Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 is less a sequel than a victory lap for Jackie Gleason, who turns Buford T. Justice into a one-man parade of bluster, bruised pride, and strangely endearing determination. The movie runs on pure road-movie momentum—sunbaked highways, escalating stunts, and broad, good-old-boy slapstick—built around the delightfully ridiculous idea of a cross-country run involving a giant shark statue and a “Bandit” who isn’t quite who you expect. It’s loud, silly, and cheerfully chaotic, the kind of comedy that doesn’t aim for realism so much as it aims for the next crash, the next insult, the next impossible getaway. If you’re looking for the sleek cool of the original, this one may feel shaggy and offbeat, but if you want a breezy, low-stakes chase picture with Gleason in full comic overdrive, it’s an easy ride to enjoy.

Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 is clearly trying to recapture the franchise’s rowdy, road-trip chaos by flipping the formula and letting Buford T. Justice drive the “big run,” with Jackie Gleason doing his best to keep the engine running through sheer personality. The problem is it plays less like a clever chase comedy and more like a string of random stunts and crude gags stapled together, with thin motivation, clunky dialogue, and a general feeling that the movie is coasting on the name. If you’re coming for the swagger and spark of the original (or even a coherent escalation of the series’ best bits), this one can feel like a tired encore that mistakes noise for fun. But if you’re an easy laugh who just wants low-stakes car-crash slapstick and can enjoy Gleason hamming it up without asking for much else, you might still find it tolerable as background comfort viewing.