Simply Perfect

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Final Destination 3 is the first time in the franchise where things start to feel a bit stale, but I can't say that I didn't still enjoy this one.Compared to the first two, the characters aren't nearly as likable, though their relationships are a bit more solid. The deaths are more innovative, which makes sense, considering they've already done some more cliche deaths in the first two.The major accident at the beginning was a lot more small-scale, but I don't think that detracted from the film at all.This could be considered the start of the downfall of the franchise, but considering I really, really enjoy the 5th film, it's more accurate to say that this is just the humpday of the Final Destination Franchise.Watch it if you've seen the first two and enjoyed them.

After a premonition allows her to save her friends from a fatal roller-coaster crash, a teenager becomes convinced that Death still has a plan to get them in this third film in the 'Final Destination' franchise. The writing-directing team of Glen Morgan and James Wong return to the helm here (after the reigns to Part Two were given elsewhere) and they deliver several memorable novelty deaths, with a tanning salon sequence sticking out in a particular. The overall film though feels like a missed opportunity for Morgan and Wong who do not delve any deeper into the mythology of how Death works, why certain individuals get premonitions and the seemingly sadistic need of Death to make the experience as gruesome as possible. Morgan and Wong do, however, add an additional element of certain photographs that allow the protagonists to predict the ways their surviving friends will later perish - but then this only really furthers the mystery and suspense rather than the mythology behind the series. That said, a scene in which they enter a gym and spot several different possible ways in which their friend could die (in accordance with his photograph) comes with a deliciously dark comedic streak. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also as appealing as ever, however, this third entry sorely lacks the twist connections to Part One that made the second film such a memorable experience.

The Final Destination franchise has experienced its ups and downs since its debut in early 2000 when James Wong worked in the director's chair. He made a solid impression with the first installment, bringing suspense and effective thrills of characters being picked off one by one. The sequel however, had David Ellis taking over the director's chair and what resulted was a less effective, but passable installment had some good moments but lacked the thrills that made the original a hit. This third installment see James Wong making his return as the director and showing significant improvement upon the previous entry, but also a signal that the franchise would wear out on creativity. The first film featured teenagers escaping a plane explosion, the second film featured a young woman escaping the massive highway pileup, this installment follows Wendy Christensen (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a high school senior spending a night at the state fair with her boyfriend Jason (played by Jesse Moss), her friend Carrie (played by Gina Holden) and her boyfriend Kevin (played by Ryan Phillippe). Upon stepping aboard a roller coaster, Wendy is shocked by a horrifying premonition of the roller coaster derailing and crashing, killing her and her friends along with the other passengers. In paranoia, Wendy steps off the roller coaster along with a few others, while some remain on board. Within moments as you might have guessed, the roller coaster crashes killing the remaining passengers. Months later, Wendy and the surviving passengers are left grieving and try to move on with their lives. Death however, still has their names on the agenda and comes back take the lives of the survivors one by one in a series of gruesome deaths.This film follows relatively the same formula as the previous two, with an opening disaster sequence, and the main characters' mission to save the lives of those who survived from dying in unexpected and gruesome accidents. Thus, the formula results in a storyline that is somewhat predictable but surprisingly still fun, especially for those who enjoy blood and gore because there is plenty of it here. Sadly, the film doesn't leave much room character development beyond portraying the characters in distinct stereotypes: a lustful pervert, a goth, an arrogant muscle head, two stuck-up school girls, you name it. Generally no characters here you come to care about other than Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the main character who offers some emotional resonance. There is some suspense around some of the characters' deaths while others leave the scares to the absurd amount of in-your-face blood and gore splatter. Now the film isn't exactly the straight out scare fest, the characters offer a fair amount of humor and clever dialogue, can't as he same for others though. The plot itself works for most of the time, but eventually runs its course towards the final act. The performances by the cast are fine, but none of which truly stand out from one another. Final Destination 3 is a solid installment to its average franchise and shows the franchise has some redeeming quality above its flawed writing and shallow character development. This film won't likely entertain those who are looking for a straight forward horror-fest filled with nightmarish imagery and jump scares. Otherwise, this film makes a fair source of entertaining gore-fest.

The Roller Coaster Opening is a Disappointment considering, for one, it's a Roller Coaster, and two, the opening Highway Scene in the Second Movie was so Good. There is one Death Scene that is so Reminiscent of a similar Scene in the Second Movie that it comes off as Horribly Ho-Hum. Finally, the Ending is very very Unworthy of the Franchise cleverness and leaves the Movie with a Credit Roll from an Ending that was Decidedly Dull.Other than those Three Letdowns this is another Guilty Pleasure for Blood-Lusters and is a Numbered Franchise Cash-In that is by the Numbers. The Cliché is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Most Bottom Line Series Films follow that bit of Advice in Their Popular Popcorn Movies. So here We Go again.It is Surprising and a Treat when once in a while Audiences are Offered a New Twist with Their candy corn. But all of You Final Destination Fans have to Wait For Number Four to see If that happens. because although this was Made by James Wong and Glenn Morgan that were Behind the Original, there Simply is Nothing Original here.