While it was not a great or perfect film (particularly in the dialogue, ending and some of the acting), the first 'Final Destination' was entertaining and effective (especially with its terrific opening plane sequence and the creative deaths) with a fascinating idea done well.The bigger and bolder 'Final Destination 2' had its flaws but was just as good and perhaps the best of the four sequels. 'Final Destination 3' is just as big and bold, as well as gorier, and is also as good. Second sequels or third instalments of a franchise don't always fare well, especially in horror and comedy, 'Final Destination 3' is one of the better examples in a genre where sequels have a patchy history. The novelty has not yet worn off and in a way is more refined.Sure, the story is more of the same and formulaic. Meanwhile, there is too much dull downtime between deaths where dialogue and exposition can be clumsy at times.The special effects are not always brilliant and the characters are as shallow as ever.However, 'Final Destination 3' is as atmospheric and stylish as its previous two films. The music has a haunting eeriness and James Wong does a more than competent job in the director's chair, showing a genuine understanding of the concept and the horror genre, breathing atmosphere, fun and freshness into a tried and tested formula and not losing what made his direction work in the first film.Like the second, although there is a little too much of an over-reliance on gore, not all of it necessary, the death scenes are bolder, more elaborate and more creative (faring even better in this regard actually). The tanning bed and nail gun deaths were particularly good and two of the best and most imaginative of the series. The script has some wonderful humour that is black and ironic and has just as much tension and a sense of dread. The amusement park/roller-coaster scene is not as good as the opening scenes in the previous films, especially visually, but it's still very scary. The photo record is surprising and there is an intricacy in places.'Final Destination 3' has the best ending perhaps of the series, to me it's the least contrived and more logical than the one in particularly the second film. In the acting stakes, it fares favourably too. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is very good.Overall, a good deadly ride that's worth getting on board for, as long as one knows what to expect. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I remember watching this before the forth film came out. I'd thought it's the best Final Destination movie ever because the death scenes, roller coaster accident, and good soundtrack just like the two previous films. I'd have to admit the ending is a bit of a slap of a face like having another vision about a train being wreck I'd think it don't fit in that way even though it's a plot twist so yeah. I think it's better then the fifth film because the film is a bit water down but the death scenes in the film is good. I'd recommend it to people who like film like these.

I must say that after a rather wanting sequel, I've had very lowered expectations from Final Destination 3. Luckily, this have turned out to be in my favour, as this film has impressed me more than I could anticipate and has spared me unnecessary disappointments.The main gist of the story remains the same, the premonitions of foreboding doom made famous and turned into a franchise. This time, it's a roller-coaster accident. Again, the survivors start dying, and must learn to read the signs and recognize death's design in order to intervene and save each other. Seeing as how director James Wong (who's done a much better job here than in the first film) had obviously had no intentions of offering anything innovative or new, and had just meant to capitalize on the already successful motives - the best way to look at FD3 is by comparison.The good: I find it difficult to connect to the whole damsel in distress routine when it's forced upon the main protagonist, but objectively speaking - it was called for. The first two films showed very brave young people in their late teens or early twenties, and being so brave and composed in the face of such tragedies and dreadful predicaments damages suspense of disbelief. This time, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Wendy) is a much more realistic character, much more human in the face of death. Also, using pictures as signs and hints (while completely unoriginal in Horror) was a nice addition. And finally, the ending was the best one yet. Involving a few surprises and half- twists, and not at all comical like in the first film (altogether, there is nothing comical about this film, no comic relief or anything of the sort. Good to see Wong has learnt from his past mistakes!). Before I forget - Candyman Tony Todd doesn't appear in this one, but his voice does!The bad: first of all, the famous nude cheat. Come on. Was it really necessary to degrade the film and audience by throwing in two naked girls? Not to mention degrading the actresses (Chelan Simmons and Crystal Lowe, who've performed beautifully delivering a very convincing and authentic duo of shallow bimbos - yes, it takes some skills playing the part right). Second, the unnecessary addition of viciousness felt forced and redundant. There was no need to add a vindictive side to Death, having it simply doing its jobs and killing those whose time had come was more than enough.All in all, I still don't think the film had the same impact as the first, and I did miss the sense of continuity which appeared in the 2nd film, but if you're a fan of the franchise - you'll definitely enjoy this one.

The Final Destination franchise has experienced its ups and downs since its debut in early 2000 when James Wong worked in the director's chair. He made a solid impression with the first installment, bringing suspense and effective thrills of characters being picked off one by one. The sequel however, had David Ellis taking over the director's chair and what resulted was a less effective, but passable installment had some good moments but lacked the thrills that made the original a hit. This third installment see James Wong making his return as the director and showing significant improvement upon the previous entry, but also a signal that the franchise would wear out on creativity. The first film featured teenagers escaping a plane explosion, the second film featured a young woman escaping the massive highway pileup, this installment follows Wendy Christensen (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a high school senior spending a night at the state fair with her boyfriend Jason (played by Jesse Moss), her friend Carrie (played by Gina Holden) and her boyfriend Kevin (played by Ryan Phillippe). Upon stepping aboard a roller coaster, Wendy is shocked by a horrifying premonition of the roller coaster derailing and crashing, killing her and her friends along with the other passengers. In paranoia, Wendy steps off the roller coaster along with a few others, while some remain on board. Within moments as you might have guessed, the roller coaster crashes killing the remaining passengers. Months later, Wendy and the surviving passengers are left grieving and try to move on with their lives. Death however, still has their names on the agenda and comes back take the lives of the survivors one by one in a series of gruesome deaths.This film follows relatively the same formula as the previous two, with an opening disaster sequence, and the main characters' mission to save the lives of those who survived from dying in unexpected and gruesome accidents. Thus, the formula results in a storyline that is somewhat predictable but surprisingly still fun, especially for those who enjoy blood and gore because there is plenty of it here. Sadly, the film doesn't leave much room character development beyond portraying the characters in distinct stereotypes: a lustful pervert, a goth, an arrogant muscle head, two stuck-up school girls, you name it. Generally no characters here you come to care about other than Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the main character who offers some emotional resonance. There is some suspense around some of the characters' deaths while others leave the scares to the absurd amount of in-your-face blood and gore splatter. Now the film isn't exactly the straight out scare fest, the characters offer a fair amount of humor and clever dialogue, can't as he same for others though. The plot itself works for most of the time, but eventually runs its course towards the final act. The performances by the cast are fine, but none of which truly stand out from one another. Final Destination 3 is a solid installment to its average franchise and shows the franchise has some redeeming quality above its flawed writing and shallow character development. This film won't likely entertain those who are looking for a straight forward horror-fest filled with nightmarish imagery and jump scares. Otherwise, this film makes a fair source of entertaining gore-fest.