With 'Final Destination 3,' James Wong steps back into the driver seat of the franchise and attempts to resurrect it from the depths to which it traveled in the last installment. Unfortunately for him, instead of a new and creative idea for a horror film and a cast of high school heartthrobs, Wong was handed a done-to-death idea and a slew of the WB's second-teamers.
A senior trip to the carnival turns deadly for a group of roller coaster riders as the ride goes haywire and claims every life on it. Fortunately, Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition that saves her life and those of all the others who had gotten off the coaster. Feeling a dark, ominous presence and inspecting the photos she took that night, Wendy quickly realizes that death is coming for all the survivors of that ride. Wendy and her dead boyfriend's best friend (Kevin Fischer) spend the rest of the movie attempting to save the lives of the others on the ride as well as their own.
The first few scenes in the film are painful to watch'in a different manner than the deaths are. As the main characters/victims are highlighted, each becomes a total caricature. While two velour-clad ditzes unwittingly show off their pastel thongs to the crowd and a camcorder-wielding pervert shamelessly flirts with them, the viewer cringes at the flatness and artificiality of the characters. Fortunately for Wong, there is some redemption. Winstead turns in a decent performance as the mourning, do-gooder teen who puts everyone else before her. The quintessential mindless jock, Lewis Romero, is also perfectly portrayed by a young man named Texas Battle, who surpisingly enough did not get his name in pornography.
This plot is a much closer recreation of the original film than the second. Attempting to keep the concept fresh, the second film had its protagonist attempting to save the lives of people she didn't know with a final revelation that death can only be averted through birth. With no such philosophical chains to hold it down, 'Final Destination 3' returns to its original, shamelessly gruesome and fun-loving form. Wong's story is an exercise in creative death, an area where the second film fell short. The third, however, rises from the ashes to gross out its viewers as Death Incarnate paints its masterpiece. A major problem with enjoying these characters' deaths'aside from any qualms about indulging your inner masochist'is the complicated, quickly-cut shots that precede the elaborate deathtraps. Most viewers want to know exactly how the runaway forklift knocked over shelf after shelf before the box of wooden stakes came raining down, not have it obscured by confusing editing.
If your definition of fun includes head-smashing, skin-bubbling gore then walk'do not run, it is probably not safe'to the nearest theatre. If you want deep and engaging characters with a plot that engages your mind and soul, this is not what you are looking for. This old dog is tired, and hopefully death is ready to call this franchise's number.
