Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
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Six years ago Final Destination hit the screen after a spate of horror movies had revived and diminished the genre. But this was something new; it wasn't really a horror film although being billed as one. Instead it was a thriller with horror elements and amazingly it worked incredibly well. The thing about Final Destination was that its set pieces were brilliantly orchestrated. They would set the audience up for a fall yet not pull out the sucker punch until the danger was seemingly over. Six years on it still works and that bus moment is still a classic.
So with a movie that made some decent coin, the sequel was inevitable. Surprisingly it wasn't a dud either. The beginning has one of the most finely orchestrated action sequences in recent memory. It carried on the tradition of shocking the audience to the point where you didn't know whether to laugh or pick your jaw up off the floor.
Again the second movie made good money, so a third film was quietly put into production and arrives with minimal fanfare. Is this a destination too far or is there still life left in the franchise?
A well first thing first, the third instalment brings back the team that made the original. X-Files vet's James Wong and Glen Morgan have penned the script and Wong is once again in the directing chair. So it's not as if New Line have hired the latest hack to churn out a cash cow.
The premise of the Final Destination movies is that there is a group of characters that manage to cheat death by avoiding a major accident. But death has a design for everyone and soon death is catching up to each and every one of them.
The first film had a plane crash as it's focal point, the second - a large traffic accident. This time our characters cheat death by getting off a roller coaster before it derails and sends it's thrill seekers to their demise. Wendy is the one who foresees it all and her actions put other people in line for a gruesome death.
Essentially there isn't much difference in plot between the three movies. They all follow the same principle of characters trying to cheat death. To be honest story and plot is not the reason why we go to see the Final Destination movies. No we go to see the innovative and exotic ways in which the characters die. On that account, Final Destination 3 does exactly what it says on the tin.
Character wise there is no one remotely interesting in the film. You have troubled female character; her male counterpart and then a bunch of fresh faces that you know aren't going to be there at the final credits.
The set pieces in this film are where it earns its money. Every moment is well executed and every moment has you recoiling in shock. The build up to each one is an excruciating experience. I found myself grapping hold of the armrest waiting for the moment to hit. Let me just say that there is some pretty gruesome stuff in this film but it makes no apologies and you sometimes expect an action replay.
The roller coaster opener isn't as good as the second instalments barnstormer but it makes use of some good effects work and plays on people's fears of heights to really sell itself. I also liked the fact that in this film there is no safe resolution for any of the main characters.
If you've liked the previous two instalments then this is more of the same and in this case it's no bad thing. If you take a step back then it's sorely lacking in being anything different but as ninety minutes of sheer thrills it takes some beating.
But I will say this should be the last stop for the franchise.
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Good review. I loved the first movie but never saw the follow-ups; I tend to hate sequels that aren't really sequels but just rehashes of a franchise and I didn't want to spoil the original movie's impact. To me, a sequel should only be made if it is to follow on an existing storyline, not just repeat more of the same in similar circumstances with different characters. I agree, though - this should be the end of the line for the franchise and the bus scene is definitely a classic. I almost missed it, looking away as I was because I thought the threat was over. Markd.
alleycat01 08.11.2006 15:54
This sounds like one I would like! alley x
annaroos1 07.11.2006 22:32
I thought this was fairly entertaining but certainly not at all in the same class as the first two!
Giddily gruesome and perversely entertaining,Final Destination 3proves, yet again, that ... more
horror franchises will thrive as long as teenagers keep finding spectacular ways to die. A stand-alone sequel to the first twoFinal Destinationthrillers, this one b...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Giddily gruesome and perversely entertaining,Final Destination 3proves, yet again, that ... more
horror franchises will thrive as long as teenagers keep finding spectacular ways to die. A stand-alone sequel to the first twoFinal Destinationthrillers, this one b...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Set six years after the original "Final Destination" film the latest installment in the ... more
series centers around a high school senior who has a premonition of a fatal roller coaster accident involving herself and all her friends. When the premonition pro...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Strap yourself in for Final Destination 3, the most terrifying thrill ride ever! After ... more
Wendy and her friends survive a deadly roller coaster ride, they start being killed in even more gruesome ways. Wendy realizes that the nightmare isn't over ... Deat...
Advantages: *The Special Feature of Changing the destiny of the characters* Unpredictability of the film Disadvantages: *You have to listen to one song a lot, but i guess it appropriate to the film
throw_away_your_television_2 03.09.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Final Destination 3 (DVD)