"Free Willy 3: The Rescue" is a step up from "Free Willy 2," although that really isn't saying a whole lot. But before it falls into the obvious, cliche-ridden plot traps, this third film in the series comes up with some interesting ideas. Too bad it doesn't follow through on them.
Jason James Richter, as teenage Jesse, and August Schellenberg, as his mentor Randolph, reprise their roles again, this time with Jesse joining Randolph on a ship in the Pacific Northwest that is monitoring Orcas because some are mysteriously disappearing.
The film spends half its time with this story and the other half following a 10-year-old boy named Max (Vincent Berry), a video-game wizard. He's about to venture forth for the first time with his father (Patrick Kilpatrick), a commercial salmon fisherman. But it turns out that Dad is actually in charge of a crew of whalers who are illegally selling whale meat to other countries on the black market.
Taking out dozens of fictional bad guys on a video screen is one thing, but Max becomes quite disturbed when he sees his father killing whales in the open sea.
Eventually, Jesse and Max will come together and try to resolve the problem, though it isn't easy for Max, since his father could lose his boat and receive a huge fine. And the resolution is predictably pat.
But at least there's a stab at a serious, complex plot, further complicated by the presence of Max's mother, who goes along with her husband's ill-advised dealings. (A young boy with two parents! There's a novel idea.)
Kids may complain about how sluggish it gets in the final third, until the climax kicks in and things get moving again. But they'll enjoy seeing teenage Jesse riding on Willy's back again, and sharing his love for whales with young Max. (There's no mention of Jesse's half-brother or Randolph's teenage niece this time around, though the second film was built around them.)
And at the end, there's the birth of Willy Jr., suggesting another film is in the offing: "Free Willy 4: The Next Generation."
"Free Willy 3: The Rescue" is rated PG for violence and a couple of mildly vulgar remarks.