Final Destination 2

If you loved the original Final Destination, then you will almost certainly enjoy the sequel, a virtual carbon-copy of the first film, except that everything is bigger and much, much bloodier.

This time around, a group of travellers narrowly avoid being involved in a spectacular freeway pile-up thanks to an eerie premonition experienced by driver Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) as she waits on the on-ramp. Feeling cheated once again, Death alters his grand design to try and claim the lives of those who escaped his clutches. As the survivors of the accident begin to die in the order witnessed in her vision, Kimberley realises what is happening, and tracks down the sole survivor of flight 180, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), for help.

Despite working with material that rarely explores new territory, director David R. Ellis directs with gusto: his freeway pile-up is an absolutely jaw-dropping piece of cinema—a brutal, bloody and disturbing set-piece—and the subsequent death scenes are masterfully orchestrated pieces of mayhem that tease the audience with several possible bloody conclusions, before delivering their always impressive pay-off (gory fatalities are caused by a falling ladder, a sheet of glass, a faulty elevator, an air-bag, a flying wire fence, and a barbecue!!!).

In amongst the graphic bloodletting, Ellis also finds time to throw in some very nice visual touches (such as the tree shadows which resemble clutching skeletal hands) and lots of delightfully dark humour (gotta love that final shot!). A thoroughly entertaining piece of OTT popcorn horror, Final Destination 2 gets a very respectable 7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

I was apprehensive when I didn't Devon Sawa in the credits or this movie, but then again, this film didn't really need him. This wasn't a sequel in the purest sense, but the film makers created methods to link all of the new characters to the old ones, creating a flow which wasn't too jarring. Unfortunately, the dialogue was the only real stinker in this film. The pretentiousness, the obviousness and the downright hokiness that came out of the mouths of the characters really detracted from the tension, turning their performances into a bunch of acting class rejects. But I digress. The only thing people are looking for is how Death will get the new set of escape artists. The sheer surprise and execution of the executions made me jump and crawl. In such a desensitized world we live in, being able to jump out of my seat means this film is a winner.

You know that feeling you get when you're watching America's Funniest Home Videos and the oblivious son hits his hapless father in the crotch with an aluminum bat? It gets a quick reaction, like, ooh, I feel your pain man. FINAL DESTINATION 2 is a 90 minute or so string of those painful shots, as each character one by one meets an unfortunate death by household appliance. Bodies are slammed by trucks, heads are impaled, and limbs fly through the air. When one of the characters dies when her car's airbag explodes out of nowhere, I blurted "Yeah! Wow, did they do that??? Yeah, they DID do that. Right on!" Although the film has a very serious atmosphere about it, what with the creepy score and people sincerely freaking out and everything, it still retains a campy humor about it buried beneath its high-budget exterior. Many movies would shy away from smashing up plastic ketchup-filled dummies, opting instead to avoid the gore. Not FINAL DESTINATION 2! This movie is an honest approach to movie-making, hearkening back to the day when you got together with friends and said, "Okay, in this scene we cut to the dummy falling off the building, it's run over by a Mack truck, and it splatters chunks of blood all over that Oldsmobile over there." As for the premise behind FINAL DESTINATION 2, how do I put it into words? A.J. Cook has premonitions that people died in a nasty pileup on the highway. Thing is, this never happened. And ... she continues to have premonitions that those same people will die in due time. Those people eventually die. Did I get that right? The universal law of nature is that, well, Death sometimes misses its mark and has to fix its mistakes (which usually involves electrical equipment getting wet and other freak accidents of home improvement). If this all sounds convoluted, watch the movie. You'll see what I mean. The premise of FINAL DESTINATION 2, as much potential as it might have, doesn't make much sense and is pretty hokey, but if you medicate your inquisitive mind with heavy sedatives, you'll be able to look past the flimsy premise and enjoy the movie. I'm definitely looking forward to a Final Destination 3.

This film is probably best in a series...which isn't saying too much...but it's a lot of mindless fun and some truly clever connections to the original. Lots of funny little asides and puns.

Also, I am ALWAYS nervous when I pass a truck carrying logs or poles, or anything like that...just nope...get it as far in the rear view as possible!

I remember when I saw the first Final Destination movie at the cinema, and I really enjoyed it, it was something fresh new original and exciting, and when I heard that they were making a 2nd one, well at first I was a bit sceptical, but when I saw the trailers, I was excited.

Well the plot to this one, not all that different from the previous movie, only instead of an aeroplane, this time we get a traffic accident and the central character Kimberley (AJ Cook) has a vision much like Devon Sawa did in the first one. Only with a slight difference, this time the deaths work backwards.

Sequels are often associated with disappointment, as many often only manage to be pale imitations of their predecessors. The second Final Destination is anything but, as it's bigger, slicker, and altogether more fun than the original. Overall this one has a different tone to the first one, this one's more blood and a lot more gore, which is always a bonus in my eyes, another aspect is that the deaths are way over the top, which is awesome and something that was missing from the first movie.

The performances again doesn't fail to deliver, with yet again another group of interesting characters, AJ Cook is this time the main character and she hits all the right notes, she's resourceful and likable. Michael Landes plays it cool and low key but also comes across as likable and has great chemistry with AJ Cook. Ali Larter I enjoyed her in the first movie and I was glad they brought her back she gave a very credible performance and Jonathan Cherry plays the comic relief drug addict really well and came off as very natural.

All in all a brilliant follow up and companion to the first movie and them both even each other out really well.