Twenty-five years after the original Super Troopers became a cult comedy phenomenon, and eight years after its 2018 sequel brought the Vermont highway patrolmen back for one more round, Broken Lizard returns with Super Troopers 3. Directed by Jay Chandrasekhar and written collectively by the troupe—Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske—the film opens in theatres on August 7 through Searchlight Pictures. The critical response is largely negative, though a handful of more sympathetic reviews exist. The consensus is simple: if you are already a devoted fan of the franchise, there is just enough here to satisfy. If you are not, there is almost nothing that will convert you.
The story begins when Thorny, played by Jay Chandrasekhar, discovers that his fellow trooper Farva—played by Kevin Heffernan, described across multiple reviews as “probably the worst human being alive”—has become engaged to Thorny’s sister, Sarita, played by Hannah Simone, after only two months of dating. Determined to stop the wedding, Thorny launches a campaign to sabotage the relationship while the rest of the team investigates a string of vandalised maple syrup trucks and the emergence of a new illegal narcotic known as Canadian Crystal. The two storylines eventually converge in a finale that most critics found more dutiful than satisfying.
The Hollywood Reporter delivers the harshest assessment among the major publications, bluntly describing the original 2001 film as “awful” and dismissing this third instalment as another moronic comedy that will only appeal to a very specific audience. While acknowledging that the franchise clearly has loyal fans, the review makes no attempt to disguise that it is not among them.
William Bibbiani of TheWrap offers a more reflective criticism. He describes Super Troopers 3 as feeling less like a sequel audiences genuinely needed and more like an unexpected wellness check on characters who have simply continued existing. Bibbiani notes that the troopers are still here, still alive and mostly doing fine, but suggests that critics—and perhaps cinema itself—have largely moved on. His closing recommendation is particularly cutting: rather than making another sequel, perhaps Broken Lizard should simply send audiences a postcard in another ten years. A brief one.
Variety reaches a similar conclusion, arguing that Super Troopers 3 is a film designed almost exclusively for the franchise’s most loyal followers. Without the underdog energy that helped make the 2018 sequel feel like a triumphant reunion, this instalment instead resembles routine franchise maintenance. Even some longtime fans, the review suggests, may struggle to muster much enthusiasm.
IndieWire is equally direct, describing the film as an otherwise painful watch sustained only by the strange sense of obligation that keeps Broken Lizard’s most devoted audience returning. Metacritic’s critical overview neatly summarises the broader consensus, observing that while the original film paired a delightfully silly premise with just enough story to support its barrage of absurd jokes, Super Troopers 3 reverses that formula. This time there is too much plot and not nearly enough comedy.
Although the overall response is largely negative, a small group of critics found enough laughs to justify the sequel’s existence. Flickering Myth awarded the film three out of five stars, arguing that Broken Lizard still understands how to construct absurd situational comedy while successfully navigating a comedy landscape that has become considerably more politically conscious than it was in 2001. While acknowledging that several jokes overstay their welcome, the review concludes that Super Troopers 3 still delivers laughs more often than not. The A.V. Club arrived at a similarly measured conclusion, describing the film as somewhere between classic farce and its mustier equivalent. While stopping well short of a recommendation, the review praised Broken Lizard’s enduring affability and occasional flashes of cleverness, suggesting longtime fans will still enjoy spending more time with these characters.
Almost every review singled out the same sequence as the film’s comedic high point. Farva, despite being severely allergic to shellfish, stubbornly insists on eating an entire lobster. Before doing so, he distributes EpiPens to everyone around him in preparation for the inevitable reaction. When it finally arrives, however, he inexplicably fights off anyone attempting to help him, rampaging around the room like The Incredible Hulk while descending into anaphylactic shock. Critics consistently described the sequence as bizarre, memorable and genuinely funny. Yet TheWrap used that very scene to illustrate the film’s biggest structural weakness. Its funniest moment has almost nothing to do with the central story and could have appeared in any of the three Super Troopers films without changing anything. Rather than advancing the narrative, it functions as a self-contained comedy sketch, reinforcing the broader criticism that the film struggles to weave its strongest jokes into a satisfying story.
Variety highlighted another recurring gag involving an Indian clothing store called Turban Outfitters, noting that the joke works initially before being repeated several times, at which point it quickly loses its impact. That observation reflects another recurring criticism across reviews: many of the film’s better comic ideas are stretched well beyond their natural lifespan.
Brian Cox also returns as Captain O’Hagan, the perpetually exasperated superior who was famously described as “grossly overqualified” in the original film. Twenty-five years later, that description carries an unexpectedly bittersweet quality. TheWrap observes that O’Hagan is now retired with little to occupy his time beyond lingering around the station, giving the character an air of melancholy that quietly mirrors the franchise itself. The supporting cast also includes Chace Crawford, Nat Faxon, Hannah Simone, Iqbal Theba, Sakina Jaffrey, Jon Rudnitsky, Lisa Gilroy and Lynda Carter. While critics generally agree that the ensemble remains fully committed, most conclude that nostalgia alone cannot compensate for a screenplay that rarely discovers fresh comic momentum.
Super Troopers 3 is a film that knows exactly who it is making itself for and makes no attempt to broaden that audience. That clarity is both its greatest strength and its greatest limitation. Broken Lizard has never tried to chase mainstream approval, and this sequel remains firmly committed to the troupe’s peculiar brand of juvenile, absurdist humour. For the loyal cult audience that has followed the franchise for a quarter of a century, there are enough familiar faces, scattered laughs and affectionate callbacks to justify another ride with Vermont’s most unconventional highway patrol officers. For everyone else, however, the critical consensus is considerably less enthusiastic. Most reviewers argue that the sequel leans too heavily on nostalgia while offering too few memorable new ideas to stand alongside the original. Ultimately, Super Troopers 3 feels less like a triumphant return than a reunion made primarily for the people who never really left. As this Super Troopers 3 Review Roundup makes clear, critics agree that the moustaches ride again—and for many viewers, once was still enough.
Watch the trailer of Super Troopers 3
Film Details: Super Troopers 3
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Writers: Broken Lizard (Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske)
Cast: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Brian Cox, Hannah Simone, Chace Crawford, Nat Faxon, Marisa Coughlan, Lynda Carter
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R
Running Time: 101 minutes
Studio: Searchlight Pictures
Country: United States
Release Date: 7 August 2026
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