Super Troopers 3 (2026)

​“Super Troopers 3” stars Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme, Erik Stolhanske, Hannah Simone, Nat Faxon, Chace Crawford, and Brian Cox.  Released on August 7, 2026, the film has the Super Troopers stopping a drug ring before the upcoming wedding.

The film was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, who also directed films such as “Puddle Cruiser”, “Club Dread”, “The Dukes of Hazzard”, and “Easter Sunday”.  It is the third installment in the Super Troopers film series.  The State Police is usually known for going far and beyond to defend a state they’ve sworn to protect.  But when it comes to these troopers, the lawbreakers aren’t the only ones the state needs protecting from.  Broken Lizard started as a comedy troupe that performed in various stage sketches, clubs, and college campuses, delivering various physical comedy and gross-out humor to their audiences.  However, thanks to the success of their first wide-release film, “Super Troopers”, Jay and his crew became the cinematic comedy team that put themselves on the Hollywood map.  While they were also responsible for movies that express their adultery shenanigans, “Super Troopers” was the one that truly defined their brand of humor.  Despite its mixed reviews, the comedy involving the obnoxiously silly team of state troopers became a cult hit for its absurd humor and the cast’s chemistry, resulting in a long-awaited sequel more than a decade later.  Eight years after their return to the big screen, the incompetent troopers have returned once more to conclude the trilogy with even more ways to make their jobs more “interesting”.  Does it offer enough silliness to warrant their return, or should audiences prefer to fire them on the spot?  Let’s find out right meow.

The story once again centers on the Vermont State Patrol, led by Senior Trooper Arcot “Thorny” Ramathorn (Chandrasekhar), who continues to pull practical pranks on the citizens and even each other.  The troopers are then called upon for a special assignment: a special Indian wedding between radio operator Rodney Farva (Heffernan) and Sarita Makundan (Simone), Thorny’s sister.  However, Thorny isn’t too pleased with this proposal, resulting in him coming up with various schemes to break up the relationship.  When a pernicious new drug ring enters the equation, Thorny and the rest of the troopers must crack the case and save the wedding.

I hadn’t gotten into the “Super Troopers” trend until around the time “Super Troopers 2” was released.  While I admired the first film for its stupidly enjoyable charm and cast, the sequel was a surprisingly huge downgrade from a comical and storytelling perspective.  For those who haven’t read my “Super Troopers 2” review, it’s basically a retread of what made its predecessor work back in 2001, such as the cast’s chemistry and low-brow humor, but without the charm.  Then again, it had been a while since I last saw “Super Troopers 2” in the theater, and I wasn’t exactly big on Broken Lizard’s brand of humor.  So while I was extremely cautious about its supposed final chapter of the trilogy, I was also hopeful that “Super Troopers 3” would improve on its story while retaining the elements from its predecessors.  Fortunately, it was able to accomplish just that, which should make fans of its predecessors happy.  Sadly, that doesn’t mean the film should be pardoned for how crude and unfunny it is.

On the bright side, the film did try to do something different with its premise outside of the characters’ usual mockery and dumb shenanigans.  “Super Troopers 2” took a hard nose dive from the first film by becoming its replica, but with the rivalry between the U.S. and Canada and not as funny.  Thankfully, Chandrasekhar and his Broken Lizard team took that criticism to heart while making “Super Troopers 3”.  It not only continues where the previous movie left off, with the Vermont State Police residing within the border of Canada, but it also provides a narrative that’s seemingly worthy of the characters’ “growth”.  Instead of facing off against another police force, “Super Troopers 3” focuses more on Thorny’s concern about his sister’s future with Farva.  If you’ve watched its predecessors, then you’ll know what kind of person Farva is.  If not, then long story short, he’s a distasteful butthole.  That alone is why I thought “Super Troopers 3” is slightly better than the second film, as it provided the opportunity to actually develop some of the troopers instead of going through the same routine as last time.

Granted, they do pull some dirty pranks amid their latest drug case, such as mocking people’s phrasing as “sexual".  Besides that, it’s basically “Meet the Parents” with Indian culture.  While it’s a meaningful gesture to those who aren’t fans of the second installment, the story’s execution is anything but.  Instead of taking advantage of Thorny’s growth towards Farva, “Super Troopers 3” stuck to the usual narrative pattern that made the first film popular: a series of low-brow gags involving sex, drugs, and stereotypes that carry the plot on its shoulders.  While they may have been excusable back in 2001, it further proves that these types of jokes don’t have as much impact as they did two decades ago, mainly because people’s perspectives on this type of humor have changed since then.  They’re not only tedious with their barrage of stereotypical humor and Farva’s annoying behavior, but they also failed to strike a funny bone in me.  There were a couple of moments that were a tad amusing, but they’re sadly not enough to overcome its grossness and weak slapstick.  Add in the on-the-nose cliches, iffy editing, and underdeveloped characters, and you get yet another mediocre round of dumb, scattershot shenanigans performed by the most witless police force on the planet.

If that’s exactly what Jay Chandrasekhar attempted to deliver in his direction, then consider that task accomplished.  Chandrasekhar continues to understand that “Super Troopers” isn’t a comedy masterpiece, yet proceeds to have fun with its idiotic concept anyway.  His blend of raunchy humor and heart is obviously more on the former side, but his passion for the idea still thrives, ensuring that his audience is willing to accept this crazy ride-along.  Regardless of the quality, it’s hard to ignore how much fun he and his Broken Lizard gang had in making the film, which is mainly the reason for my tolerance towards it and “Super Troopers 2”.  Sure, the jokes don’t land as much as they wanted them to, but the Broken Lizard cast compensates for them through their crude charisma and chemistry, even if the characters are incapable of doing their duties.  It’s one of those instances where I may not be a huge fan of a celebrity’s work, especially when it comes to comedy, but I do admire them for entertaining those who do.  I don’t watch a lot of Broken Lizard content, save for “Super Troopers”, but I can’t fault them for doing what they love, despite the execution falling flat in its story and humor.

Overall, “Super Troopers 3” fought the cinematic law and easily lost without a shred of dignity, resulting in another mediocre and tasteless sequel to the troopers’ first big-screen patrol.  It does mark a minor improvement over the second installment regarding its narrative, favoring a silly “Meet the Parents” scenario over another feud with a different police force.  Unfortunately, this minor compliment isn’t enough to pardon it from its most heinous crime imaginable: being an unfunny, by-the-numbers, and repetitively tasteless comedy.  The Broken Lizard crew once again delivered enough charm in their crudeness to make its trope-heavy premise slightly tolerable, emphasis on the “slight”.  Other than that, this latest cinematic duty offers exactly what you would expect from a “Super Troopers” film, for better or worse.  However, from my perspective, it careens heavily on the latter.  It’ll likely entertain those familiar with the comedy troupe’s adult brand of humor, but for everyone else, it’s not worth seeking out right meow, in the theater or otherwise.

D