The latest - and last - in the 'shock death' horror series. Although THE FINAL DESTINATION was marketed as the last in the series, it made cash at the box office so here we are with yet another instalment. To date it's the final one, although it wouldn't surprise me should another come out at some point. After all, the simple premise has plenty of mileage in it. This is another 3D film, so the cinema really is the best place to see it; failing that, a home 3D Blu ray set-up will suffice. Unlike PIRANHA 3D, the entire film was shot in 3D and the effect is very noticeable in crowd and dialogue scenes as well as the money shots. The 3D effects are pretty darn fantastic, they just keep getting better and better, and to be honest I just wouldn't bother with a 2D version of this movie.

As for the film itself, it's a mixture of the good and bad. The definite highlight of the entire film is the initial disaster, this time taking place on a suspension bridge. The CGI effects are the best I've seen in a movie and the whole set-piece is directed with expertise and skill. In fact, it's so good that it beats the vehicular pile-up in FINAL DESTINATION 2 to become the best so far of the entire series. It's just a shame that the rest of the film can't equal this kind of brilliance.

We're left with a mix of painful deaths and even more painful plotting. The deaths are all show-stoppers and highly sadistic, with the best being the elaborate set-up at the acrobatic training. However, as the film progresses it seems to lose focus, and ends up run-of-the-mill by the end, although there is a neat last reel twist that ties in with the whole cyclic nature of these films.

The characters are the worst yet, and a more disappointing bunch of faceless characters I couldn't imagine; these are about the blandest you can get for a teenage slasher flick (and this is a slasher film, just with death itself as the villain). The dialogue stinks and the storyline – which throws in desultory cop Courtney B. Vance and a novel way to attempt to cheat death – is a bore. Apart from the 3D carnage, the only thing I enjoyed was the welcome return of Tony Todd, sorely missed in the last instalment and bagging a meatier role this time around. Way to go, Tony!

Sam Lawton (Nicholas D'Agosto) is going to his brother's wedding but his girlfriend Molly Harper (Emma Bell) cancels and breaks up. He is wrestling with a job offer in Paris. His friend boss Peter Friedkin (Miles Fisher) is trying to hide a relationship with intern Candice Hooper (Ellen Wroe). Olivia Castle (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) is a bitch. Isaac Palmer (P.J. Byrne) is a talkative womanizer. Nathan (Arlen Escarpeta) is pushed by union rep Roy and Dennis (David Koechner) is the big boss. The group is going to a business team-building retreat. The bridge collapses and most of them die. It turns out to be a dream and Sam is able to save 8 of the group. However death has different designs. Agent Jim Block (Courtney B. Vance) investigates but he doesn't believe Sam's explanation. Coroner William Bludworth (Tony Todd) warns them and gives them a possible solution.

The opening bridge death dream sequence is great and a vast improvement over the previous racetrack sequence in 4. The CG looks much better this time around. The set pieces look realistic except maybe for the final kills. After the save, the individual kills are nothing new to the franchise. The laser eye surgery is a nice kill. There is something about being close to the eye that is truly creepy. Also the final twist is nicely constructed. And who doesn't love a kill montage.

Final Destination, when it was first released in the year 2000, was my favourite film for a number of years, so I've made a point of seeing all of the sequels. Very few film series get this privilege on my part (Saw and Paranormal Activity are some of the few that come to mind for me). And if there's one thing I've learnt along the way from the Final Destination films, it's that there isn't a lot of areas to continue to be creative in. In fact for me the only interchangeable area is really how the characters die. And fortunately that's been enough to keep some of us coming back.

So was Final Destination 5 inventive enough with the death scenes? Not in my opinion no. It all felt very 'seen it all before' and while they were able to shock us occasionally with the resulting method of death, there still wasn't enough surprise there.

I think Final Destination 5 needs to be the last film in the series. And not just because it's all getting a bit stale, but also because it was a really good way to wrap it up. At the end of the film we are treated to a twist that the whole film was in fact a prequel to the first Final Destination. And no they didn't cheat, there were indeed hints to it throughout the film. This was a nice touch and would mean that the fourth film in the series 'The Final Destination' was actually still somewhat true to its title. A really great series that I will remember for a long time, I just hope it stops here.