Final Destination (2009)

"Final Destination" is a pretty good flick considering that it's filed under the "Teen Slasher" title. The concept of Death coming after those who have thwarted their fate seems fairly original to me. I don't recall any other movie using this concept.

As most of you probably know, the story starts out with a young man(Devon Sawa) having a vision of Flight 180, the flight he and his classmates happen to be on, exploding into a ball of flames. He freaks out, gets himself and some of the other students and a teacher booted off of the plane and shortly thereafter, his vision becomes truth. He's considered a prime suspect for planting a bomb on the plane.

One by one, however, his classmates begin to die in some rather unorthodox ways. The agents tailing Sawa happen to notice that he has been around when most of these deaths occur, further incriminating him. Sooner or later Sawa, Ali Larter, and a few of the other surviviors realize that Death is hunting them down in the order that they should have died in the plane explosion.

This is where the train goes off the tracks. The plot gets a little bit loopy and things get rather silly as Death picks off the survivors one by one. The death scenes are rather original, and some of them make you cringe for a second as Death narrowly misses his victims. Of course, you have to wonder how Death can pull off a plane explosion, but can't manhandle a few puny high schoolers after they avert him the first time around. Just don't take this movie too seriously, and I'm sure everything will be okay. Look beyond the absurdities and you'll love every minute of it.

Overall, this isn't a bad flick. The story, though somewhat absurd, is original and the pacing of the film is perfect. The acting is solid, though Sawa seems a little bit stiff compared to the others. Ali Larter does a fine job as the loner who is the first to believe in Sawa's character. All of the death scenes are morbidly entertaining. I'm sure everyone has heard about the scene with the bus. If not, keep your eye out for it. It's one of the quickest, most violent deaths I've seen in the past few years. Also, look for the guy from "Candyman."

Recommended to teen slasher fans who like gore more than actual scares and anyone who just wants a neat popcorn flick to kill a little time. This one is entertaining enough to fill that need.

I went in hoping very much to like this film, and I came out being surprised that I actually did.

A group of students bound for Paris leave the plane when one has a terrible vision, only to find that it comes true a few moments after takeoff. Oh, but death doth not allowth such an easy route out. Soon the ole Grim Reaper begins to hunt down each of these students one by one and kill them off. Wow, a slasher flick with the ultimate slasher, huh? Yep, and it works beautifully.

The film starts off with the best plane crash perhaps ever seen on screen and is quickly followed by two very original death scenes. And well, then it kinda goes downhill. What started out clever becomes cliché, and the last few deaths are not nearly as original as the first. The ending is also very lame and seems more tacked on for sequel purposes than for a "complete film."

Still, even with those flaws, and the semi-bad acting, the dialogue shines and the movie itself blazes. Final Destination has its flaws, but in spite of them it ranks as one of the most entertaining films so far this year. Go see it, but beware if John Denver comes on the radio...

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This movie takes a revolutionary approach to the teen slasher flick remove the slasher. Instead of a dude in a mask, our photogenic heroes are up against Death himself. Death doesn't need a butcher knife or a fisherman's hook to kill the instruments of death are everywhere, from the slippery tiles in the bathroom to the can of turpentine in the garage.

The filmmakers make the most of style and atmospherics, loading the beginning of the film with almost subliminal foreshadowing, using subtle tricks of light, set, and sound design to enhance the feeling of foreboding. The result is a film with a unique, look and feel to it, not another run-of-the-mill horror flick.

There's also a welcome sense of morbid humor at work here. It's not precisely the satiric post-modernism of Scream. Rather, it's the blackest kind of comedy: we have to laugh at death, because we can't do anything about it.

I can't say I cared enough about the characters to have an emotional stake in what happened to them, which is the film's only flaw. Though they're more 3-dimensional than your typical cliched teens, they weren't real enough to elicit my sympathy.

Nevertheless, it's a finely crafted thriller, with genuinely disturbing scenes and grim humor amiably rubbing shoulders. Some said this makes an inconsistent tone, I disagree. Life itself is tragic one minute, comedic the next. You just have to roll with it. The comedic scenes don't diminish the horror, or vice versa.

The DVD is a five-star treatment, with several deleted scenes leading up to an alternate ending that fell victim to audience testing. It's a more philosophical ending, but almost ridiculous in its earnestness and not quite true to the spirit of the film; still, it's interesting to see. There are also two commentary tracks, one with the filmmakers and one with the actors. Add to that assorted documentaries and games, and you've got hours of fun.

Definitely a cut above your average teen-in-peril flick. If you're a horror fan, you'll enjoy this.

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Version: U.S.A / New Line Warner / Region Free

VC-1 BD-25 / AACS

Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

Running time: 1:38:02

Movie size: 20,306,337,792 bytes

Disc size: 22,792,510,156 bytes

Total bit rate: 27.62 Mbps

Average video bit rate: 21.30 Mbps

Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1644 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1644 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)

Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps

Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish

Number of chapters: 20

#Audio Commentaries

#Deleted Scenes

#Featurettes

--A Look at Test Screenings (SD 13 minutes)

--Premonitions (SD 20 minutes)

Want Final Destination (2009) Discount?

I tend to like a lot of high-brow dramas and foreign films, but I also enjoy a good, exciting thriller. What sets Final Destination above so many high school-set horror films is its original premise. The killer is not some deranged madman or...cheerleader, but Death itself. Another good thing is the production values. The quality of the special effects, the locations and even the actors (they aren't Olivier, but they're believable) is pretty high for this kind of film. The writers and director (Morgan, Reddick and Wong) pay great attention to detail and are good at building tension in the story. Watching the bathroom scene puts my nerves so much on edge that I cannot watch the entire thing with my eyes open. The DVD is nice because it shows the alternate ending, and discusses the screening and previewing process. This is just a fun, but scary movie to watch at home with your folks or some friends. I've seen it a couple of times. My only real complaint about it is the character of Clear Rivers, portrayed by Ali Larter. She came off as kind of cold and maybe creepy. I'm not sure what the deal was with that; I'll have to listen to the director's commentary one of these days.

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