Judge Reinhold takes up the lead quite literally in a film that isn't half as bad as others have made out.

It's very silly, it doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, but it is decent enough entertainment.

I really enjoyed the first film, and while the second had its faults that was pretty good as well. Along with the fourth film, which is little more than a mediocre canine rehash on the classic Prince and the Pauper tale, this is one of the weaker films of the franchise. The soundtrack is great and Beethoven himself is fun and huggable, but everything else doesn't work. Judge Reinhold takes over from Charles Grodin, and while I have nothing personal against Reinhold, he overcompensates by acting almost every scene like it is an amateur dramatics pantomime. Julia Sweeney looks really lovely as his wife but she is underused and looks embarrassed. I am not surprised that the acting was sub par for they are very ill used with a badly underwritten script, very amateurish camera work and a very formulaic plot. I know the plot wasn't necessarily a strong point in the first Beethoven film, but at least that film had charm and fun. The pacing is also uneven, and as the increasingly silly and unfunny antics wore on I found myself bored and caring less for the characters, especially those rather clownish villains. Not to mention a flat climax that felt rushed and abrupt. Overall, disappointing and mediocre. 3/10 Bethany Cox

I'm at a loss to understand the hate directed at Beethoven's 3rd. The previous editions weren't exactly Citizen Kane this one keeps to the same standard, it's not so much horribly worse. In fact I found it entertaining.

A different set of Newtons have temporary custody of the ungainly St.Bernard. Judge Reinhold has taken Beethoven from his brother and he plans to attend the Newton family reunion in Southern California. What would be better than a nice trip in a motor home but of course Beethoven would have to be kenneled. Beethoven has other ideas.

The film follows closely along National Lampoon's Vacation with a whole lot of the same kind of situations. Poor Reinhold figures to relive the memory of a trip he took with his parents and he really does.

What the parents didn't have is a couple of hackers on their trail doing a little espionage. Michael Ciccolini and Jamie Marsh are trying to retrieve a disc they put into a case at a Blockbuster like store that contains some secret codes. A movie no one was supposed to rent, but the Newtons did rent. These two are the funniest thing in the film.

With the presence of video rental stores, the film has already dated itself. Good while they lasted, I know someone who lost considerable money in a mom and pop like operation of one. He lost out to Blockbuster and now Blockbuster is pretty well gone as well.

Nothing that horrible about Beethoven's 3rd as opposed to its predecessors.