Worst in the series...


I really love Tremors. The first film is about as fun a monster film as you're liable to get. The second film, although not as good as the first, is also a lot of fun and a worthy follow-up.

I had reservations going into the third film. For starters, the box art was cheap-looking and uninspiring. It sort of reminds me of direct-to-video box art for a bad National Lampoon film. Plus, Fred Ward wasn't returning. Michael Gross is the only returning character from the first two films, but that's a good thing. The flip side is that there's always a danger when introducing new characters to such a beloved series as Tremors.

The new characters in Tremors 3 are all pretty forgettable. None are particularly memorable (with the exception of minor returning characters such as Tony Genaro as Miguel, who is good) and some are downright annoying. This is most evident with Susan Chuang's character, Jodi. I don't know if she's a good actress or not in other films, but she is absolutely terrible in this. Not once was I convinced that Jodi was reacting realistically to the situations that the story called for. At least some of the other actors seemed to be trying. She is basically the Jar-Jar Binks of this film and her performance pretty much sinks the ship. Note to director: next time, don't have your leading lady be such a grating, unlikeable wise-ass!

As for the story, it's nothing very interesting. The beginning of the film starts off with a great set piece where Burt repels a Shrieker attack at night utilizing an anti-aircraft gun. That's a great way to grab an audience's attention, but it's also a great way to disappoint an audience when nothing else in the rest of the film lives up to this level.

Speaking of the Shriekers, the creature effects are the worst in the entire series. Part of the appeal of the Tremors films is getting to watch giant rubber puppets interact with the cast. This film does use a few puppets, but their use is extremely minimal. Instead, we get truly awful computer-generated monsters that feel totally out of place in a Tremors film. In short, the CGI in Tremors 3 is piss-poor. You know what I mean if you've seen the film (and the first full body reveal of an Ass-Blaster is the proof).

The new monsters (the ass-blasters) are ridiculous. At least the Shriekers were interesting designs and they had a cool infra-red function to them. The ass blaster design is pretty weak compared to the other films' creatures. And just the idea itself - creatures that shoot fire from their rectums? This is a low point for the Tremors films. The first two films were good enough that they didn't have to rely on such an absurd and juvenile attempt at laughs and/or creativeness (and I use that word loosely, here).

The final battle in the film takes place in dark shacks where much of the action can't even be clearly seen and...

...Oh, forget it. I've already used too much space going on about Tremors 3. In short, it sucks and is the weakest of the four films. See it if you enjoy being disappointed or if it doesn't take much to entertain yourself.



reply

I think all four movies were good and contributed in their own way to the Tremors Franchise.

I liked Part 3 because it showed how the town of Perfection was affected by it's new fame as Home of the Graboids. It was funny to see how people commercialized what were essentially very dangerous and lethal creatures. Both Jodi and Jack were fine additions and I liked their chemistry.

The Ass Blasters were great. They had to think of a new wrinkle because the characters already knew how to effectively deal with Graboids and Shriekers. Ass Blasters were the next step up. And shooting fire out their butts wasn't just some screwy idea. If you watch the documentary on the DVD, they got the idea from a very real creature in nature: the Bombadier Beetle. This beetle combines two chemicals in its body to make this hot noxious spray to fight off predators and sometimes even launch into the air. This spray comes right out of the rear end. So like I said, the creators just looked at nature for their ideas.

Yes, some of the special effects could have been done better, but this is a made-for-video release don't forget. Budgets weren't all that much so they worked with what they had.

This is "Tremors" after all, not Shakespeare or War & Peace. It's all silly and it's all over the top. Part 3 did just as good a job conveying that as the other three films.

reply

I gotta say this is my second favorite film in the series after the original. I didn't care much for number two and the fourth one was rather tired. But here the chemistry between the characters was great and the ass-blasters were a hoot. And no one really expects great "realistic" effects from this series, so whether it's unrealistic puppets or unrealistic CGI is kind of besides the point.

reply

It's nice that the writers were inspired by nature, but bombardier beetles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_beetle) fire a spray, not flames. And it's used for defense, not propulsion. I've never heard of a bombardier beetle launching into the air from its spray, and I would think that would be pretty maladaptive.

reply

WOW FINKENUS..
a man after my own hart . couldnt agree more the CGI in this (and T3)
ruin it for me . but 1 and 2 rock, and after reading the number 4 review i might check it out.

IS THAT AN INSULT ,, ARE YOU INSULTING ME. Darrell--- U TURN

reply

This movie had so much potential, but it was wasted on horrible CGI.

I liked most of the characters and the story was unique, but the CGI just plain ruined a good portion of the movie.

Its a shame too.

But 1 and 2 were still EXCELLENT!

and I liked 4 alot too

reply

No it's not.Both sequels were great.
The fourth one is what ruined everything.

Do you understand the words that are comin' out of my mouth!?!

reply

in my opinion, tremors 3 would have been fine (or at least more tolerable) if they had done the assblasters with good ol' puppetry. the cgi in this film (the fact that they used cgi in the first place is shameful) is really atrocious (no excuses--the creatures in tremors 2 looked great, and it was also direct-to-video) and really takes so so much away from the movie.

reply

Jeez people, enough with the "CGI is evil" thing already! I mean, come on, everyone just parrots the popuklar phrase "CGI bad, rubber puppet and clay figures good", but the only bad CGI I saw was El Blanco coming up, and that was because it was blatantly obvious it was inserted later after filming.

reply

I'll admit the CG wasn't the best, but I've seen far far FAR worse than this. I've seen stuff that makes the cg in this look like Jurassic Park. Just watch just about any Made-For-TV Monster movie (there are few, if any, exceptions), especially the ones on the Sci-Fi channel.


And what's wrong with the Ass Blasters. As someone stated before, they got the idea from actual animals who do similar things. It wasn't to get a cheap laugh. It provided a way for the eggs to be spread out, so the species could spread. I thought it was ingenious.

I'll give you that it's not the best in the series, but it's not the worst. I think this is slightly better than the 4th one, but just slightly.

reply

I agree with bmalone.

I dont mind the 'Ass Blasters'. However, one thing does annoy me...the NAME. Ass Blasters? What were they thinking? Imagine if Graboids were called 'Sackless Underground Dicks'. (not to be crude) But honestly.

Armed and Dangerous

~Tremors~
http://www.tremors3movie.com/

reply

LOL!! I actually liked the name 'Ass-Blasters', they probably could've used fire-farters and Butt-Launchers but it wouldn't as funny as that. As for the OP, I have to disagree, I thought this was a good flick. The only noticably CGI moment was when Burt saw El Blanco outside his residence. There are MUCH MUCH worse CGI in movies, ever see Boa? Or any of those made for tv movies on Cable TV? I enjoyed all of the Tremors films, the first two were perfection, 3 & 4 had some wrinkles but they were ultimately still enjoyable.

"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens.

reply

Totally agree man. The movie was also very boring, with very little action. And yes, I too hated the new characters.

reply

Susan Chuang...Susan CHUANG, you say? What CAN'T we say about her performance...She was really bugging me bad after a short while, and I have no idea how far into the movie it was when I started watching it...but her voice would cause an immediate grating on my nerves that would snap me out of other things I was doing when I'd lost interest, and force me to deal with looking at her and having go pay attention to the movie--even if just for a second or two...It's still on as I'm writing this and I just want to hit her.

reply