Free Willy 3: The Rescue LINK
As the film opens Jesse (Jason James Richter) has signed on for the summer as an intern aboard a whale study vessel whose crew includes Randolph (August Schellenberg), his wise old friend from the earlier movies, and the oceanographer Drew (Annie Corley). Jesse rigs the onboard sound system to play a harmonica tune he knows will attract Willy, who is now free, gamboling in the waves of the Pacific Northwest, and about to become a father.
Free Willy 3: The Rescue
Meanwhile, the research vessel is tagging Orca whales with little suction cup devices that I, for one, doubt would last five minutes before being torn off by water pressure. The evil whalers have nabbed Jesse's signal and are using it to lure Willy to his doom. And Max falls overboard and in a magical moment finds himself eyeball-to-eyeball with Willy, who saves him (although this is not the "rescue'' of the title).
There was publicity after the first movie revealing that the Orca used in the film had later been transferred to an aquarium and was anything but free. This film ends with a phone number offering more information on that and other whales. And the movie itself is more realistic and serious; the whales here are inspirations for kids, instead of pets. Will there be a "Free Willy 4?'' Perhaps; Max has some growing up to do. What's interesting is that the series has grown up, too.
Jesse manages to sneak on board the Botany Bay to steal a sample of the spears that are used to shoot the whales and discovers that the whalers are heading back out to go after Willy and his pod, using an audio recording of a song which Jesse plays on his harmonica as a lure for Willy, who won't realize that it's not Jesse until it's too late. Drake plans to call for help the next day, but knowing it will be too late then, Jesse, Randolph and one of their fellow researchers, Drew, steal the Noah research boat from her mooring and go after the whalers themselves. John is angry because he learns that his son isn't on his side and believes that Max tried to sabotage the engine (Jesse had actually been the one who did this), but it doesn't stop him. Max jumps into the water, forcing the whalers to pause their pursuit of the whales to perform a "man overboard" rescue for Max, which gave Jesse, Randolph and Drew enough time to catch up.
After the trio unsuccessfully use a flare gun and their boat's P.A. system to try to bluff the whalers into stopping, Jesse rams the Noah into the Botany Bay just as John fires a harpoon, the jolt causing the harpoon to miss Willy and knocking John into the water. Willy tries to kill him, by biting at him, but Jesse and Max manage to convince Willy to spare him. Max's father then gets trapped under a net and nearly drowns as the net drags him down and ultimately comes face to face with Willy himself. This time, Willy, instead of killing him, saves him by pushing him to the surface and holding him there long enough for Jesse and Randolph to rescue him. The Coastal Marine Patrol arrive, having been summoned on the radio by Jesse before he rammed the Botany Bay, and catch the whalers (who are stunned by Willy rescuing their boss) in the act and arrest them. Being saved by Willy causes John to realize that he was wrong about the whales and he apologizes to Max. John is not sure where to go from here as his whole life has been about whaling, but Max tells him he is his father and forgives him.
Jesse manages to sneak on board the Botany Bay to steal a sample of the spear guns that are used to shoot the whales, and discovers that the whalers are heading back out to go after Willy and his pod, using an audio recording of a song which Jesse plays on his harmonica as a lure for Willy, who won't realize that it's not Jesse until it's too late. Jesse's boss plans to call for help the next day, but knowing it will be too late then, Jesse, Randolph and one of their fellow researchers, Drew, steal the Noah research boat from her mooring and go after the whalers themselves. Max manages to buy them a little time by jumping into the water and forcing the whalers to pause their pursuit of the whales to perform a "man overboard" rescue for Max, which gives Jesse and his two companions enough time to catch up. John is angry because he learns that his son isn't on his side and believes that Max tried to sabotage the engine (Jesse had actually been the one who did this), but it doesn't stop him.
Jesse, Randolph and Drew use a flare gun and their boat's P.A. system to try to bluff the whalers into stopping, but when it doesn't work, Jesse rams the Botany Bay with the Noah just as they fire a harpoon, the jolt causing the harpoon to miss Willy and knocking John into the water. Willy tries to kill him, biting at him, but Jesse and Max manage to convince Willy to spare him. Max's father then gets trapped under a net and nearly drowns as the net drags him down, and ultimately comes face to face with Willy himself. This time, Willy, instead of killing him, saves him by pushing him to the surface and holding him there long enough for Jesse and Randolph to rescue him. The Marine Patrol arrive, having been summoned on the radio by Jesse before he rammed the Botany Bay, and catch the whalers (who are stunned by Willy rescuing their boss) in the act and arrest them. Being saved by Willy causes John to realize that he was wrong about the whales, and he apologizes to Max. John is not sure where to go from here as his whole life has been about whaling, but Max tells him he is his father and forgives him.
lot of water has flowed past the Pacific Northwest coastline since Jesse met Willy, a lovable killer whale who became his best friend, in 1993. That year, "Free Willy" introduced moviegoers to Jesse (Jason James Richter), an angry, streetwise little boy who was exhilarated and transformed by his friendship with the whale. He eventually saved Willy from evil amusement park owners and set him free.
John locks Max in his cabin and proceeds to go after Willy with the rest of his crew. Using the sound signal they've stolen from Jesse, they begin to attract the pod. Jesse captains the Noah with Randolph and Drew and they sail her faster and faster to catch up with the whalers, but are not quite fast enough. Max manages to escape his makeshift prison using his father's knife and jumps off the boat to buy more time for Jesse and his crew to catch up. After some angry persuading, Max grabs the life ring and is pulled back aboard where his father tells him to get back in his cabin and stay there. Jesse, Randolph and Drew initially use their boat's P.A. system to try to intimidate the whalers into stopping. Drew also fires the ship's flare gun at the Botany Bay. However, this fails to impress the whalers and they keep up their attack on the whales under the guise of fishing for salmon. Jesse then resorts to Plan B, calling for the Marine Patrol's help before ramming the Botany Bay's stern with the Noah's bough. The sudden impact causes the harpoon to narrowly miss Willy and the swinging net hits John and throws him overboard. Willy detects his assailant in the water and is furious at the deception. John and Willy engage in an intense underwater fight, where John tries to stab the whale with his knife. The killer whale easily overpowers the whaler, however, and prepares to kill him at the surface. John yells for his men to shoot Willy, which they are just about to do. Max and Jesse yell for Willy to stop the fight and the former gets Willy's attention by rubbing his fingers against the moist ship's railing. After staring into the whale's eyes for what seems like an eternity, Max and Jesse convince their whale friend to spare John's life. Unfortunately, as Willy swims back beneath the surface, the net breaks off and falls on John, trapping and pinning him down in the water. He nearly drowns as the net drags him down further and he ultimately comes face to face with Willy himself. This time, instead of finishing him off however, Willy saves John by pushing him to the surface and holds him there long enough for Jesse and Randolph to get the net off him and rescue him as they pull him back into their raft. As father and son stare at each other, the father shocked by what has just happened, the Marine Patrol arrives, catching the whalers (who are stunned by Willy rescuing their boss) in the act, and subsequently arrest them. John is wrapped in a towel to dry him off and Max comes over to him, jokingly telling him that the "cheeseburger" saved his life. This makes John smile for the first time in what seems like a long time. He then glances at his partially damaged boat, which is presumably being seized by the Marine Patrol, before looking back at his son with a shamed look. Finally, he admits that Max was right and he was wrong. Max, however, hugs his father and assures that he doesn't have to continue being a whaler anymore in response to his father's question of where he could go from here. With this, father and son reconcile and Jesse, Randolph, Drew, and Max later witness the birth of Willy's son, whom they name Max after the human Max himself for his bravery. After this, it is unclear what happens to John, though it does feel safe to presume he was sentenced to spend time in jail, but not permanently. He may have spent some years in prison before being let out and reconciling with his son more.
The Willy pictures were spaced two years apart and Free Willy 3 was dated for August 8, 1997. Unlike the previous installment which had tie-in promotions and toys to aid the release, audiences seemed to have had enough of Willy needing a rescue and there was minimal advertising and no corporate partners. WB knew this property was running on fumes and booked the movie only moderately wide into 1,258 theaters.
Free Willy 3 sadly sticks to the all-too-familiar "whale rescued by young boy" theme and feebly attempts to make a bit of a difference by introducing new faces. Richter, the original boy-star, remains as orphan Jesse (who has grown up to bear a frightening resemblance to a teenage David Hasselhoff) but he takes more of a backseat by joining his mentor Randolph (Schellenberg) as a marine researcher. 041b061a72