Movie Info
Movie Name: Final Destination 3
Studio: Zide/Perry Productions
Genre(s): Horror
Release Date(s): February 10, 2006
MPAA Rating: R
The scariest ride in the park
It is a senior celebration at a local amusement park, and Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) sees the death of herself and her classmates on a rollercoaster. Preventing some of the deaths is the easy part, but Death has a plan and doesn’t like to be cheated. Now, Death is coming for Wendy and her classmates, and Wendy and Kevin Fischer (Ryan Merriman) must read the signs from photographs taken on the night of the accident if they have any hope of cheating Death again.
That guy nailed that girl…
Directed by James Wong, Final Destination 3 followed the very popular Final Destination 2 from 2003. The movie was originally planned for a 3D release, but plans were cut due to cost. The movie was met with mixed to negative reviews, but continued to be a big box office draw.
Final Destination 3 pretty much severed ties to the original series. The film mentions the other two films, but no characters carryover from the previous entries. With a new cast, the movie didn’t really decide to advance the storyline or plot and instead just tried to impress with bigger and better kills.
Next time the drive-thru guy says pull forward…do it.
The story of Final Destination 3 just isn’t as inspiring or interesting as the first Final Destination or its sequel. Instead of psychic visions in this film, mystery Omen-eque photos are the clues to who is going to die and how…which doesn’t make much sense when tied to the other two films. There isn’t really any mystery (other than deciphering the photos) and a basic plot element I found a bit odd is that the camcorder of Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton) was detrimental into causing the accident…he wasn’t on the rollercoaster so I don’t know how it wrecked. The final sequence on the subway was also quite weak and seemed a bit tacked on.
I’m getting so much extra tanning for my money!!!
With a less than stellar script, this movie relies more on the cast, and the cast just isn’t as good as the previous two entries. Mary Elizabeth Winstead Is good as the lead, but I found Ryan Merriman a bit dull as her “guardian”. Most of the characters here are so unlikable that you are happy to see them go as hideously as they can. Plus, the movie loses horror veteran Tony Todd…who needed a bigger role in the first two films.
The wrecks just aren’t as good in Final Destination 3. I do like the tanning bed death (ripped from urban legends), the death at the drive-thru window was pretty good, the weight lifting, and the nail gun, but the last few deaths at the fair just weren’t as fun as they needed to be. The film also received some criticism for tying in 9/11 events.
Final Destination 3 showed a step down from Final Destination 2 which in itself wasn’t a good movie, but a fun movie. You can still watch Final Destination 3 for the craziness of the deaths and have some laughs. Final Destination 3 was followed by The Final Destination in 2009 (aka Final Destination 4).
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