Load of rubbish!!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Boring

A Major Disappointment

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)* 1/2 (out of 4)Big and Little Enos bet Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason) $250,000 that he can't complete a day's ride in the time they give him. If he doesn't he must hang up his badge forever. The sheriff decides to take the bet and soon the Enos' boys hire The Bandit (Jerry Reed) to try and slow him down.SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT PART 3 probably never should have been made. The previous film's director Hal Needham and star Burt Reynolds weren't interested in many this because they were tied up with STOKER ACE. This didn't stop Universal as they made the film with Gleason playing both the sheriff and The Bandit but test audiences hated the film so then Reed was brought back and the end results are what you see.I must say, this is certainly the worst film in the series and it's awful on many levels but at the same time I think it's much better than STOKER ACE. With that said, there's no question that this movie shouldn't have been made as there's just not enough going on with it to make it worthy of the previous two films. What's more shocking is that the original version with Gleason in both roles has yet to ever be released, which is a real shame. I'd love to see exactly what it was like.The problem with this movie is that it just as an incredibly cheap feel to it. From start to finish you can tell that they are using editing to try and make something out of very little. Even the car chasing are really lacking here as you can tell they don't have that magic touch that Needham brought to the first two films. Crashing through bags of ice, a milk truck and other items is mildly entertaining but none of it makes you really excited.As for Gleason, I'm sorry but even with bad material he's still quite funny at times. The jokes here are usually pretty lame but he still gets a few good lines in. The majority of the humor comes from putting him in weird situations and this includes running into the KKK, arriving at a nude colony and there's even an orgy at a motel. None of these situations are funny and we're basically relying on Gleason's one-liners. Reed is wasted in his few scenes in the film and even the late appearance by Reynolds can't save the film.SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT PART 3 has an awful reputation and more times than not it's not even brought up in discussions. It's easy to see why people hate the film but I think its reputation is much worse than the picture actually is.

If you were to show this nightmare to death-row inmates and offer them either this or lethal injection, 9 out of 10 would take the injection. The 10th would have their sentence commuted to remain in an asylum for the criminally insane. But after watching this turd, Stephen Hawkins could be cured of his ALS long enough to throw himself from the space shuttle into a black hole into a universe where this vision of horror doesn't exist. How bad was it? I think I have just seen the worst sequel in movie history. Smokey and the Bandit 3. How bad was it. Burt Reynolds wasn't in it and Jerry Reed played the bandit. In fact it was so bad, Jerry Reed didn't even sing any of the horrible songs in it. The Trans Am was so under powered, it made a Yugo look like a Lamborghini. Granted, Burt would come to the opening of a door for a buck and was in a weird cameo in the TV version. Egad...

Despite Burt Reynolds only agreeing to be in a cameo part at the end(and no Sally Field at all) studio went ahead and made this pitiful, embarrassing sequel that has Sheriff Buford T. Justice retiring, only to be called back one last time by Big Enos & Little Enos, who defy him to catch the Bandit. Despite the "real Bandit" being elsewhere, his friend Cledus decides to become the "new Bandit" and Buford(with his son in tow) chase him instead.With no plot to speak of, and a distressing number of lame, crude gags, this utterly pointless film was one of the worst films of its decade. Hard to believe this went into production at all, and remains a jaw-dropping experience.This really stinks!

Let's be clear, die hard S&tB fans will frown on this film. But being a casual fan of the S&tB films, I'd like to offer a different perspective.Smokey and the Bandit III is essentially a string of funny lines and scenes loosely held together by a "plot". The storyline is weak, but who cares. This wasn't exactly the Godfather to begin with, so the 3rd installment should be embraced for what it is; A Jackie Gleason vehicle that allows us to revisit characters we've loved since the first film, minus Burt Reynolds' Bandit, of course.The plot centers around Sheriff Bufford T. Justice announcing his retirement from active law enforcement. But the Enos's propose a wager, which Bufford initially turns down. But after a montage of mishaps Bufford finds retirement hell, and takes them up on the bet. The bet? That Bufford has to drive from Miami Florida to the Enos Ranch within a certain amount of time, while carrying a giant fake shark on their car (the Enos Fish & Chips logo). If he wins, he gets $250k. If not, Little Enos gets Bufford's badge. While the Enos's find some success at trying to impede Buffords progress initially, they eventually contact the Snowman (Jerry Reed) to assume the mantle of "The Bandit" and steal the logo and return it to the ranch himself.What follows is a cat and mouse game as they each give chase, while running into a variety of characters and situations setting up for those simple, country-boy redneck laughs that have been a staple of the franchise thus far. Yes, some old lines do get rehashed, but there's plenty more to keep you engaged.While a funny film, and a pleasure to watch with friends over beer and pretzels, it is a lackluster finale, not only to the Bandit films, but to the short lived Convoy era of movies and television, such as the Cannonball Run and Dukes of Hazzard.Buffords final salute at the end of the film and the song "Ticket For The Wind" by John Stewart emotionally sum up a tearful goodbye to this era.