★★★
It's summer in Hawkins 1985, with the gang now spending their days at the new Starcourt mall but there are new evils lurking in the darkest corners. With coded Soviet messages, rabid rats, and magnets falling from fridges leading to clues of the greater threats, can the gang navigate through adolescence, romance and ever growing danger to save themselves and Hawkins once more?
Episodes: 8 Classification: 15 Channel: Netflix
While the third season of Stranger Things continues to deliver some of television's most loveable characters and exciting moments, it is hard not to notice the certain repetition in storylines and character dynamics from seasons previous. The show made a name for itself through its endearing use of 1980's nostalgia to build its immersive setting but now it seems the Duffer Brothers are now using nostalgia from the last two seasons to create this season's most thrilling moments rather than do something wholly original. Even with this hurdle the majority of season 3 is still very enjoyable with genuine terror threatening our favourite characters and a bombastic finale that forever changes the status quo of the entire show.
Performance wise there isn't a single fault in the main cast as both the adults and teenagers bring their A-game with David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Joe Keery, and Natalia Dyer delivering some of their best character work yet. Brown especially whose refocused narrative on her own character's independence has her taking a more prominent leadership position as her psychic powers are pushed to the limits. The intensity from these moments really show how terrific all of these young actors are in this show as Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schapp, Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin face these dangers together with tenacity and bravery but never undermining the serious nature of the monstrous threats. The new additions to the cast mainly Maya Hawke and Priah Ferguson form probably the most entertaining subplot with Keery's Steve and Gaten Matarazzo's Dustin as the foursome attempt to discover the secrets of Starcourt mall.
Hawke's character of Robin brings a fine mix of snark and vulnerability continuing Stranger Things fine tradition of incredible characters and her performance delivers some of the season's most impassioned and vibrant moments. Her chemistry with Keery furthers the character arc of Steve to great new places but also the Duffer Brothers make sure that her own development as a character takes centre stage as well. Its her interactions with Keery, Matarazzo and Ferguson that offers season 3 of Stranger Things its most unique grouping compared to the past as the rest of the storylines revolve around familiar pairings and interactions. The most disappointing element of the new characters solely belongs to the new Soviet era Russian "villains" whose hackneyed nature makes them seem like such a red herring that when nothing surprising or unique occurs with their storyline it sours the overall enjoyment of the season. Andrey Ivchenko as the show's homage to the Terminator was fun at first giving a physical threat to Harbour's Chief Hopper but then you begin to expect a Terminator 2-esqe twist that will redefine this entire subplot but it never comes.
With the show's famous eighties setting the inclusion of the Soviet Union into the main storyline was inevitable especially with secret government labs, Americana and cold war paranoia being elements woven into the storyline. "Evil Ruskies" have always lurked in the shows DNA especially with the children's initial suspicions of Eleven's origins but for a show that fleshes out and defines its characters, with the exception of one the Russians are a stereotypical disappointment. After the previous two seasons efforts to expand upon the American foes and scientists including Dr. Brenner and Dr. Owens and even this season's Billy played by Dacre Montgomery to see most of these characters be reduced in this nature is frustrating for a show that expanded their characters beyond expectation. Their Russian storyline also feeds into the season's weakness of repetition as the USSR's goal of investigating the Upside Down and opening the gate harkens back to first two seasons without an original spin on the material. Its almost like Stranger Things just wants to indulge in some classic eighties schlock rather than explore storylines it has teased and setup in the previous season. Having the central conflicts revolve around once again The Upside Down, The Mind Flayer and secret government labs in almost the same fashion as the last two seasons seems ridiculous especially when season 2 spent a significant portion of its runtime committed to Eleven's past, the fate of the other experiments, the apparent survival of Dr. Brenner and none of this addressed in any storyline of season 3.
It can get repetitive and that doesn't necessarily mean its bad as the majority of the season is still entertaining and still delivers series defining moments that should please fans around the world. The romantic subplots between Mike and Eleven, Nancy and Jonathan and even Hopper and Joyce really allows the humanity of the characters to shine and show that emotional growth continues to be one of the series strong suits. The child's cast continuing adolescence forms for an interesting thematic opportunity in the early episodes especially with Will Byers who feels overlooked because of Mike and Lucas's focus on their romantic relationships with Eleven and Max rather than their childhood traditions. The familiar settings also help deliver some of the seasons biggest shocks as the iconic revisits to well known Stranger Things lore give the Duffer Brothers a chance to go against the grain, with one of the most visually striking scenes being Eleven's return to the void to learn more about the season's lead villain.
The appeal of Stranger Things comes not from nostalgia but from its sense of adventure, that extraordinary may be hidden within the ordinary. The cross generational characters allow all audiences to empathise and project themselves as they see fit, from Hopper's rough loveable demeanour, Nancy's no nonsense spirit to Dustin's nerdy enthusiasm. Stranger Things has something for everyone, that has always been the case and season 3 is no different but those elements that made the experience of the show so unique just seem to be imitated rather than evolving. However The Duffers do deliver a finale conclusion of such emotional weight that the next instalment of this series has the potential to be the most unique yet and season 3 delivers enough character development to make the whole journey worth it.
Creator: #MattDuffer and #RossDuffer
Cast: #WinonaRyder, #DavidHarbour, #FinnWolfhard, #MillieBobbyBrown, #GatenMatarazzo, #CalebMcLaughlin, #NataliaDyer, #CharlieHeaton, #NoahSchapp, #SadieSink, #JoeKeery, #DacreMontgomery, #MayaHawke, #PriahFerguson, #CaraBuono
Release Date: July 4th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images from the Internet Movie Database
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