Final Destination 3

The whole idea of cheating death (or death cheating us, ala 1934's Death Takes A Holiday) is nothing new, but when the first Final Destination film debuted in 2000 it certainly felt like a breath of fresh air. There was a palpable joie de mort, twisted though it may have been, in stringing together the ingenious domino-effect fatalities. The second film, though not as quirkily funny or irreverent as the first, had even more elaborate, grisly death scenes.

So how do the filmmakers top the unforgettable plane crash and the gruesome interstate pile up? They take it down a notch, and use the simple but effective carnival roller coaster as the ride that will spell doom for its unwitting young passengers: When one high schooler has premonition that the cars are going to come off the tracks and kill her and her friends, she jumps off and tries to convince them to do the same. Some do, some don't. Those that don't, die. Those that do, die later when Death comes to collect.

Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is our heroine; when it comes to her imminent demise, every picture tells a story. Her closest ally is Kevin (Ryan Merriman), who does everything he can to keep their destinies on track. Along for the ride are airheads Ashley and Ashlyn (Christal Lowe, Chelan Simmons) whose deeply tanned complexions go ashen when the situation gets too hot to handle; acerbic goth-boy Ian McKinley (Kris Lemche) who refuses to the see the signs; his girlfriend Carrie (Gina Holden), who inadvertently nails the problem; goofball Frankie (Sam Easton), who takes it head-on; and level-headed Lewis (Texas Battle), a jock who refuses to consider weightiness of potentially deadly circumstances.

Movie number three lacks the black comedy and first-blush surprise of the kick-off, and the stunts aren't as Rube Goldberg elaborate as the were in the second movie. While Final Destination 3 is definitely the weakest link in the death chain thus far, it's still great fun for fans of the franchise. There's a neat homage to The Twilight Zone: A Most Unusual Camera or/and The Omen or/and The Ring with a freaky photography subplot, and there are some clever segues (lethal tanning beds morph into tandem coffins, for instance) and a fastpaced through line.

On the downside, there are some iffy visual effects (particularly on the roller coaster, where the blue screen scenes are not very tight), leviathan lapses in logic, and flat lead characters that aren't quite likeable (or unlikable) enough to put much of an emotional stake in.

If you're willing to overlook some plot holes big enough for a conductor to drive a subway train through and all you want is total, complete and grisly annihilation, then 'All Aboard!' You'll love Final Destination 3.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson