The Final Destination

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The Final Destination

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The Final Destination

Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Haley Webb, Mykelti Williamson

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O’Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into t...( read more  read more... )he stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave… escaping seconds before Nick’s frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they’ve cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one — in increasingly gruesome ways — Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film marks the latest in the highly popular “Final Destination” series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror fans an especially visceral thrill ride.

Id: 11027750

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The Final Destination Recent Reviews
  • kiriyamakazou
    December 12, 2009
    kiriyamakazou
    Well, you can't blame them for trying. In it's defense, I did rewind a couple of the death sequences. It's a formula that can't fail those that know what to expect. Unlike the first installment, the characters really have no life before they are killed, making this even emptier. ...( read more)I expect the deaths to be big, but I was surprised at the tacky CGI. Probably to improve the 3D gimmick. Same as before.
  • mrpopcorn
    December 2, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "Just because you know it's happening, doesn't mean you'll see it coming."

    After a teen's premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.

    <
    ...( read more)u>REVIEW
    Death goes three-dimensional in this lame, predictable, excruciatingly irritating sequel. The story, if you even want to call it that, begins at a racetrack where a group of puerile, unappealing teenagers are fortunate enough to escape a sickening accident when one of them has a premonition of the whole thing. Assorted others escape as well and then....isn't it obvious by now what kind of events are going to escalate throughout the rest of the film? 3-D or no 3-D, the producers don't seem to comprehend that despite how many different ways people are killed, or how much shock value they try so desperately to provide, this is the same tiresome plot that was used in all three previous films. Even worse, the special effects are so laughably absurd, and the sheer idiocy of the script is so unavoidable that it's like watching a parody of the entire series. This doesn't even work as a brainless thrill ride because the only thing it succeeds at is making your brain hurt.
  • flickfever
    October 30, 2009
    flickfever
    In a franchise that was starting to see its potent thrill factor wane in recent years, we get what is presumed to be the "final" chapter. Of course, in Hollywood, a final movie in a series is as sure as a diva retiring from the stage. But, if we are to believe this is the final f...( read more)ilm in the "quad"rilogy, it's quite a disappointment.

    Not that the previous three films were anything to regard as high drama or a fine collection of American cinema, but this last movie has really nothing going for it except for one thing. And this thing is what saves the flick from complete disaster...it's in 3-D.

    And, the fact that these movies are built around gruesome death sequences and elaborate set-ups, executions and payoff, the 3-D format is essential to your enjoyment of this chiller.

    Of course, you know the formula: hot teen with a premonition saves friends from certain death only to have death certainly knock them off one-by-one anyway. It's definitely nothing you'd be upset with me for spoiling (unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years and aren't aware of the 'Destination' movies and its gimmicky plots.) But what makes this installment stand apart from its preceding trilogy is that the 3-D delivers on its promise to make you jump and flinch.

    I wouldn't recommend seeing this film in 2-D unless you're a die-hard fan of the films. But if you're even a bit hesitant to see it because of its storytelling (and acting) pitfalls, I'd say see it in the version that'll require you to wear stylish glasses. It's definitely worth the extra fee to see bodies suffer unimaginable trauma in the third dimension.
  • PvtCaboose91
    October 19, 2009
    PvtCaboose91
    "We're all gonna die, right? There's gonna be a crash!"


    Sequel-camouflaging title notwithstanding, The Final Destination is the fourth instalment of the now 9-year-old horror series wherein the Grim Reaper eviscerates those who have avoided their predestined dea

    ...( read more)th. By this point in the franchise, one would hope for the filmmakers to finally tweak the time-worn formula (perhaps explore the source of the premonitions, or place the action somewhere more exciting) but if someone pitched this idea to the studio executives, they were outvoted...this fourth film follows the formula to the letter without deviation. The sole element that has been changed is the visuals, which are now in 3-D (meaning blood, sharp objects and viscera are thrown at your face). The Final Destination does get credit for cutting straight to the chase; brushing aside both story and characterisation to plunge straight into the delightful gore. But the film is too rote, and it's handled weakly by those involved who were clearly more interested in box office returns than refreshing genre creativity.


    For those unfamiliar with the three prior movies (released in 2000, 2003 and 2006), the recurring set-up is exceedingly simple: a group of characters are supposed to die in a terrible accident, but they survive because one of them has a premonition of said accident, and they escape before it actually happens. While this would logically suggest that they've been given a second chance, it isn't long before the Grim Reaper returns to claim the souls of those who evaded his scythe. Thus, The Final Destination commences with a group of four friends attending a NASCAR event. One of them, Nick (Campo), experiences the obligatory vision of a crash so implausibly epic that it causes a series of explosions and results in the death of dozens...including those of himself and his friends. Since his vision was so vivid, Nick is sent into a turbulent panic, and frantically attempts to leave the venue. He and a number of people do so, which leaves a motley assortment of survivors who must now navigate the dangerous waters of life-after-averted-death. The Grim Reaper spends the next 70 minutes of the film re-killing the survivors in meticulous ways.


    Inexplicably, the main characters are very quickly able to figure out that the spirit of doom is hunting them - they just know purely because it's in the screenplay (though the word "Google" is uttered by one of the characters in a half-hearted attempt to justify their knowledge). Like its predecessors, The Final Destination does contain vague notions of expanding upon the mythology of the series, but there's minuscule effort on the part of the filmmakers to go through with it.
    What was the source of Nick's premonition? Not important enough to explore, it seems. Why does Nick continue to experience premonitions which detail how the next survivor will die? No-one involved had an interest in addressing that either. The Final Destination is virtually a carbon copy of the preceding films, except that it's packaged in digital 3-D and eschews a numerical affix in favour of a definitive "the" in the title to suggest it is the final destination...unless, of course, the cash registers ring hard and often enough to warrant another follow-up.


    Director David R. Ellis (a former stuntman-turned-director) makes his return to the director's chair after having helmed the second movie, which was arguably superior to the first (X-Files alumni James Wong co-wrote and directed the first & third instalments). In terms of delivering what the series promises, Ellis doesn't disappoint; beginning the film with a suitably horrific and spectacular disaster that kills dozens of people. And taking the ride in 3-D - which is undoubtedly the most enjoyable way to experience The Final Destination - makes the sequence extremely spectacular. Beyond this opening action set-piece, however, Ellis is unable to electrify the material - he merely ticks off sequences one by one, concentrating more on shock value due to gore as opposed to intoxicating tension. The kill scenes - while enjoyable and occasionally gripping - are still far too elaborate to be believed. Domino effect situations like these are too unbelievable, especially in such bulk. With lack of suspense and with originality at an all-time low, it seems the filmmaker utilised the 3-D gimmick as an excuse to get lazy. At least the film manages to sustain a viewer's attention for its short 80-minute duration - there's certainly minimal downtime between the unapologetically brutal kill scenes that define these movies.


    Another problem with The Final Destination is that the characters are flat. Yes, it's incredibly rash to expect decent characterisations in a slasher flick, but the previous Final Destination films at least explored the basic backgrounds of the protagonists. A number of the main characters in this film, however, make absolutely no sense as people - they are apparently post-college and in their mid-20s, yet they don't appear to have a job to fund their comfortable lifestyle...they just inhabit an apartment and try mightily not to get killed. Tension for the most part relies on a viewer's ability to care for the characters, but with personality-deficient people within the movie, who really cares if they live or die? (As a side note, some of the characters in the prior Final Destination films were named after horror icons. This is unfortunately not retained here.)


    The acting is expectedly awful. Every single performer is generic, especially Bobby Campo who brings scarcely a modicum of intensity to his premonition-receiving character. Shantel VanSanten and Haley Webb are fairly interchangeable with the previous Final Destination starlets (they're gorgeous, have great bodies, and are instantly forgettable), while David Webb appears as the requisite jerk (who's dismissive of the whole concept that Death is out to get them). Obviously it's daft to expect decent acting when dealing with unfussy horror mechanics, but the ensemble often fails to provide requisite anxiety...they appear to look upon death as a mild nuisance akin to a lengthy red light.


    The Final Destination would be a terrible movie (even as far as horror sequels go) if it weren't for its sense of humour, which constantly reminds a viewer that the filmmakers were self-aware of how ridiculous the whole thing is. A scene in which a racist redneck is dragged to his fiery death after attempting to plant a burning cross in an African American man's yard is given an extra touch in the form of the car stereo blaring the song Why Can't We Be Friends? as it unfolds. The climax is set in a movie theatre primed to explode while playing a 3-D movie that features a ticking time-bomb (which is actually footage from The Long Kiss Goodnight).


    Whether the "more of the same, only in 3-D" approach to The Final Destination will satisfy you depends entirely on your taste. While this reviewer would have liked to see the filmmakers mine other thematic areas, there's still enough popcorn entertainment here to warrant a watch.
  • sheens431
    September 21, 2009
    sheens431
    Ok, the only thing worth seeing in this movie is the 3D stuff. If you don't know the story behind every Final Destination movie by now, then you really need to get out more.

    Lots of people die and there's lots of blood. But this time stuff gets thrown in your face. And actuall...( read more)y did a decent job of surprising you with the stuff that comes at you. A few times I knew something was coming, but for the most part it was surprising.

    If this movie wasn't in 3D I'd say skip it, b/c there's nothing that special about it. But if you get a chance to see it 3D, go for it.
  • Xakleja
    December 14, 2009
    Xakleja
    Good not a relly good scarymovie but its good:)
  • kian013
    December 14, 2009
    kian013
    It is really the same old thing all over again. For audiences who love to see new creative ways of dying.
  • honey88foru
    December 13, 2009
    honey88foru
    You know there are people out there calling it the worst in the series. You think they just expected too much from it or they're just exaggerating. You'd be wrong to think that. This movie is just so uninspired. It is simply an act of compulsive behaviour on part of Zide/Perry Pr...( read more)oductions. Maybe they expected the 3D gimmick to work. I can say, without that, the movie doesn't even generate the rare "oh!". The deaths are not interesting enough. I did not feel the slightest bit of anticipation or fear of the deaths. The acting is below average. Moving along...
  • bassmaster51392
    December 12, 2009
    bassmaster51392
    honestly this movie sucked. it had a few good parts but for the most part it wasnt all that great.
  • Oliba
    December 12, 2009
    Oliba
    Has it come to this? It's all down hill after the initial track car pile up. See for yourself, or not.
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