The NeverEnding Story III (1996)

Undescribable Perfection

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

OK, a few years ago I found at Target a package with all three Neverending Story films, also really cheap, so I picked them up. The first film is one of my childhood favorites and still holds up to this day. I'm not alone in this either, I didn't realize what kind of a following the film had and that others watched it as children too. I watched the second one when I got the package and thought it was alright, I also thought the title was pretty funny. Wouldn't it be hilarious if some person got a lawyer for "false advertising" because of the title of the Neverending Story? Anyways, the second one is just an alright film, a little below average but not terrible. Now, something about the third on gave me chills when I grabbed it, I think I should have listened to my instincts. I don't even know where to start with the badness. Now everything that was charming about the first film, throw it out! Everything that was trying to continue the story in the second film, throw it out! This is what was puked up from the two films and it's terrifying.Bastian Balthazar has begun a new chapter in his life. His father has re-married, and now Bastian has a new step mother, Jane, whose daughter Nicole is displeased at having a new family. Bastian has also started high school, where he has become victim to the Nasties, a quintet of bullies led by Slip. He manages to get them expelled by the janitor after they trap him in the boiler room. He flees to the library where he is surprised to find Mr. Koreander and The Neverending Story. The Nasties locate him, but he uses the book to escape to Fantasia. Bastian arrives in Fantasia, where he is reunited with old friends. However, the Nasties find the Neverending Story and use their cruelty to bombard the land with fireballs and a storm and now plan to steal the amulet to grant their own nasty wishes.See, normally I like bad films, however this was just bad. For God's sake, Valcor was this beautiful majestic wise dragon who spoke so wonderfully and made you feel special, this Valcor looks like a thrown out in the dumpster Chuck-E-Cheese costume. Not to mention the voice is completely different and sounds like some kind of ridicules Gilligan mook. Then the rock monster, who in the first film was the saddest figure, a giant who lost his friends to the Nothing and felt sorrow and spoke so beautiful now has a family, his wife talks like Arnold Schwartzenegger, he's now 1/5 his size and his kid wants to go on a motorcycle ride with him while he sings "Born to be Wild". The villain is no longer an entity; it's a group of bullies called The Nasties being led by Jack Black (LOL).There is nothing redeeming about this film. The acting is terrible and the only decent enough performance is Jack Black who you can understand why he was successful because as much of a bad story as this is, he looked like he was having fun. The costumes are just terrible and don't resemble the first film by a long shot. In short, the story is just horrendous and the magic is taken away in this film. Please take my advice, stick to the first film, it's a wonderful fantasy film that is filled with beauty and wonder. The second film isn't bad either, it's worth checking out in some ways. Take the advice of the movie: We must not give into the Nasty! 1/10

This is the worst sequel ever to escape from the bowels of Hell! It is filled with plot holes, poor writing, and complete horrible character alterations. If you are thinking that this piece of non-biodegradable s@#$ will have the same essence as the other two films, it does not!Even the characters are completely different, as if the film makers just read notes about the previous movies and threw in their versions.My suggestion: Save your time and money and never watch this movie! If you are curious about it, just watch the Nostalgia Critic's review on the film. It's shorter, funnier, and less painful.

Why oh why didn't they try a little bit more.Just a little....Or maybe they did try...Because you have to try hard to have such a shitty and boring story and to destroy the main characters in such an extent.And the villain...The nasties...Really....It went from the Nothing to the Emptiness and end up in the school bullies?Going from abstract meanings symbolizing the disappearance of imagination to the school bullies?The first time i saw it i actually stopped watching it in the "bike scene".Unfortunately i made the mistake of continuing it some other day...Wish i hadn't...Go watch the first movie again which is a masterpiece of children fairytale movies and don't ever touch this one....PS And all you trolls reviewing this saying it is fantastic and tricking people in to seeing this awful thing...YOU ARE TERRIBLE HUMAN BEINGS!!!!

This movie was awful, easily one of the worst movies I have ever seen, though not quite as abysmal as Home Alone 4, honestly that film is blasphemy. I love the first NeverEnding Story and consider one of the all time great fantasy films, and the second one while disappointing was pretty good, but this one was garbage. Sorry I hated it, it has none of the magic of the first film, none of the sense of wonder that enthralled me when I first saw NeverEnding Story as a child. The scenery was not at all good, dull and rather tacky, I just wonder whether the producers saw the first film for their inspiration, because actually in the first film, the sumptuous set design should've got an award, for it was fantastic. The script here was dreadful, and the plot was uninspired, and had many inconsistencies with the first film(ie. the omission of Atreyu and anything to do with Bastian's family). Not to mention the rushed ending and the rather cartoonish design of Falcor and his voice(ugh!). Even the acting was poor, Jason James Richter has little of the innocence and heroism and even the likability of Bastian, no matter how hard he tried. Jack Black, who I usually find entertaining was wasted and it doesn't help his character was such an unlikeable jerk, as was the usually brilliant Freddie Jones. All in all, awful, awful, awful! See the first film instead. 1/10 Bethany Cox