Review - Free Willy 3: The Rescue (1997)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Free Willy 3: The Rescue, directed by Sam Pillsbury, is the third film in the Free Willy film series, and sees the returns of both Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg, who are joined in this movie by Annie Corley, Patrick Kilpatrick, Peter LaCroix, Matthew Walker, and Vincent Berry. 

       So, this movie sees a sixteen year old Jesse joining an orca research team that includes his longtime friend and mentor Randolph, a long with his new research partner Drew Halbert. And, it's in a conversation between Jesse and Randolph that the only reason Jesse was allowed to go was because Randolph made a promise to Glen and Annie to keep Jesse out of trouble. On the research boat, the Noah, the team is looking to solve the mystery behind a growing decline in the orca population. 

     It turns out that the reason that behind the population decline among the orcas is due to a crew of whalers aboard a boat called the Botany Bay, who are hunting the orcas for their meat, which gets sold on a Japanese underground market. The captain of the Botany Bay, a man named John Wesley, is a generational whaler, having learned the trade from his father and grandfather, and hopes to pass on the trade to his son, Max, by taking him on a whaling expedition. And, unfortunately, the Botany Bay runs into J Pod, and Willy, who Max has a close encounter with after accidentally falling overboard, ends up with a spear in his tail. Ouch. 

      Back on the Noah, Jesse records the sound of his harmonica into a computer to create a repeating audio relay at a frequency Willy can hear, drawing him to the Noah. Unfortunately, while Willy hears the signal and makes his way to Jesse and the crew of the Noah, the Botany Bay crew also picks up the signal and can't make heads or tails of it. Jesse and Randolph take a small boat out to get closer to Willy, with Jesse removing the spear from his tail and placing a tracking tag in his dorsal. And, it's here where Randolph introduces Jesse to a new orca in this movie, Nicky, who turns out to be Willy's mate and is pregnant with his calf. 

       Following the signal from the tag, Jesse, Randolph, and Drew spot the Botany Bay,.who are able to quickly put away their harpoon gun before they get caught. But, Willy's behavior tells Jesse everything he needs to know: Willy and the other J Pod orcas are being hunted, and the Botany Bay is responsible. Unfortunately, Captain Drake, who runs the Noah, is reluctant to call the authorities against the Botany Bay, as the boat is technically registered for salmon fishing, and he requires proof of illegal whaling. At the same time, John and his crew are forced to dock to get parts to relay Jesse's signal, which they have recorded, to lure the orcas to them. 

        It's when both boats are docked where Jesse meets Max, and offers him a chance to meet Willy and the other orcas properly. And, it's this experience that causes Max to question whether his father is wrong for his choice of career. Jesse meanwhile, sneaks aboard the Botany Bay and finds more spears identical to the one he pulled from Willy's tail. To distract the Botany Bay crew and buy time for Jesse, Randolph makes a drunken fool of himself, and starts a bar fight with John and his men. After the Botany Bay departs, Jesse showed the two matching spears to Captain Drake, who agrees to call the authorities in the morning. 

      Knowing that   it'll be too late by the time the authorities are called, Jesse and Randolph decide to take the Noah and try to stop the Botany Bay themselves. Drew, who is keeping her own promise to keep Randolph out of trouble, goes with them. The next morning, both boats are caught in a fog, Willy and J Pod are drawn into the Botany Bay's trap, but Max forces them to turn around to perform a "man overboard," thus buying time for the Noah and keeping the orcas safe. Drew reaches out to the Botany Bay to warn them off from harming the orcas, but they respond with a warning to keep clear due to the fog. Jesse then calls the coastal marine patrol about a collision, and the Noah collides with the Botany Bay, causing John to miss and fall overboard. Jesse and Max are able to convince Willy to spare John, and Willy even saves John from drowning. The coastal marine patrol arrives, catching John and his men in the act of illegal whaling. John apologizes to Max, and questions what he can do going forward, as whaling is all he's known. But, Max reassures John that there's always something better out there. 

      Some time later, and Jesse, Randolph, Drew, and Max head out to witness a miracle: the birth of Willy and Nicky's calf, whom they decide to name after Max. 

     So, for what was intended to be the concluding chapter of the Free Willy series, this movie was pretty decent. Both Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg are, once again, on point with their performances as Jesse and Randolph. Annie Corley as Drew was certainly a great new addition, feeling like both a mentor figure and a maternal figure for Jesse in this movie. Vincent Berry as Max was also a decent new addition, coming off less irritating than Francis Capra's Elvis from Free Willy 2, and having a genuine interest in the orcas beyond just what his father sees. And, on that subject, Patrick Kilpatrick as John Wesley was a very different kind of antagonist, in that he has a very specific goal: hunting orcas. But, unlike past Free Willy antagonists like Dial or Milner, John gets a more hopeful ending, as he is given a chance to be better in the future. 

     The locations in this movie eis easily a highlight, as the movie was filmed predominantly in British Columbia. Now, while the San Juan Islands were a terrific location for the previous film, the shots of the landscapes while both the Botany Bay and the Noah are out on the water look incredible. And, unlike previous Free Willy movies which were fairly land-based, it's refreshing to have a Free Willy movie out on the water for a majority of the movie. 

     All in all, while I still contend that Free Willy 2 is my overall favorite of the series, I still think that Free Willy 3 is a decent movie in its own right. It has things I enjoy about it, some less than memorable supporting characters, and was a thoroughly entertaining family adventure film that still holds up to this day. 

        Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you in the next review.