Final Destination 3 is the first time in the franchise where things start to feel a bit stale, but I can't say that I didn't still enjoy this one.Compared to the first two, the characters aren't nearly as likable, though their relationships are a bit more solid. The deaths are more innovative, which makes sense, considering they've already done some more cliche deaths in the first two.The major accident at the beginning was a lot more small-scale, but I don't think that detracted from the film at all.This could be considered the start of the downfall of the franchise, but considering I really, really enjoy the 5th film, it's more accurate to say that this is just the humpday of the Final Destination Franchise.Watch it if you've seen the first two and enjoyed them.

"X-Files" veterans Glen Morgan and James Wong return to the franchise they created and make a third film that's about as good as the original, but that's not saying too much since the first film was kind of a mixed bag. Completely ignoring the first two films, this one starts with an entirely new set of teens, led by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who while taking pictures at the carnival with her new fangled digital camera has a premonition of death that she and her friends are all about to be killed on a roller-coaster. As with the prior films, they "cheat" death by not going on the roller-coaster that soon kills a slew of people and they are then each killed or nearly killed in various elaborate sequences. Wong and Morgan do come up with more interesting of sequences and build better suspense than part two, and they actually do improve on the first film with having a more likable of leading character in Winstead, though credit probably goes to Winstead and not Wong and Morgan (though Wong and Morgan probably do get credit for including a Joey Ramone bobble-head in Winstead's bedroom). As with the other films, this isn't a classic, but is watchable for horror fans.

Back in the '80s, this would have been a slasher film, with a physical killer murdering the teenagers in gruesome ways, one by one. Two decades later, the new millennium favours 'curse' type slasher movies, probably because of the Japanese influence This is the third entry in a film series in which the unseen presence of death claims teenagers one by one in increasingly inventive and gory ways.I saw the first FINAL DESTINATION at the cinema and loved it – a fun, gory horror film, unlike the kind they were making at the turn of the century. I ended up watching the second one on television and I didn't like it as much, finding it a sometimes insipid retread of the first film's antics. This one does away with any big storyline and just focuses on the unpleasant deaths, throwing in the angle of a camera that predicts the deaths (another familiar plot device; THE OMEN used it back in the '70s).In a way, this makes for a speedier, pared-down ride as there's no predictable set up or boring bits of exposition. We're just straight in the action (with the most mundane accident, at a carnival, yet) and then the gruesome deaths begin. The ante has been upped here and the weird kills are all very nasty – whether it's the naked girls frying on their sun beds or the car accident that sees part of a guy's head fly off. Blood sprays through the air freely and despite some dodgy CGI here and there, horror fans will have a ball with the level of gore on display. The bit with the nail gun is probably the most vicious of the entire franchise.I also liked the ending, which threatens to peter out but becomes another big set piece that ties up loose ends nicely. Seeing as how most of the cast are unlikeable or irritating, you won't mind much when they die. Mary Elizabeth Winstead displays little of the presence she showed in DIE HARD 4.0 and is a bland leading lady, while her friends and other teenagers are plain annoying – especially the token black guy, who they make the dumbest in the movie. Thankfully there's another Tony Todd cameo to enjoy, although this time it's his voice alone we here, as he plays the voice of the devil at the fairground. Unsurprisingly a fourth entry has been announced, with the added gimmick of 3D to get audiences to go and see it.

Let's be real, at this point Final Destination isn't trying to impress us or make us think, its trying to give us a few dark laughs on a Saturday night and it really does deliver. Unfortunately, 3 is where the fun ends until 5 came out, bringing true horror back into the franchise. If you prefer your horror zany and unserious, refer to Final Destination 3 and not Final Destination 4. The physics of some of the accidents are all extremely silly however they're truly effective and almost whimsical in their approach of making us paranoid of drive-thrus, tanning machines and fairground rides. It's not a bad franchise, its just a dumb one and that's really nothing to be ashamed of. Every class needs a clown.