When it comes to movies that should have sequels, this series of films is a set that really didn't need them. Final Destination 3 is of course the third one in a series of films about kids trying to escape death. The premise of all three of them starts out the same, with a violent sequence of events that serves as a premonition from one of the main characters. That main character then does everything she can to warn people about the present danger, and that they need to stop doing what they are doing. In the first film, it was warning her friends to get off of a plane. In the second film, it was to stop a chain reaction accident on the freeway. That brings us to the third installment, which one again stars a woman as the lead character, and has her going through the same motions that the first two films had their characters going through. There are no returning characters, so you don't even have to have seen the first two films to watch this one. It is also probably the third best of the three, so it could appear a little watered down at parts, but they kicked up the violence and gore for this one in place of added plot.

This time around, Mary Elizabeth Winstead serves as the main character Wendy Christensen. Most recently she was seen in the film Sky High, but she is better known as "Samara" from The Ring 2. Horror films are becoming her bread and butter it would seem, and she plays the role of a scared teen quite well here. In Wendy's case, she is attending the senior party of her high school at an amusement park with all of her friends, and the people she cares the most about. Going on to a roller coaster ride with a number of people she knows, we see a horrific accident take place on the coaster, where all of the people on it perish. Just as she is about to die herself, the movie suddenly flashes back to her getting into the roller coaster car, and the audience realizing that she has just had a premonition. Armed with the evidence that the roller coaster is going to crash, she screams and throws a fit that causes some people to get off, and others to be thrown out with her. The problem is that nobody really believes her.

Not everyone got off of the roller coaster after many people were ejected from the park, and the accident still takes place, this time claiming less lives. So, for all intents and purposes the people who got off of the roller coaster have escaped death, and altered "his" plans. The shock of everything occurring isn't enough to detract from the real possibility that something else is going wrong in the small town that they all call home. It seems that death is coming back for the people that should have died in the accident at the park, and it will stop at nothing to claim every one of its victims. One of the good points about this film, is that it doesn't pretend that the first two movies didn't exist. When things start going seriously wrong, there is a quick couple of scenes where it is brought up that something similar to this has happened in other cities as well. So, the film doesn't try to make us believe that those stories wouldn't have made themselves around a high school.

From the moment the people got off the roller coaster, things start happening to them, and it appears that everyone who was so happy for surviving could soon be doomed. It seems death wants to pick them off one-by-one in the order that they should have died, and it is up to the two main characters to prove this to everyone before it is too late. In a funny coincidence, the other main character of Kevin Fischer is played by Ryan Merriman. It is funny, because Ryan was in The Ring 2 as well, playing someone that Samara (Winstead) ends up killing. It is just an interesting side note. Now regarding Final Destination 3, I have to say that it wasn't that bad of a movie. There were interesting parts that made it worth seeing, and I do recommend it as one of those films you Rent on the first day it is out. We have really seen the premise too many times, and I guess the shock factor of it being a horror movie is what will draw people to it. I should warn that this one is MUCH more violent than the first two, is full of a lot of gore not suitable for a younger audience, and has a very thin story. The real test for the characters was to see just how long they could survive in the film. I did find it interesting in concept though, and you did not see what was coming next very often. For that interest level, and because I was never bored I will give it 3 stars. Just good enough.







Recommended:
Yes