There's no shortage of hot young things being torn limb from limb (literally in the case of the talking-point escalator scene) and you have to give the makers credit for finding new ways to kill people 'by accident'. But why should we care what befalls these teens? We know next to nothing about them, other than they like to go to races, and only closet-alcoholic security guard Mykelti Wiliamson gets anything resembling a back-story, and even that could be written on the back of a stamp.
In its favour, the Final Destination films have always been about guessing who was going to be next on Death's list and then having the audience simultaneously wince and laugh when the blood started to flow. These films wear the trashy B-movie horror banner with pride, so why mess with the formula three movies in?
Going 3D was the natural progression, as it makes the tension that much more immediate (you'll cringe as soccer mom Samantha gets her fringe cut at a salon) but it's hard to see where the franchise could go from here. Calling it The Final Destination makes it sound like the full stop at the end of a quadrilogy, but Jason Vorhees carried on for a further eight films after his 'Final Chapter', so don't be too surprised if Final Destination 5 is green-lit.
The sole selling point of The Final Destination is that it's in 3D - the climax actually occurs in a 3D cinema showing The Long Kiss Goodnight. How's that for irony? - so be warned; watching this film in 2D will be an even more underwhelming experience than Final Destination 3. For everyone else watching The Final Destination in RealD 3D, it absolutely delivers the thrills and (blood) spills you were hoping for.
