Ruby Rose rounds up her year of solely appearing in sequels by playing lead singer Calamity in all-female rock band Evermoist. She sings The Cranberries' 'Zombie' in a riff-off with the Bellas as they embark on a tour of European army bases to entertain the troops. Of course, there's also a competition between the down-on-their-luck a cappella group and an assortment of rivals, this time to win a spot opening for DJ Khaled.

Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), Beca (Anna Kendrick) and co are all struggling in the workplace after leaving college, so they get the old gang back together, with the addition of Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) who was introduced in Pitch Perfect 2. Emily and her younger group wow at a reunion show in an aquarium, sporting fabulous gold sparkly jackets as they dance in perfect harmony to Daya's 'Sit Still, Look Pretty', freaking out the Bellas in the process.

The action begins on an exploding yacht 'somewhere off the coast of France' with the Bellas working-it to a terrific rendition of Britney Spears's 'Toxic', before rewinding three weeks to explain how they got to this point. Lots of characters are re-introduced, with Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins's catty commentary an evergreen highlight but it is a very game John Lithgow singing with an Australian accent, a sinister worn-out pink rabbit toy and Wilson's high-octane antics that add a ridiculously silly edge to what purports to be the final outing for the franchise.

With the film directed by Trish Sie (who has helmed music videos for OK Go) and penned by Kay Cannon (who wrote both previous instalments), it plays out as an entertaining variety show mixed with an action thriller. As it jumps from one song to the next, the flimsy plot and occasionally amusing one-liners move to a generic beat but there's enough energy in the musical numbers to deliver cheesy and diverting fun.

General release from Wed 20 Dec.