a comedy film with heart in the same vein as the original two films was where it fell down for me. If this film had different characters I may have appreciated it more, but honestly, I doubt it. Thank you again for your response!
@@kanacus I dont think it was really meant to be a comedy its showing where characters ended up, characters who happen to be funny. But we all have differences in opinions and views and all that.
I left feeling a little gut punched - definitely not the happy and lighthearted movie that Clerks II was. I have mixed feelings. I think I get where Kevin Smith was coming from but I also thought it could have been done without tearing down everything that had offered hope and optimism in the previous film. On the other hand, it's a Kevin Smith flick so I probably shouldn't overthink it too much! I thought maybe they would have Dante being a little more mature and centered in life, and it would be Randall's turn to find a love story, but that might be too cliche, I don't know. Also, given the real life loss of original cast member (and later Jeff Anderson's wife briefly) Lisa Spoonauer, that might have contributed to the desire to portray the harder realities of life and loss. Anyway, as a guy not too far behind these guys on age, stuck back in my hometown in Jersey just down the road from the 'ol Quick Stop, maybe I should take the death of Dante as a sign that it's time for me to embrace the metaphorical death of my old self and move on to some new scenery and new chapters in my life!
I will say, if he had to kill Dante (and Becky beforehand), that was at least a pretty touching way to do the passing on scene.
I feel like that's exactly what Kevin Smith was doing. Both Randall and Dante were metaphorical reflections of himself, but after his brush with death in 2018, Kevin lost that depressing side that sees and lives in the pessimistic "series of down-notes" that Dante represented. When Kevin had a heart attack, so did both his inner Dante and Randall, but only Randall woke up - full of energy, smart-ass comments, geek-culture references, and a renewed love for the life Dante took for granted.
@@RetroMaticGamer Well said, and the more I think about it, the more I think it was actually very well done.
Did you go to Bayshore Middle school?
I used to steal candy from that store before school. The film is inaccurate. Was always owned by indians. Rentend movies from that vid store and the deli at the end was the best.
I got Alien 3 vibes when they opened the movie by announcing that Becky and the baby are dead. I was like whoa wtf lol
god damn it! I've seen the movie twice and I've missed the first like 5 minutes both times so I have no idea how it actually started I just knew that I was going to be bad because Black parade starts a lot slower than when I walk in during hockey
That is a REALLY good comparison, you nailed it.
Love that comparison! U just blew my mind! View is now Askewed...also I guess I had low standards going in, so I loved it!
I took your Alien 3 reference for my written review. Spot on.
Aliens 3 was still good for what it was, plus that was a horror film and a sequel to another horror film. It at least contextually is expected. Turning Clerks 3 into something forced and overly dramatic made no sense.
It didn't even feel like a real movie. More of a parody of the first movies.
Also depressing as hell, almost as if Kevin Smith is fixated on death or something - Randall almost dies, Beckie + kid are dead, Dante dies - I mean, out of all the storylines you could have come up with for a "comedy"...
I agree with every single word you said. I suffer from major depression and I am suicidal, not ashamed to say this. I am italian so you certainly know some productions take a long time to be distributed here. When I was aware Clerks 3 came out I went crazy and went SURE to have a laugh, so I went blind and saw it. I was devastated, the movie was dreadful to the point it got my sanity worse. Kevin Smith was so selfish to the point he couldn't stop his ego from cripple this film and consequentially his inexistent carreer. I was devastated when the credits started rolling.
You're not ashamed to be Italian??
@@hipsterelephant2660 actually I am, very, I'm serious. We suck, this place sucks, guys if you want to see the fucking colosseum (of which, we don't give a shit anyway) just watch a video. Ah but the food is great....no, no, look, buy "De Cecco", if the box says 12 minutes, just pretend it says 10. That's about it. I just unfurled the mysteries, there's no big revelation. Save the trip money and get a dope PC.
I don't understand why they turned it into a tragedy. I played this with the intention to laugh or have a good time, not seeing Dante a wreck...
It shat all over the 2nd one by killing off Dantes love interest from the first one, including the child they had together, all off-screen! Then they kill Dante too!.... I would have happily be okay with killing off one of the original characters at the end like Dante, but to completely undo the 2nd film by killing off the woman he loved and her child. Why undo that? Would have been cool to see Dantes child older and maybe see how alike they are. The writing was lazy. I'm heart broken!
To be honest judging by how reboot turned out I don’t know how well another child character being added would go. But at the same time, having Becky straight up die felt out of left field. The ending stuck out well, but then you have to remember everything else in the middle, which feels like a fever dream first draft
I am too. Why?
It had its moments but was depressing as hell. I'm just gonna consider Clerks 2 the real ending.
Clerks 2 is perfect so I was skeptical about him making a 3rd. From the trailer I could tell it wasn't going to be good and still haven't watched it.
@@thesmilingvagrantsDon't. It's stupid and sad
There were 11+ people out of 40 seats in the theatre I saw it at... and there was a cricket... the loudest cricket on earth... just heckling the movie.
That's hilarious
I actually enjoyed the movie, but that was a good diss...
@@rartu I thought it was fine. Not nearly as good as the first two. But the cricket... 100% true story.
Seems like in a way you're just supposed to automatically love and respect and say how cool all the s*** he does is..... I mean once you get past the story about him selling his comic books to make his first movie and standing next to Jay....he's a relatable above mediocre director, writer or what not .
Lol I desperately want to save everything from that rubbish bin 😂
I still remember not being able to stop laughing when I first heard pillowpants lol.
Its funny you mention the music in scenes, that's always been a big problem I've had with Clerks 2. That whole sequence where they play 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins always takes me by surprise with how long and not trimmed down it is, as well as the scene where everyone dances to ABC by the Jackson 5 which could in my opinion have stopped a whole 40 seconds earlier. I almost get the impression that Smith was in the editing room high as shit and just started jamming out, completely forgetting what he came in to do. Shame about 3 though, at least he decided against the planned James Holmes subplot.
He wasn't smoking back then. He's only been a stoner for about 10 years.
@@thomasgibbs995
I thought he started smoking weed shortly after he got hooked on cigarettes on Clerks
@@theragingrodent__ nah, it was due to hanging out with Seth Rogen while filming Zack and Miri
Whenever I do watch Clerks 2 in that scene with the song 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins always brings me back to the fun times that my brother and I had and making our own films in our small town I lost my brother 12 years ago I miss him everyday and knowing how clerks 3 has turned out I'm actually sad to say that I'm glad he didn't live to see this film it would have broken his heart and may have ended his fandom of Kevin Smith films.
I don't know, I think ABC and 1979 both being extended like that helps get the audience in the mood he was looking for. ABC makes it feel more like a real movie compared to Clerks and the cinematography in 1979 just paints the best of pictures of a middle aged guy trying to figure out his life. The combinations of music and imagery is a great thing that Smith did well. Look at the preacher of Five Points singing that gospel song for example. Gives an unsettling and calming contradictive paradox feeling.
And I love 1979. Just such a great song. Billy kicks ass. Too bad TNA/iMPACT went downhill even more after he bought it from Dixie. Wish he would've bought ECW when Paul E offered it to him.
Sometimes (Most of the time) life doesn't have a happy ending. Clerks was a movie about life in stages, There will be an end to it, and sometimes its sudden. And who's ever left continue on...
Yeah but that's not why we watch clerks this movie is trash.
Except we had a happy ending in Clerks 2 and Kevin Smith decided to rip it away.
I do like how Jay got the teeth from a Terminator T-800 robot to replace his own meth-rotten ones. Looks great!
Kevin smith will take any opportunity to let you knownhe survived a heart attack
I respect how you feel. I saw Clerks 3 today. It certainly wasn't what I was anticipating.
My takeaways: Smith made the same mistake here that George Lucas made with Jar Jar Binks: there's WAY too much Elias in this film. He wasn't that funny to begin with, only as a walking punchline for Randal. Here, it's practically the Elias Show, with his equally unfunny sidekick, Blockchain. And the changing costumes thing was distracting.
The fact that Smith killed off Becky and Dante pissed me off. I understand that it can't be all sunshine and lollipops, but rubbing out two major characters seemed extreme and unnecessary.
And then, having Randal and co. simply remake the original Clerks? That seemed a bit too easy. I would've thought Smith would be tempted to send himself up---have Randal fuck things up, for example, by having Jay play Silent Bob and vice versa. Instead, Smith just indulges in self-mythologizing.
Finally, the lasting idea I left Clerks 3 with was that Dante and Randal really did have sad lives. Dante dies at 50, having lived a life of frustration, loss and unfulfillment. And Randal? He's lost his only friend. All that's left for him now is Elias and the Quick Stop. Not much of a future there. What a bleak place to leave these wonderful characters.
I'll admit that I might have missed some important story elements. I often do that on a first viewing, so I usually wait a while and give a movie a second look. I'm willing to give Clerks 3 another chance. I hope to stand corrected.
But honestly, I must agree with another commenter here, Daniel Mann: Smith should've stopped at Clerks 2. That was the ending these characters deserved.
I agree with what you said about Randall and Dante having sad lies because they refuse to take the next step in their lives when they've had chances.
To me it’s even more insulting considering Kevin has said time and time again that he wanted Clerks III to inspire people to seize the day. Okay, so Randall seized the day, inadvertently killed his friend out of selfishness and is left on his own. Inspired yet?
Meanwhile I rewatched Rocky Balboa the other night (thanks to Joe Black’s Clerks III review) and was HUGELY inspired as it celebrates the human spirit to fight.
That’s what baffles me the most. How is this in any way inspiring? It just seems like a cry for help to me.
I can see what Smith wanted to do, but the movie is so tone deaf and confused about what it’s saying come the end. The irony being that he already made the inspirational seize the day film with Clerks II.
Now that’s an ending that can inspire someone to take charge of their life and find their own path in it. A path that makes sense to you and you only.
Clerks III was not inspiring in the slightest. It was just bathing in despair.
Hell, you want to be inspired? Go and watch the Clerks Documentary ‘The Snowball Effect.’ That’s a much better Clerks III than the Clerks III we got
Clerks 2 was Kevin Smith's masterpiece.
I hear you with having to watch twice to pick up some elements but I can’t watch this again, it was a fuck your day up kind of movie
@@Ziki-P I agree.
I cant believe they killed becky I cant be the only one that wanted to see this largely for rosario dawson and brian O'Halloran's conclusion to be brought to life but not they destroyed it, I understand rosario is very famous and is doing all of the star wars stuff but she was up to do the movie I just wanted them to have a happy ending.
I agree I hated seeing that ! I do love that they reunited in the afterlife in the end
life isn't about happy endings
Dante's life was exactly the life he expected, even in the end - "A series of down notes." That's the moral of the story here - you get out of life what you put into it. Dante settled for a life of mediocrity, expecting shitty luck and a shitty ending, and that's what he got. That's what we're supposed to learn from all this - Randall may have been an asshole, but at least he had passion and drive, so he got a happy ending. That's how life works - you take charge of it and reap what you sow.
Welcome to real life. Not everyone gets a happy ending, and the best movies recognize that. The way this was handled was perfect
@@williamavitt8264 I think in a way he did have a happy ending , he admits that after Becky Died he felt his life was over to Randall in that last argument and watching his life in a movie , Becky shows up and instead of seeing how it ends , he decides the best ending was to be with her anyway possible , hence him dying in the hospital
I seriously sat there in shock after THAT moment. I figured there'd be no way that they'd go that far....and when Randal echoed Dante's catchphrase, it broke my heart SO bad that the movie should have just ended there.
It'd be like if Woody and the Gang burned at the end of Toy Story 3.
The movie should have ended before it was made, before Clerks II was made, back to 1993 when these characters resolved their differences, learned about themselves, had a hopeful future, and Kevin Smith wasn't a sellout hack.
Just remember the line he said in clerks 1. About life being nothing but down endings
True
@@salcruz9267 true as well
Yes it was total shit. As a GenXer I was expecting to see Dante and Randall to win at life having suffered an ignominious early adulthood. Instead they suffer more until there was no more for Dante. There is no point for their suffering and hard work. They continue to see the world go on while just watch as spectators. That just sucks.
Only word to describe this one is "meh". Best part of the movie was the idea that Jay and Bob run a weed shop, but still sell out front like 90s dealers.
Yeah that was good and I thought they were going to play on their characters a little more
I wish I’d never seen it, and will probably never watch it again. The ending of Clerks II is the deserved one.
I have mixed feelings about this movie. I mean I want so bad to love it like crazy cuz it’s Kevin Smith, the whole gang, and the final installment…but a big part of me is just, in my own heart, ending the Clerks series with 2 so Becky never dies and all of them live a happily ever after life at Quick Stop.
daily reminder, kevin smith was never good. and the original clerks already sucked. this is what happens when gen x and millenials automatically assume muh cult 90s movie is good. tarantino sucks too btw
But if you end it at 2, you end it on a movie written by a middle schooler
Living happily ever after isn’t real life
Shit happens
This movie shows that
I didn't love Clerks II - it was heavily flawed - but I felt that it managed to stick the landing and luckily end on just the right notes of closure. The story was already told in the first film, the second one came close to disaster but managed to rein it in when it mattered most, and closed the book on these characters that would live on forever through the magic of cinema. "Thank god he's not going to make another one", I told everybody at the time. "He's getting worse and worse as both a filmmaker and seemingly as a person. He's just some self-righteous douche who makes shitty movies for himself and his dipshit friends now. He barely pulled it together for Clerks II, modern Kevin Smith would destroy the entire Clerks legacy if he made a third film which would be completely unnecessary anyway".
...Aaand lo and behold, Clerks 3.
It's like killing off tracy the mother and ted's wife from how i met your mother's last episode.
If he wouldn’t have killed Becky off and kept the rest of the plot I think it could’ve been good, definitely more impactful
Clerks III was always going to suck, this was another vanity project so Kevin doesn't feel irrelevant. In fact this movie even existing makes Clerks II worse imo because it isn't the happy ending anymore. Bring on Mallrats 2 and Chasing Amy 2, let's just torpedo his entire legacy. BTW I have seen a lot of astroturfing in some reviews and comments around UA-cam from shills glowing about Clerks III way too hard, I don't buy it at all, it's definitely bought and paid for.
Ive been a fan of Kevin Smith for 20 years. Seen all his stuff, grew up with clerks and I was surprised at how it wasn't that bad. It wasn't as good as 1 and 2. It leaned heavy into the drama but it didn't suck. reboot sucked but this was decent just not great.
Crazy to think someone I looked up to growing up would sell his soul like Kevin Smith has.
He doesn't care about making good movies anymore, he cares about the cash grabs.
Flash, Supergirl, He Man anyone?
Yeah literally more than half of the movie was just flashbacks and recreations of things that happened in the previous Clerks movies, which was kind of lazy on Kevin Smith's part. I will say the way it ended was completely unexpected, that was a curveball. An extremely depressing curveball.
The writing was many things, but lazy wasn't one of them.
omg i havent watch this yet glad I subbed to you lol. Cant wait to watch this review after im done watching it whenever its available
I totally get what Smith went for here. I’m 50 and have had several cardiac scares. And I miss 1994 as much as anyone. I’m going to just pretend that Clerks 3 is a fan fiction film and not canon.
Same here except heart problems but others.
A comedy film shouldn't try to be emotional. They did a damn good job of making it sad, but I go to a comedy to have a good time. It depressed me. The main complaint with the movie for me is constant references to the first two movies, and not having any new original funny moments.
do you even like the original clerks?
@@Courier_333 Absolutely love the first 2
@@ryanandrew-allen2887 the first clerks is very emotional. Nothing wrong with comedies trying to be serious at times
Comedies do have emotional moments when they're trying to a message which is what this film did try to do.
It wouldn't surprise me if smith sold his Daughter to the hollyweird ghouls so he can keep his house and make whatever garbage he has in the last 15 years. I literally grow up with these movies and now I can just add them to the rest of the pile that "they" ruined.
I'm officially a adult now. I like no movies or franchises I work I pay bills and that is that.
the one review i've been waiting for.
I feel hollow after watching this movie, he just shit all over beloved characters. I can't believe he did this, I'm genuinely upset.
Best review I've seen of this pile of shit movie. It was an unfunny, phony, dishonest cash grab, made only for people who think that Kev can't do any wrong. Not a sincere moment in the movie. Pissed all over the happy ending of Clerks 2, as you mentioned. Regressed the friendship of Dante and Randal after their wonderful reconciliation at the end of Clerks 2. Too dark and depressing for a Clerks movie. I'm fucking done with Kevin Smith. I'm glad he didn't die of his heart attack, but as a filmmaker, he died a long time ago.
Damn, what's wrong with this Guy?
First he seriously named his Daughter "Harley Quinn" (after a f***ing Cartoon- and Comicbook-Character), then he made this awful "Yoga Hosers", then he made an unnecessary and boring unfunny new Jay & Silent Bob Movie, then he screwed up "Masters of the Universe" and now THIS??? Killing off the very loveable Becky from "Clerks 2" AND her Baby in this one? FOR REAL??? Does he actually WANT to ruin his Reputation and Career on Purpose? I'm just done with that Dude.
The movie was alright. I went in with low expectations, so I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I'd be. It wasn't that funny at all, it was more of a drama with a 'lil bit of comedy relief. I agree, it's definitely his best film in over a decade. But, that's not saying much considering the movies he has put out in the last decade are average, at best. I think Kev's best years are behind him. It's so sad.
"It wasn't nearly as bad as Clerks III."
- Us after every shitty film we watch now.
I was at Clerks III premiere and it felt like I was the only one in the crowd who wasn't laughing, applauding, or crying. I walked in with low expectations and was still disappointed. The movie is completely tone deaf and Smith clearly doesn't know how to write anymore. It really was that bad and you summed it up perfectly in your review. Cheers.
It's not tone deaf though. you may not like it but doesn't make it bad.
I watched the whole series this year for the first time and it felt on point with the others.
This is precisely why I hated Chasing Amy, because Smith can't do drama, and drama within that cartoonish universe of his doesn't work anyway. He almost made it work slightly in Clerks II, but otherwise, he's not that skilled. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was so awful, I'm surprised anyone would expect Clerks III to be good. He should've just retired after Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and go on to write comic books and do podcasts and personal appearances.
Shocker, Kevin Smith lied again.
Did he cram his daughter and her awful acting in this somewhere ?
In Kane’s Clerks 3 trailer review, from 3:46 to 3:55 he says “It doesn’t feel right to see Dante with his life together, it makes more sense to me if it was Dante who had the heart attack. There doesn’t appear to be any conflict in the movie.” Those were some now regretful last words lol, he got the conflict/Dante’s life being in shambles he hoped for. I honestly wish the film was more like Kane originally thought it was going to be. A mostly comedic (but actually funny comedy like the previous two films) and lighthearted reunion of sorts, with a bit of conflict sprinkled throughout, but like Clerks 2 tier conflict, not the total stab to the heart Clerks 3 ended up being. I can’t believe they killed off both Becky and Dante. The movie made me tear up 2-3 times tbh. I know that’s the low-hanging fruit of a reaction that Smith wanted out of the viewer, but the acting and background music during the emotional parts were honestly really well done. So it just pushed the tears out of me, being a huge fan of solely the Clerks series from Smith. The movie wasn’t totally horrible per se but it wasn’t good either, I think it’s at the very least watchable. The worst parts of the film imo were the appeal/references to cringe modern culture and Smith killing Becky off-screen/the uneventful reveal of her death.
A true moment of "be careful what you wish for", for me. I've realised there's really no way to make a Clerks III that would satisfy me, as a fan of the others.
I'm sure other people have better ideas than what we got though, I certainly do.
@@kanacus Indeed, I appreciate you choosing to give my comment a reply, with the already sea of comments that have been posted on this video. I’m happy you are getting traction from this review, you deserve it for sure. I watched your first Clerks video like three times in hype of the new film as it was approaching (I related heavily to your stance on everything in the video, being a Jeff Anderson fan primarily and solely a fan of the Clerks series myself). It’s still a very good video just like this review, even tho I see some positives in the film and not as many negatives. I’d love to hear your ideas for how you would of went about the making of the third movie (you should make a video). I have no doubt you have way better ideas for it than Smith ended up having.
@@jacks910 I read all the comments - good, mixed or bad. I think there's a difference between being a Kevin Smith fan and just being a Clerks fan. I'll probably make another Clerks video at some point but I also want to expand to talk about other stuff. I'm really lucky that this video's doing well, I wasn't expecting it. I've got a lot of ideas that compare the approach that Smith took to developing Clerks II to Clerks III; Clerks II's development was heavily against meta shit basically. Thanks for watching, anyway, I'm glad you got something out of Clerks III.
@@kanacus I’m looking forward to it man. Yeah, I’m glad I was able to get something from the film, mainly just the acting and background music during the emotional parts as I said. Even tho I don’t think it was necessarily a good film, I think by itself it’s ok and has some good points. But when you are looking at it next to the other films, it just totally destroys any character development made in the first two films so it’s bittersweet. Actually the film is so unrelentingly depressing I should say bittersour, lol. Have you watched the first 2 films again yet, to cleanse yourself? I know you watched the third one again with your commentary over it, which was great btw.
they should have both died at the end by working at the quikstop until Randals 100th birthday, and they're all fuckin old and have walkers then they drop dead on the counter that would have been way funnier.
Smith fridged Becky? I don't even wanna watch this now. That's such a cheap shit move.
It was so bad I didn't even make through 30 minutes of the film.
Just reeks of a middle age crisis when someone wakes up and realizes they haven't really done anything meaningful except that one time, and they are trying to cash in on it again.
This actually made me delete every KS movie out of my collection except Clerks. (I also realized I had never watched any of them more than once other than Clerks.)
To be honest, ever since I heard of this film in production, I thought Lisa Spoonhaur's death was going with be written into the script somehow. I thought they would have killed off Caitlin off screen (obviously) and make that the cause of Dante's rut resurfacing. Wouldn't that have made a lot more sense? He'd get the news of Caitlin's death while he was with Becca and start to mourn her. He'd be upset because maybe if he got back with her life would have been different. Then he would have a reason for getting pissed at Randall again and even cause a rift with his own family he's formed. Idk, maybe Kevin Smith didn't want to have Caitlin referenced in the film (besides the end credits) to pay respects. But that was just the way I envisioned it at first.
She's referenced in the end credits.
@@Gabriel_Cook Edit made.
It speaks volumes that Tusk was the last decent Smith Film. 😆
I knew this movie would be horrible when I saw the trailer, it looks SOOOOO BAD
Everything I've heard about this film sounded like garbage. It just sounds like they made Clerks 2 completely pointless, and this film is just one big Funeral. Alien 3 of comedy.
@ramboraph4life Yeah as soon as I read the spoiled synopsis on Wikipedia, I could already predict a RANT was gonna happen if this movie does get requested. They basically pulled an Alien 3 in terms of beginning and end and somewhat of a HANGOVER PART III in terms of tone. CLERKS II will always be the TRUE end to the View Askewniverse
People are being too rough on it imo. It's a fine comedy with relatively low budget (budget does get slightly noticeable). If you're a kevin Smith fan you'd probably like this movie.
b-but Alien 3 is awesome
It was good and emotional
@@dong.corleone no it won't. Whaaaaaaa
The biggest problem with this movie is that it has nothing interesting to say and nothing new to offer. Its a prerequisite that you watch the other KS movies to get any enjoyment out of this one. It's shallow, its lazy and its pointless and it completely throws the ending of Clerks 2 in the dumpster. It literally parallels Alien 3 in the way that it shits all over one of the greatest sequels ever made.
When it comes to Kevin Smith, I really only love the New Jersey Trilogy. Dogma is fine but there’s just something so special about those first three films.
I liked the first one but never did like the second one and had the DVD for a very short time before I got rid of it. This review and reading the plot line on Wikipedia has saved me the trouble of bothering with number 3.
clerks 3 was unbelievably terrible - shockingly bad
Yep. I loved the first 2 so I really wanted this to work. But nope. It’s dreadful. Does anyone know what the original script that fell through was like?
It was even more dreadful then this, it contained both Becky and Dante dying still, but in more depressing ways. Watch Kane’s first Clerks video.
I appreciate the comment when you said you were reviewing this as a fan and not a fan boy. I am a fan of movies myself. I dont spend all day and night trying to figure out hidden meaning in scene. I watch a movie and move on with life.
Kevin Smith over the years has grown more and more obnoxious while the movies were getting worse and worse. I watched the reboot a few years ago and thought that was the bottom of the barrel......
I appreciate you saving me the hour and a half and detailing what I was expecting.
Good review, thanks!
After Smith's heart attack, his comedy writing has gotten maudlin. All the weed he has been smokin' has affected his work. But I did laugh at some parts of the movie (Amy Sedaris stole the show the little time she was on), and the Becky parts made me cry. That's about it though.
How do people still think weed long term alters someone’s perception in 2022? Wild.
I literally didn't even smile the entire movie there's not one funny line in the whole film.
I stopped caring about Kevin Smith's newer films after seeing that shit show known as "Jay and Silent Bob reboot"
I wish I could delete this movie from my memory. I could just pretend it doesn’t exist, which I already am, but it’s not the same. What a terrible conclusion that I think actually makes the whole series worse. Egads.
Dante's movie watching scene was a sad realization, reminded me of La La Land's movie watching scene.
Thanks for the review, Tim Roth
You're welcome. I think the She Hulk show is also an "Abomination"
I really dislike this movie, I was expecting a comedy.
It is refreshing to hear someone speaking the truth. It is a dreadful movie.
What happened between Jeff Anderson and Kevin Smith in real life? What was there falling out about
Initially after the original Clerks movie's success Jeff thought he would get more money off the back of it. It took a long time for them to patch things up for Clerks 2. Jeff was frustrated again over how the money was tied up for Clerks 2 (look up Hollywood accounting)
Then, Smith wrote a different script for Clerks 3 which Jeff didn't like or want to do so they fell out again (parts of this script were used for Reboot). So they met at a signing event after Smith's heart attack and Smith said he'd write a new script, outlining the content, and they made up again. The heart attack was a big factor in repairing their relationship.
Thank you.
Normally the trailer for a film gets you excited and interested to see it but i didnt really get anything at all from trailer and not surprised it blows.
my theory is kevin smith won't be able to get out of his arse and write good stuff until he throws out his oversize clothes and buys at least one properly fitted outfit. he'd look great and feel like a new man - which is what he's scared of
I had no idea there even was a Clerks 3.
I believe the film was a “coming of age” story. All the crude humor from before were part of the characters and as in time the older they got, they lost that youthful 90’s 20-year old energy and life happened. It’s almost 30 years later and this is how the characters how developed. In a realistic way. That’s always been the beauty of a lot of these films. Not everything gets a redemption arc. Not everything has a happy ending. Life comes and goes, and of course we don’t want to see the characters go, just like the other characters in the film. I believe this was an unexpected shift in the amount of dramatic events we see in clerks and understandably I too miss the older INSANE level of youthful energy but it just would be off putting trying to force older men to act like they’re still 18. I loved all 3 clerks films and this one just completely tore me apart but also made me get introspective about the relationship between bonding with people and mortality. Like I said it’s odd bc its almost like we are IN THE MOVIE.
Thank you for this.
Nothing can top that Donkey Show in Clerks 2. I can't believe the Sexy Stud didn't make a cameo in this film! -_- 3/10
I hated Clerks 2 as well, so this is just par for the Kevin Smith garbage train. His early work was very slice of life, but it feels like he completely lost the thread after he started to get famous. He's the definition of a tortured artist. His early work was powerful, profound, but the more money he got to he just stopped being interesting. It felt like each movie he made had fewer and fewer poignant moments, he lost touch with the pain of his youth
I'm one of the rare people that agrees with you.
I will not see Clerks 3. The second movie ended the story perfekt!
The part when everyone dropped as Dante crying out what happened to Becca it struck me hard. 😢
Great review. I literally seen a review in which a guy says "even if the movie was bad, I'd still like it".
After he seen the movie at it's premier.
This is indicative of what I call "the cult of Kevin Smith"
Pretty much what Kevin is living off of these days. Reboot was so bad it was painful.
I thought it was okay.... If I am being honest, my favorite scene was the first scene with Dante and Becky. Not a fan of the ending I found myself thinking, "There's no way. What's the joke?" But nope. That being said, I would not put it past Smith to one day do a direct sequel to the first one, and just ignore 2 & 3 lol.
Wow that's such a cool logo, I wonder who made it for you 😉
Why do famous people insists on forcing their kids into movies? I don't mind her but nobody should be handed A movie career. They will never be taking seriously. Think that's just wrong in every way.
This sounds worse than a bunch of rehashed jokes. Was destroying he man worth it for this? Hell no.
keriin smith he-man version part 1 and 2 are afoul freaking stay with the 2001 or 4 cartoon you can thank me later
Damn I WISH I didn’t watch this movie. But of course all the reviews were almost 5 stars. Fans saying it made them cry! So I ended up watching it on a flight. I did have a somewhat of a low expectation since the trailers seemed kinda off putting and Kevin smith not having a good track record in recent years with his work and politics, but nonetheless I still was curious. Not to mention clerks 2 ending in such a beautiful way.
Everything you said in this review perfectly lined up with how I felt. I felt sick to my stomach after watching this movie. I cringed so much and rolled my eyes more then I could count during my viewing.
Barley got like 2 quick breath exhale chuckles out of me. Also watching it with headphones I totally caught the over use of music playing in dialogue heavy scenes and it was just out of place.
This movie was EXACTLY what I was afraid of. Clerks 2 ended on such a amazing note, that once I heard they were making a third one I was very scared and worried that it couldn’t top clerks 2. Unfortunately I was correct.
I know there are going to be hardcore Kevin smith fans who are going to eat this shit up like it’s a fresh cow tipper but I just hated this movie. I wish I saw this review before I soured my taste for the franchise.
The scene where Becky talks about having sex with famous people in Heaven really ruined the ending for me. It could have been romantic, them leaving together at the end but they aren’t really together, are they? They’ll be boning famous people in Heaven, not spending time as a couple.
You're way off
I took that as a joke Becky was making, to pull Dante out of his funk. Just my opinion.
@snwrist3 So was your dad, whoever he was, when he knocked up your moms.
Dante, Becky, and the kid shouldn't have died. Instead of making Elias evil, just make him a little more mature, like he can handle Randall's shit better. Maybe even becoming somewhat like him. Instead of a movie the venture should've been something not so in the nose to Kevin's personal life. Maybe a girl in his life or something.
Just reading the plot and seeing the trailer just turned me off
This is up there with the alien vs predator 2 sequel, I had high expectations but it turned out soooo bad lol
I totally agree with you this movie was like sitting through a close friends funeral or a family member it wasn’t a comedy and everybody saying it was good I don’t get that I think if Kevin Smith didn’t have a heart attack the movie would’ve been 100% different like Clarks one and two not a depressing piece of trash
Kevin Smith peaked with Dogma
I think one of the reasons why Kevin Smith went to this direction is because Scott Mosier not there producing and he was always the little angel on Kevin's shoulder to tell him no I don't think you should do that and him not being there Kevin would the wrong direction and sadly this is what you get. I hope Mallrats 2 favors better.
I wouldn't say that. Smith is just working with small budgets, without proper scripts and trying to self-insert something that just didn't fit the story.
@@spencerwilliams461 and that's what Scott Mosier was there for to fill in the blanks for Kevin
@@seereadnhear The big issue is that Smith is now a completely different person than he was. Keep in mind Smith not only is influenced by his family more and more these days, but is also a pot smoker and now a vegan. He is very emotional and his personality is completely different to the guy you see in the old Q and A s or even interviews and Director commentaries from the early 2000s. He has been presenting a more corporate, "geek culture" persona for Hollywood more and more as time went on. He is very Californian now.
@@spencerwilliams461 very true
Oh god i hope they don't ruin mallrats with the sequel.