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I got the opportunity to see Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica Movie 3: Hangyaku no Monogatari at it's US premiere in Hollywood. Excitement filled the air as people waited in line and the theater began to slowly fill; I'll admit, I was just as excited as everyone else.
After having watched the series a few times and seeing the first two movies, I could only imagine what kind of story awaited me with this newest installment in the series; while I did have a great time watching the movie in the environment of a movie theater, I must admit that the film did not blow me away.

Story ... (7): Since I don't wish to spoil anything, I'll mostly talk about the pacing. The first third of the movie dragged on a bit too much; having watched the series, I caught on to the source of conflict fairly quickly, but it took nearly half-an-hour for any character in-story to address it. The middle did pick up the pace and presented some interesting ideas and plot developments, but the end suffered from what I call "Return-of-the King Syndrome," wherein it felt like the movie was ending at multiple points.

Art (10): Just like the series, the art, especially that related to the magical enemies, was amazing. The film had a few large-scale action sequences that were beautifully animated that really felt like they had a sense of scale and fluidity to them.

Sound (10): While I'm not one who can pick up on music easily, I did catch remixes of various pieces from the original OST, and felt that they were astounding. While my experience was enhanced by the theater experience, I don't think that I would enjoy the sound direction any less if/when I watch it again on DVD or Blu-ray.

Character (8): Due to my afore mentioned issues with the story and pacing, I felt that some of the characters suffered a bit. While motivations and development was logical, at times it felt like they were too sudden or unexpected. However, it was great to see some characters get a bit more importance and screen time this time around.

Enjoyment (9): Not much to say; I got to watch it in a movie theater with other fans, so my own enjoyment was enhanced by their energy.

Overall (8): I have to say that it was a rather good movie; despite the issues I took up, I never did expect this to be a flawless film, so I was thoroughly entertained and delighted. If you are a fan of the Madoka franchise, you would be doing yourself a disservice if your did not watch this movie.