Pitch Perfect 3

This review may contain spoilers!

This is such a fun, satisfying end to the trilogy and a brilliant way to kick off 2018. I would give Pitch Perfect 3 an 8/10.

This was a really satisfying film to watch; it showed an insight into each of these characters and managed to provide a spotlight so that all of them had a satisfying moment during the story. The Pitch Perfect films have always managed to provide comedic tone in spades and this film is a hard commitment to that; a heavy focus on Fat Amy's backstory providing an edge to the film that I didn't expect to enjoy so much. Ultimately this is a film about friendship, the bonds you forge and the paths you move on to; it's joyful, powerful, funny and emotional. The soundtrack for the film is great as always, I enjoyed the use of 'Toxic' in particular but also quite liked the Riff-off scene.

Anna Kendrick, who played Beca, remains a strong leading protagonist for this film; Kendrick's charismatic and relatable role really takes front and centre in this film and she manages that well. Ester Dean, who played Cynthia Rose, is a nice strong character and is really acknowledged as one of the vocal powerhouses of the group; Dean takes charge in a lot of the scenes with conflict and that makes her role stand out a fair deal. Kelley Jakle and Shelley Regner, who played Jessica and Ashley respectively, are fun background roles which the film knows how to have a laugh about; however, these two get their own moments to shine throughout the film which results in some of the funnier scenes. Chrissie Fit, who played Flo, is a role that has some of my favourite lines and delivery; Fit is very entertaining by subverting expectations of her role and calling out some very witty satire. Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, who played Gail and John respectively, have always been the funniest characters in these films with some nice one-liners that go against the tone of the film; while the film didn't always call for these two it wouldn't have been a Pitch Perfect film without their comedic presence. John Lithgow, who played Fergus, is hilarious and a real match to Rebel Wilson in this film; Lithgow's desperate Dad leads to some emotional scenes but it's his shift Australian gangster that really escalates the film. Alexis Knapp, who played Stacie, isn't in this film as much as some of the other Bellas but has an incredibly touching subplot; Knapp takes her role into more of a caring first-time mother route this film which results in the more emotional scenes of the film. DJ Khaled, who played himself, is an inspired cameo for this film; there's an entire scene where he and Kendrick play off one another and it's simply iconic in its execution. Ruby Rose, who played Calamity, is a fantastic minor antagonist; her singing is incredible and she has an unbelievable intimidating presence.

However, the best performance came from Rebel Wilson, who played Fat Amy. The Pitch Perfect films have had some strong stories behind them but they have always been supported by a very strong comedic backbone; not least of which stems from Wilson in her role. Wilson is having a ton of fun throughout this film playing up her backstory in quite a melodramatic manner. She is also throwing out many of the best one-liners as the feature moves along, heightening scenes with her sense of humour. Ultimately the sequence in which Wilson strides through a James Bond-esque yacht, beating up baddies had me in stitches and solidified this as one of the best depictions of Fat Amy so far.

This film has a great plot but it isn't structured very well; sometimes it's hard to tell what is intended to be the main narrative and what the film considers to be more of a sub-plot. The cinematography used throughout was never too special, often capturing what was needed but never going to any lengths to make a visual impact. The editing of the film comes at a pretty gradual standard pace, causing the film to slow down in places.

Brittany Snow, who played Chloe, doesn't really feel like she's playing the role we've seen in the past few Pitch Perfect films this time around; Snow is shunted into a sub-plot she doesn't feel ultimately committed to. Anna Camp, who played Aubrey, feels awkwardly placed in this film; Camp took a backseat in the second film and she feels out of place now that she's back with the group. Hailee Steinfeld, who played Emily, is a very awkward performance to watch; Steinfeld feels pushed down into a smaller role than the last film really set her up for and she doesn't seem happy about it. Hana Mae Lee, who played Lilly, was nice as an original weird gag but has gone a bit beyond that now; Lee feels hard to watch and what was once amusing about her performance wears thin. Matt Lanter, who played Chicago, is quite a generic charismatic macho soldier figure; Lanter is in a romance subplot that feels hastily made for this film and he does nothing to make it interesting. Guy Burnet, who played Theo, is only in this film to give the plot a particular direction; any time Burnet tries to convey his role as a character he becomes more of an annoying figure than an interesting one.