The streaming wars have really heated up over the past few years, with a number of different services releasing new movie content. Netflix has been putting out originals at a dizzying pace, including a number of franchises. The Kissing Booth is one such property, with the young adult story coming to an end with Vince Marcello's The Kissing Booth 3. Reviews for this new streaming release have started rolling in, so how did critics respond to the threequel?
It seems to be a mixed back critically for The Kissing Booth 3, so it should be interesting to see how Netflix subscribers respond to the final installment of the trilogy. After all, the titles are usually massive popular. IndieWire's Kate Erbland called The Kissing Booth's finale "forgettable", and had issues with both the story and performances. As she put it,
The Kissing Booth could deliver a more adult, honest look at teenage lives, but it prefers to pull _way _back into chaste, wholly immature territory. When maturity does assert itself, it’s in all the wrong places. (Many of its supporting stars appear to be a decade past high school graduation.) And, while it’s somewhat refreshing that the series never attempts to pull Elle and Lee into romantic territory, even that choice is weak in its execution; King and Courtney exhibit far more chemistry than King and Elordi.
But not all of the reviews coming in for The Kissing Booth 3 have the same opinion. There were both middling and positive reviews for the sequel, and praise for the performance by leading actress Joey King. ScreenRant's Molly Freeman seems to enjoy the franchise as light fare, rating the threequel with 2/5 stars and saying:
Ultimately, The Kissing Booth 3 is a fine conclusion to Netflix's teen rom-com trilogy, continuing the over-the-top, if shallow fun of the previous films while attempting to move Elle's story forward. The film series has always trended toward shallow entertainment, overstuffing its films with silly ideas rather than drilling down and telling a good story, so it makes sense that The Kissing Booth 3 would continue that trend. There's nothing wrong with this kind of popcorn entertainment, but some may find it to be less than satisfying.
The critical response to The Kissing Booth 3 continues to be divisive, as seen in The AV Club's review by Caroline Siede. Siede criticized the third movie for not having enough stakes to really capture audience's attention. They also took aim at the franchise's case of characters, saying:
While the first film was about a budding forbidden romance and the second introduced some classic love-triangle elements, there’s no real hook to this final installment. Instead, it tries to anchor itself around the nuanced interpersonal conflicts of characters who’ve got all of the dimension of a piece of cardboard.
The lack of a hook in The Kissing Booth 3 was seemingly also addressed in the review by New York Times' Natalia Winkelman. They addressed the new installments' lack of excitement, while also acknowledging it is a fitting finale for the property. That review reads,
Like a scoop of vanilla ice cream atop scoops of chocolate and strawberry, The Kissing Booth 3 rounds out the sugary teen trilogy with a fitting, if bland, finale.
And as much criticism as The Kissing Booth 3 has taken during certain reviews, there was also a rave from The Young Folks' Chelsie Derman. That glowing review praised the messaging of the new Netflix movie, especially for those who have seen the previous two installments. As they put it,
Ultimately, these stories have been all about friendship, and that’s remained true until the very end. Life may not have turned out the way these characters expected, but it was enjoyable seeing Elle succeed in her future endeavors. What started off as a fun, youthful movie on Netflix turned into a touching, tear-inducing story. If you like heartfelt movies with a bunch of romance, The Kissing Booth 3 may be the perfect film for you.
Of course, audiences have been known for have their own response to movies, sometimes conflicting with critics. Luckily for fans, they'll be able to judge for themselves as The Kissing Booth 3 is already streaming on Netflix. In the meantime, check out the 2021 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
