Final Destination 3

Directed by James Wong, Final Destination 3 follows several friends, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s Wendy and Ryan Merriman’s Kevin, as they’re picked off one by one after surviving a deadly roller-coaster disaster. As tends to be the case with this series, Final Destination 3 kicks off with a remarkably tense and captivating opening dream sequence that instantly captures the viewer’s attention and easily remains the picture’s obvious high point – as filmmaker Wong, working from a script written with Glen Morgan, does an absolutely fantastic job of establishing tension and dread in the buildup to the aforementioned (and impressively visceral) roller-coaster crash. The picture, beyond that point, segues into a comfortably familiar midsection revolving almost entirely around the inevitable (and seriously brutal) deaths of the surviving passengers, and it’s clear, certainly, that the impact of such sequences is enhanced considerably by Wong’s inventive, appreciatively no-holds-barred approach. (This is especially true of set-pieces transpiring within a busy gym and an after-hours hardware store.) And although the climactic happenings within a local state fair aren’t as enthralling as one might’ve hoped, Final Destination 3 closes with a stirring subway-bound finale that ultimately cements its place as a typically entertaining entry within a remarkably consistent series.

*** out of ****