Final Destination 3 (2006) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When death is on the horizon, it’s gonna be hard to accept or avoid it and Final Destination 3 is another solid example of the dilemma.


PLOT


The 2006 sequel is the first standalone film in the franchise with no returning characters. Taking place in Pennsylvania, the new lead is high school student Wendy Christensen who goes to an amusement park with her boyfriend Jason Wise (Jesse Moss) and their friends (Carrie Dreyer) & Kevin Fischer before graduating. They board a roller coaster dubbed ‘Devil’s Flight’, but she has a premonition that they will die on the ride once the hydraulics fail to secure the ride. She warns the group boarding with her and ends up convincing a few to leave with her. She and Kevin get escorted out by security and the following that join them are: athlete Lewis Romero (Texas Battle), goth couple Ian & Erin (Kris Lemche & Alexz Johnson), alumni Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton) and the best friend pair of Ashley & Ashlyn (Chelan Simmons & Crystal Lowe). Security allows the ride to go on, although Jason & Carrie miss their chance to get off, which sadly lead to their deaths as Wendy foresaw. Weeks after the tragedy, Kevin would share with Wendy that they could still die in a subsequent order like the victims of the Flight 180 crash. Just as she looks into it by seeing pictures that imply how the others will die, he is proven right when Ashley & Ashlyn get burnt alive in a malfunctioning tanning bed at a tanning salon, which was their fault for tampering with the salon’s equipment and bringing in drinks they weren’t supposed to. After their funeral, Wendy is convinced Death is stalking them and hope to save everyone who has an omen in the photos she took at the park. As she and Kevin drive to save Frankie, they pull into a drive thru to get a better look at his picture. However, they would evade a runaway semi truck that collides into his his truck. That in turn would cause Frankie, who was in front of them the whole time, to have the back of his head slice by a fan. They then rush to Lewis, but he ends up accidentally crushing his head by a weight machine in the school gym he was working out in. Shortly after does Wendy & Alex pursue Ian & Erin at the hardware store they work at, and they do save the former save the former from being impaled by pickets. Sadly, they fail to stop the chain reaction that causes Erin to fall on a nail gun that shoots through her head repeatedly. Because of saving Ian does it mean her sister Julie and fellow friend Perry will be next. As Wendy meets up with him at the tricentennial fair he works at, they do save Julie from getting impaled by a harrow, only for Perry to be impaled by an airborne flagpole instead. Just when Wendy in turn saves him from an exploding propane canister, a grief stricken Ian arrives and inadvertently saves her from a falling cherry picker. Just after that happens, he would die from a cherry picker that falls onto him. With all these saves, the survivors believe to have escaped the plan made by Death. Five months later, Wendy would board a train with newfound college friends, Laura & Sean. But when Julie & Kevin coincidentally board the same train as them, she has an omen of seeing 180 in the train just like the plane & highway accident, and would ultimately have another vision that they’d die from a train accident. Just when Kevin realizes what she saw, they try stopping the train before the screen cuts to black, leaving a mystery on whether or not they survived that time. 


THOUGHTS


With James Wong having another go at the director’s chair, I quickly assumed this sequel would match the first film’s quality. While it doesn’t exactly, it does not mean it ain’t another entertaining entry. When horror sequels are made, you know Death is gonna ante up the gore and boy did it ever. You can spend a long time praising Mark Freeborn’s production design on the park itself, but the transition to a blended practical & visual effects to show off each demise was about as shocking as you’d expect. Once you hear Tony Todd voice the devil instead of return as Bludworth, you know shit will hit the chain. And it sure did once you see the roller coaster cold open. Theme parks have been known to have malfunctioning rides, so it was smart for that coming fear to be spread and go from there because I would’ve not expected a tanning bed or a gym to secure anyone’s fate compared to a nail gun. Each scene that plays out however is well executed. In this case, I think this entry is able to say you should not take second chances for granted, as in ignore the blessing and abuse the luck because it could be taken away before you even know it. To me, the point was made when most of the victims weren’t really unlikable. Sam Easton was spot on in making a crude adult out of Frankie, while Texas Battle was too cocky to think past his wants/needs. Ashley & Ashlyn start out kind to Wendy, but they were too self centered to listen. Although Erin was the sensitive half, Ian was too sarcastic for his own good that it took loss for him to be serious for once. Had any of them put in a better effort in showing remorse, there could’ve been a better chance to escape Death’s design for good. Because of this, it’s obvious that those who lasted the longest are those thought past what they cared about. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was a great final girl as Wendy because even though she had the vision, she had the guilt that she couldn’t save who she cared about since her previous cases of paranoia wasn’t enough at the time. With that in mind, she tries redeeming herself in her efforts to save everyone else even when it still didn’t work out. If there is any bright side, there was someone who shared that grief and wanted to help however, despite not being clairvoyant. Ryan Merriman made Kevin likable as well because he’s got his guilt that his protectiveness towards Wendy cost him his actual girlfriend that was Carrie. Because both of them shared the same feeling of loss, they were able to be on the same page long enough to save each other at the very least. Besides them two, I respect Julie a lot in her given time because with her own survivor’s guilt, Amanda Crew showed her to be a caring young sister who felt that showing sympathy was by giving space. Ironically, it was being together that was brought them closer before it was all over. While I hate to address it, I say it’s a given to say the remaining three didn’t survive the train crash otherwise it would’ve been mentioned in the following entry. If they somehow did, it’s a shame they weren’t around to help the following group to escape the next design. While I respect what this movie goes for, there were a few things that didn’t make much sense to me upon a rewatch. While I’ve already said it’s on Ashley & Ashlyn for not listening to the tanning salon employee Mel, I think it’s dumb there weren’t any security onto Frank who was visibly being creepy towards the said pair with his camera. It even feels uncomfortable realizing the employees at the roller coaster were straight up responsible for the deaths of Carrie & Jason because they straight up said they wanted to get off and didn’t let them do so. And while I respect Kevin wanting to look up clairvoyance to set up the connection with the predecessors, it feels odd for Wendy to not do the same since she’s the one who had the vision. And how did the girls have her number? If it was Kevin or Julie, it’s weird how that ain’t even implied. It’s also on Mel that the girls died because he could’ve put the phone call on hold to set up their tan. And Lewis sounded so stupid when he actually wished for a PSP to be buried with him to avoid boredom when dies. You can’t play video games when you die dumbass. That was a stupid joke to say even at a funeral of all places. Also, how the hell have Wendy & Kevin not recognized Frankie’s car that was in front of them? I know they’re not friends with him, but if he’s an alumni, they should have seen his car before to remember. And no one saw the sword props cut off the wires to the weight machines? The fact Lewis didn’t have a spotter for that is totally absurd. And if Death is inevitable, does that mean the results would remain the same Wendy didn’t try to stop the design? I mean it does feel ironic her presence did the magic. On top of that, where are everyone’s parents? If Ian was working with for his dad, it’s a surprise he wasn’t worried about him after Erin died. Other than that, the rest of this movie works with what they bring to the table. In short, Final Destination 3 is a solid sequel for raising the exact stakes of gore as you’d expect. If this franchise is up your alley, it’d be a surprise you haven’t seen it already.