DVD Review: Final Destination 3

The three Final Destination movies are terrible as far as movies go. Their "plots" are meaningless, the dialogue pointless, and the characters are nothing but fodder. After all that, they're still immensely entertaining.

Setting themselves up with the simple concept of people who cheat death only delays the inevitable, Final Destination is about sick innovation. You have never been to a movie that makes someone having their head smashed apart by exercise equipment entertaining. Yet, here we are on a third sequel.

As is par for the series, we open with an elaborate life or death sequence, this time a roller-coaster. While nowhere near the unbelievable carnage of Destination 2's jaw dropping expressway pile-up, it feeds on the fear that we've all been on a roller-coaster and runs with it. That leads to dialogue, mourning, and then death #2 on the list.

Destination 3 doesn't try to anything different, even with an entirely new cast to play with. The only change in the formula are pictures that give the two lead characters clues as to how everyone will end up dead. It's an unneeded twist and far reaching even for a film with an absurd concept as it is.

Oddly, the second film is almost completely ignored, leading to an odd continuity lapse. Any continuation comes at the hand of death, as with each passing film the set-ups become more and more innovative. A few deaths in this one really begin to push plausibility, especially the tanning booth and the hardware store (the latter of which has an excessively long and impossible starting point).

Still, when you come to see blood and gruesome death and it's what you're given, it's hard not to be satisfied. It's nothing new, and the concept has been run dry by this point, but Destination 3 shows that with a little twisted ingenuity, you can always deliver.

It's a little disappointing to watch this one on DVD given the quality of the transfer. It's fuzzy, lacking in detail, and at times heavy on the compression. Color is strong (especially the blood), and aliasing is kept under control. It's a rare sub-standard transfer for New Line.

For audiophiles though, you can't go wrong with this. Full DTS-ES 6.1 audio is worth blaring until the neighbors complain. 5.1 EX is your other choice. Bass is brutal and completely convincing. Surround use is constant. It's also effectively used for ambience during down time. This is what you buy sound equipment for.

Heavily hyped, the key extra here on disc one is the "choose their fate" game. As you're watching the movie, a menu pops up and asks you to make a selection like "jump left" to change a scene slightly or drastically. It's impressive how seamless the branching is. The extra sequences are mild fun, while a few lead to new death sequences.

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Article Author: Matt Paprocki

Matt Paprocki is a 12-year movie and game critic. He currently freelances for Blu-ray review site DoBlu.com and video game site MultiPlayerGames.com.

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