Review of Final Destination 3 (2006) by Fitriamirrol — 12 Aug 2010

Now, if you're expecting more than blood, gore and death from this third installment in the Final Destination saga and hope for something resembling a plot line, then stay out. You will be disappointed.

In all fair and vague shortness, Final Destination 3 is more or less the same as its predecessors. It is an expanded montage of elaborately staged and immaculately bloody deaths strung together by a simple and undemanding story line. Frankly speaking, the stars have not much to do other than stand and act scared - or disbelieving. Regardless, most of the actors did well, with leads Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman and Kris Lemche standing out slightlier than the rest.

Similar to its antecedents, Final Destination 3 is about high-schooler Wendy Christensen (portrayed adequately by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) receiving a premonition of the ill-fated rollercoaster ride in which she is on board. She panics and manages to save herself and a bunch of her friends (or more appropriately, entrees in Death's wish list), but soonafter realizes that Death's in the market for tying up loose ends.

If you've decided to give this film a try, then come in with an open mind and just expect fun. Leave your brains at the door, and anticipate gallons of strawberry, juice and banana (creatively mixed up to produce a simulation of blood and bone marrows) to come shooting out of the screen.

To grade a film like this, you have to evaluate the atristry of its death sequences, review the mock build up of suspense preceding a death sequence and diagnose the level of bone-chilling each death sequence brings to the table. In short, Final Destination 3 is all about the death sequences. And, suffice it to say, the film succeeds in every level while doing so.

Look pass the plot holes gargantuan enough for a train to barrel through. Ignore the poor screen-writing abilities of James Wong, chock-full of dialogues to bury, witty one-liners that never succeeds to pass off as witty one-liners and one or two exchanges so tacky and cliched until it makes you want to punch nails into your ears. Pay no attention to the strong lack of sturdy character development, or the lack of any kind of sturdy characters for that matter. Do all this, and you might just have a good time.

For what it's worth, James Wong tries, but still, the sub-plots about the 'Pictures which Tell the Future' and 'The Search for the Two Unknown Ride Attendees' does not add anything new to the table, and instead, turns out to be very predictable and foreseeable. Without wanting to reveal too much, I just have this to say: If you want your audience to be surprised by the plot twist, make sure you have a couple of red herrings ready. Introduce characters who have decent amount of screentime to pose as the possible potential victims, but not too much as to steal the limelight from any of the ten main stars.

Nevertheless, as aforementioned, Final Destination 3 is a movie whose sole purpose is to entertain and delight twisted, sadistic fans by introducing new and improved ways to kill off characters who merits their deaths. And, for that, it passed.

Verdict:

Those who just expect a good time will find this immaculately bloody film to be fulfilling, to say the least. Those who expect more will be dismayed. Nevertheless, the film hits the targets its supposed to, and that adds up to a good, enjoyable thriller perfect for movie night.