We had high hopes for “Home Alone 3” (PG). After all, there’s a lot to love about a movie in which the kid hero is smart, brave and resourceful and the grownups are clueless at best and downright evil at worst. And actor Alex D. Linz, 8, who plays the starring role of Alex, is adorable without being cutesy-pie annoying. But by the movie’s end, after watching each of the four villains get maimed in countless ways, we had a pounding headache. Jeez, how many different ways can a person get pummeled?
The movie’s plot is pretty basic: Alex unknowingly has a computer chip that the villains need to get their hands on. So they go after him when he’s… you got it… home alone. He knows they’re after him, but no adults will believe his story. No prob! He’s like a zillion times smarter than the villains- even his pet mouse and parrot are smarter- and by the time they attack, Alex has the house wired. So sit back and watch how many ways, and with how many different gadgets, he’ll make the bad guys pay! (Think trampoline, glue, electric wires, marbles, oil and firecrackers and you’ll get the point.)
Alex has real star potential: He has a cute, throaty voice, he makes great funny faces, and when he looks scared you’ll want to scoop him up and hug him close. But he deserves better than “Home Alone 3.” Shoot, even those dastardly villains deserve better!