FILM

USA 2011 92 mins Dir: Steven Quale Starring: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher

The previous one dispensed with numbers altogether and pronounced itself 'The Final Destination'. But finality is always negotiable when a film enjoys a franchise record-breaking global haul of $186 million. That's good news for those of us who never tire of watching American teenagers die horribly.

The great strength of the Final Destination movies is that rather than boring us with an increasingly convoluted overarching storyline, like the 'Saw' flicks, each one simply recapitulates the same plot with a glossy new cast of victims and a series of imaginatively staged slice'n'dice, crush'n'mush set-pieces. A massive opening disaster in which everyone dies is revealed to be a premonition experienced by Sensitive Kid. He then freaks out and persuades his chums to leave the scene before they perish. Up pops the world's most sinister coroner, Tony Todd, to inform the survivors that Death doesn't like to be cheated. Luckily for us, Death also likes to have a bit of fun rather than claiming his doom-dodging victims in their sleep, picking them off one-by-one with maximum grue in the order that they would otherwise have died. Generally, this means the Bee-yatch, Arrogant Asshole and Token Brother don't stick around for long.

This time, a terrific suspension bridge collapse kicks it all off and a bus full of young co-workers on their way to a company retreat apparently meet their ends by being carved up by high-tension cables, impaled on the masts of passing yachts, and so on. Death's grisly revenge will make you think twice about undergoing acupuncture and laser eye surgery or listening to 'Dust in the Wind' by Kansas. And just for once, there's a novel twist at the end for those who've been paying attention since the first film. (Robin Askew)

Website http://finaldestinationmovie.warnerbros.com/index.html

Opens: Aug 26

Copyright Robin Askew 2011