Clerks III
Lionsgate | Release Date: September 13, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
50
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
8
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
ColliderRoss BonaimeSep 8, 2022
In Clerks III, Smith returns to where his career began and has made one of his best films in decades, a tender and compassionate look at friendships that last no matter what, a remembrance of where Smith came from, and an appreciation for all those who helped him along the way. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradySep 16, 2022
From the moment My Chemical Romance’s Welcome to the Black Parade blasts across the opening credits, this is the unexpectedly moving, nostalgia-soundtracked class reunion that you’ll enjoy despite yourself. Read full review
80
IGNMatt DonatoSep 9, 2022
Clerks III delivers all the inappropriate cuss-cluttered humor and pot smoke that is Kevin Smith's trademark but evolves his sentimentality beyond bong-rip wisdom. The third Clerks installment is a moving ode to working-class nobodies that amplifies Smith's touchstone sincerity above Randal's not-so-passive aggression or Jay's lit-for-days attitude. Read full review
80
SlashfilmDanielle RyanSep 8, 2022
Clerks III is the director at his most mature and emotionally resonant. Read full review
79
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiSep 8, 2022
Clerks III is serious to a minor fault and breezy to a minor fault. It’s got all the same laid-back, chill vibes cinema that Smith is well-known for, and the same immature approach to genuine maturity that he’s also known for, with a new sense of emotional severity that makes it harder to laugh than it probably should be. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 12, 2022
Clerks III is a darkly funny, bittersweet curtain call for some undeniably enduring characters we first met back in 1994 when Smith famously turned an investment of $27,575 into a black-and-white indie breakthrough hit and then revisited in the 2006 sequel. Read full review
75
The Film StageJohn FinkSep 12, 2022
Despite a third act that rushes what could have been a deeply profound conclusion, Clerks III is one for Smith’s loyal fellowship. He returns to the well with a mix of sharp, geeky humor and affecting life lessons—an outing that feels refreshingly old-school. Read full review
70
VarietyAndrew BarkerSep 8, 2022
Is this all wildly self-indulgent? A bit. Does it feel like the product of a filmmaker with plenty of fresh ideas? Not really. Has Smith lost his fastball as a writer? You could certainly make that case, and the screenplay’s attempts to recapture some of the rapid-fire pop culture references and x-rated musings of the director’s heyday often land painfully wide of the mark. But there’s something strangely poignant about it all the same. Read full review
67
The PlaylistCharles BarfieldSep 9, 2022
While it’s not a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination, “Clerks III” is an achievement for Smith and definitive proof that the filmmaker is maturing. Read full review
67
IndieWireChristian ZilkoSep 8, 2022
His new sequel contains as much blatant fan service as you might expect, and some of it is probably even worse than what you’re imagining, but the film eventually finds its footing by making (and committing to) some legitimately bold choices. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comNick AllenSep 14, 2022
With Clerks III, nostalgia is its own convenience for Smith. It’s cheap and fleeting, but it is comforting. Read full review
60
The GuardianLeslie FelperinSep 15, 2022
Like the junk food that the central characters sell in their convenience store, it’s a strangely moreish brew that you enjoy but feel faintly guilty about consuming, like nachos with cheese-flavoured sauce or a blue slushy ice drink. Read full review
60
Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganSep 13, 2022
Clerks III is far from a perfect film. Absolutely drenched in masturbatory nostalgia and teeming with timely Marvel references, it milks the last drop of creative potential these nearly 30-year-old characters are capable of providing. Yet, somehow, these marked setbacks don’t completely bog the film down. Read full review
60
EmpireBen TravisSep 8, 2022
It’s comedically uneven and overly distracted by side-characters, but when Clerks III gets to the heart of Dante and Randal’s decades-long friendship it’s enough to assure you that Kevin Smith is still open for business. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowrySep 13, 2022
Grappling with middle age, Clerks III turns out to be unexpectedly sentimental and nostalgic, reflecting that writer-director-editor-co-star Kevin Smith inherently recognizes this will likely be the gang’s final visit to Quick Stop Groceries. If so, it’s an uneven if gentle way to hang out the “We’re closed” sign. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 12, 2022
Smith has infused this final chapter of the accidental trilogy with an odd tone. It’s a comedy that wants to be serious but has trouble finding the right pitch. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleSep 14, 2022
More of a recognition reel for a fan convention than a movie, it signals a career that’s traveled far from its first evocation of a raw seriocomic intelligence about small-to-bursting lives. Now, it’s a closed loop only for die-hards. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerSep 8, 2022
Smith is still a long way from being a great filmmaker, but he's an earnest one. And Clerks III, flawed as it is, is his heartfelt farewell to the Quick Stop. Read full review
40
The New York TimesGlenn KennySep 8, 2022
Three words characterize the first third or so of the picture: not funny enough. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 9, 2022
Smith folds mortality, grief and regret into the story to give it depth, but the strain of being glib about those elements shows. Scene after scene plays out without so much as a chuckle. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubCourtney HowardSep 12, 2022
Ultimately, the absence of any meaningful sentiment about grief or personal growth (or anything else) makes the story’s maddening, rote familiarity feel especially lazy—which is why Clerks III lives up to the legacy of its uninspired characters in all of the wrong ways. Read full review
30
We Got This CoveredMatthew PejkovicSep 20, 2022
Keeping in mind that the mantra of Clerks III is to live your life with the knowledge that it is precious, don’t waste it watching Clerks III. Read full review
25
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanSep 8, 2022
Clerks III is a movie for die-hard fans and die-hards only. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleSep 8, 2022
The banter, often Smith’s strong suit, is witless and tiresome, mostly obsessive conversations about minor characters in “Star Wars” and other aspects of pop culture. It’s probably not Smith’s intention, but we end up feeling sorry for the characters, that they inhabit such a tiny mental landscape. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineJake ColeSep 5, 2022
Kevin Smith toys with death in Clerks III as a shortcut to bring emotion to a film that otherwise has no meaningful hook. Read full review
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