Final Destination

I really liked this movie. It's probably one of the better teen slasher flicks to ever hit the screen.

Let's face it: teen slasher flicks are not outstanding cinema. The writing is always lame, the plots are even lamer, they're usually vehicles for the latest trends in fashion and music and showcases of the heartthrob and/or bombshell-of-the-month. They're really just vehicles for post-pubescent hormonal stimulation.

But "Final Destination" is different. First, it has real imagination going for it. The plot is unlike your typical "madman in the corn chases teenage bombshell through puddles," it actually took some thought to put this together. It's not just shock-factor movie-making, they actually sat down and outlines how all the deaths would work in a way that keeps the plot alive. A tale of kids trying to cheat death's design is much harder to write than a dude with a chainsaw.

Then there's the death scenes themselves. Outstanding! I love a clever death scene in movies like this ... it's why you pay the $8! And these are some doozies. You can tell the filmmakers sat around for hours simply trying to find the coolest way to kill people. And if you have a sick mind (like yours truly), you'll find these death scenes simply hysterical! A really good movie. 8 out of 10. I'm giving it a high score because it's outstanding within it's genre.

Barky

LOVED IT.

Imagine any great slasher with no killer. No person to blame, nobody to see and NO IDEA HOW THAT PERSON WILL DIE. That's about the simple horror of Final Destination, and it was done in almost artistic ways.

While many movie-makers have been unwilling or unable to get into the meat & potatoes behind a good R-rated movie, the creators of Final Destination have no such restraint. In fact, the death scenes were so freakishly violent and intricate that they were interesting in and of themselves. Imagine the force of death (not the Grim Reaper, but the "phenomenon of accidents", if you will) being MAJORLY p***ed for having missed a few. Hence the plot.

To make matters worse, the director displayed "the little things" hyper-accurately. That alone made watching it really hard at times without wincing, flinching or screaming out loud. (*those who have seen this know EXACTLY what I'm talking about*)

As someone who goes to the movies every Friday, I have been waiting for this FOREVER!!

Oh, and by movie, I mean MOVIE... not FILM, not INDIE, not FLICK. A MOVIE is something that I first hear of through word of mouth, first see a glimpse of via previews of another MOVIE, and, after seeing it, leave the theater flashing back through great scenes and lines for the next few hours saying to myself "that was great!"

Final Destination was a great movie. They don't make them like this too often.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if you were looking for flaws you could find them (no movie is perfect), but I wasn't and enjoyed my ride thoroughly as a result. Personally, I think that if you had the time to pay attention to those flaws while watching it for the very first time, I've got news for you: you missed a great movie.

The first Final Destination is recognized as somewhat of a classic in some circles, but for whatever reason doesn't seem to have been given its proper place in the pantheon. The idea for the story and the way it is executed, pun intended, is really clever, filled with diabolical humor and imagination. It's most ingenious device is making literally the entire world, from the most mundane object to the most innocuous event, into the "monster."

The one that started it all: a franchise of over-the-top "action," outrageous gore, and characters you often couldn't care less about. Yet in this one, none of those really apply. The death scenes are in ways subtle and clever, sometimes drawn out to exacerbate tension, while others are arguably very predictable, but nonetheless thrilling. The plane scene is chaotic and how it culminates, very intense. Aside from one decapitation, not much gore. Meanwhile the characters, in my opinion, are the best the series has had to offer, particularly thanks to Devon Sawa, and the personality he elicits in Alex Browning. Others satisfy, too, from Sean William Scott to Kerr Smith. There's some subtle humor, some drama, and some creativity to be had. As much praise as I have to offer the movie, it still has its many flaws and even silly moments. But for what it's worth, it was the beginning, and it remains a fun watch despite the slew of even more over-the-top installments that followed it.

There are a number of super talented actor/directors in Hollywood. One of the most prolific is James Wong. In this film which he not only wrote, but directed as well he displays what many would consider his best work to date. This is the story of Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) who accompanies his high school friends on a field trip to France. However, moments before the plane departs, Alex has a premonition the plane will explode in mid-air. Sensing he is about to die, he breaks for the exit in a violent plea to leave the aircraft. When he demands to be put off, several of his friends add to his fear by panicking. When they are asked to leave, they are held by the security police in the waiting area, where they all see the plane depart and then moments later explode in mid-air. There after things which should go better for him, having saved peoples lives, go terribly wrong. One by one all the people whom he saved begin to die mysteriously with Alex realizing he knows why. Death stalks everyone, but in this story, they are warned in advance. The movie has some horrific moments, which the audience senses become more pronounced as death arrives. Great acting by the cast makes this film a must see. ****