In the “best summer of their lives”, spent at the Flynn’s huge beach house/mansion, Elle and Lee want to tick off all the items on their childhood beach bucket list. Cue to a real-life Mario Kart race including authentic-looking costumes, a flash mob in a fancy restaurant, winning a sandcastle contest, and singing karaoke after inhaling helium. Despite these fun montages full of great potential, the film constantly repeats similar patterns as seen in the first two movies. For example, Elle deciding to go with whatever Noah wants, making Lee angrily storm off, or having Noah be jealous yet again. Elle and Lee sometimes seem to have a bit of a toxic friendship, as Lee never considers what is actually best for Elle, but just for himself – to keep his best friend by his side. The relationship between Elle and Noah appears to have similar problems, as they both have trouble properly communicating with each other. 
For me, the “best” part of the film was when Elle finally sits back and reflects on what is the best choice for her. Without the influence of either Noah or Lee, she realises she has a passion for video game design – something that is foreshadowed throughout the franchise – and wants to pursue it in life. The film ends on a cute, hopeful note that leaves room for interpretation, but thankfully – or rather, hopefully – not enough for another film.
Overall, the film was at least 30 minutes too long, with a few too many of the same-old Elle-Noah-Lee-conflicts. As much as I enjoyed the first two cheesy instalments of the franchise, I am disappointed how little I ended up liking the main trio after the credits of the final film rolled around. If you followed Elle’s journey over the first two films, you should definitely sit through this one to get closure on her story, but be prepared for its extreme cheesiness and absurdity in comparison to the previous films.
2/5 stars