Final Destination 3

We went to see Final Destination 3 today.

If you've seen Final Destination and Final Destination 2 then there's nothing unusual for the third. If you liked the first two, you'll like the third. If you didn't like the first two, don't bother.

The principle is the same, some teens narrowly avoid an accident thanks to a "vision", and then spend the movie being hunted down by Death in the order that they would have died had they not avoided death via the vision, according to Death's plan.

Clear?

This movie suffers from a bad moment almost at the outset. The accident, this time on a rollercoaster, is caused by one guy dropping his camcorder which gets lodged on the track below. However, after the vision, camcorder boy gets off of the ride. So, therefore, there should have been no camcorder boy on the ride, no dropped camcorder, no accident.

Right?

Which would, weirdly, have made for a better movie as it would have been a departure from the formulaic nature of sequels. The ride could have been completed without incident, which would have missed out on the same old "holy crap he/she was right all along" factor, which would have made the discovery of the whole "Death's plan" aspect all the more fun. We'd know what was going on, but we'd have to wait to find out how the characters are going to figure it out.

Instead, the movie has the accident, despite the cause being removed, and off we go again.

Oh, tiny twist, in an Omenesque piece of cinematic bullhonkery, each character's death is foretold in photographs taken before the ride.

Before the ride?

Yep. One is left with the impression that some other agency is acting to give our teen heroes a chance, the same agency that provides the initial vision. Alas, the movie fails to elaborate on this aspect.

The death scenes come across as more gore, less thought, than the first two installments, and the plot seems a little strained at times.

Worth a watch, just don't expect anything Earth-shatteringly outstanding. Possibly worth renting.

Doombreed rating: ***1/2