Final Destination 5

The first "Final Destination" movie in 2000 was a rather innovative 'Dead Teenager Movie' in that the killer was Death itself, an invisible spirit. A group of people, mostly youths, escape a great tragedy due to a premonition of one of them and the rest of the movie involves the Grim Reaper systematically slaying the kids who cheated Death in various creative ways, usually an unlikely chain of events. The opening tragedy in the first film was a plane crash, in the second a highway pile-up, in the third a rollercoaster mishap, in the fourth a racetrack calamity. In this fifth and most recent film (2011) it's a spectacular bridge collapse and it's probably the best opening tragedy of the franchise.

All of the movies in the series tell the same basic story with different characters and minor nuances; all of them are of the same high quality of technical filmmaking. Whether you prefer one or another depends on your preference for cast members and the death sequences (and the locations). Other than these factors they're all basically the same.

"Final Destination 5" features Nicholas D'Agosto as the main protagonist with Emma Bell as his blonde girlfriend. Tom Cruise lookalike, Miles Fisher, is also on hand while Ellen Wroe plays the gymnast. Meanwhile Tony Todd returns as the creepy coroner who seems to know more about the situation than he should.

While it's true that you know exactly how this film will play out if you've seen the first four installments, or any of them, there are some highlights beyond the females. For one, this movie has a superb score and soundtrack, at least on par with the previous installment. Aside from featuring the most thrilling opening tragedy, there are several creative death scenes involving a gymnast accident, an Asian spa, eye surgery, a factory mishap and a restaurant altercation. This entry also throws in a unique twist that I'm not going to give away (but if you've seen the trailer you already know what it is). There's an additional surprise at the end, which nicely wraps up the five-movie franchise.

The film runs 92 minutes and, like the first three films, was shot in the Vancouver area (the fourth film was shot in the East).

GRADE: B+

I'm a huge fan of the Final Destination series. They aren't Oscar contenders, but they are certainly quite entertaining. However, after hearing a lot of negative feedback on the 4th FD, I decided not to watch it and hung my head in disappointment. I genuinely thought my favorite deadly franchise had finally bit the dust itself, and in a bad way. But when I heard about this fifth and final Final Destination, I decided to give it one more chance. Because hey, I hadn't been to the theater in awhile and if it sucked I'd at least have a good laugh. But, I am very happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised by Final Destination 5.

The story, as other reviewers have mentioned, really sets FD5 up to good prospects. It feels a lot more like the first FD, much darker without being too complex. I honestly liked the 2nd and 3rd ones a lot, but they were missing the creepy factor that the first installment had. This fifth episode really brings it back. The characters are surprisingly believable. Granted, you have the gratuitous hot chick and ladies man, but the characters never feel contrived or forced. Kudos to the actors for keeping this from being a $5-bin campy horror film.

The effects, even in 2D, were just as I think a film's effects should be: realistic enough to avoid the fake-factor, but not so excessive that they drown out everything else in the film. Yes, one could argue that these movies are all about death, but what always made them different for me from other horrors was the focus on build-up. The FD franchise has it's fans trained to watch for every little thing in a scene that could cause someone's demise until your skin crawls--and FD5 gives the audience this "detective" feeling perfectly.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much out of this movie. However, from the very beginning, I was impressed. A few points of warning: it is very graphic, but anyone who has seen any of the other FD films should know that already. Also, you will not enjoy this film as much if you haven't watched at least the 1st FD, if not the 2nd and 3rd as well. When you factor in the story and characters, the death and mayhem we've all come to love, and one of the best plot twists I've seen this year, FD5 is very worth watching. Go on, have some fun.

But you all just be careful, now. ;)

OK, Final Destination 5 is JUST AS GOOD as the first. And better than the sequels. It is violent as ever!, has great acting, the 3-D is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the plot is spectacular!!!! It' better than Final Destination 2, Final Destination 3 and Definitely The Final Destination 4! it makes The Final Destination (4, 2009) look like garbage. Me and my Dad loved it. And my Dad hated the last two. And the deaths are VERY disturbing and realistic. If you saw the last one and was turned off by it, then you will be surprised about this one. I'm glad I saw it!!!!! It was the scariest and most realistic Final Destination.

So, I saw FD5 at its midnight release after purchasing my tickets days in advance. Yes, I'm that big of a fan; next to Nightmare on Elm Street, the FD franchise is my favorite. I don't want to make this a long review, but I will sum up my thoughts on this movie in one word… AMAZING! FD 5 is, IMO, the best installment to the franchise, and in some cases, surpasses the original. From start to finish, the movie is full of suspense, tension, excitement, and anticipation. It's enough to keep ME, someone who has followed this movie's production for the past year and knew just about everything about the movie going into it, at the edge of my seat. Yes, I knew who'd die, when they'd die, and how they'd die even before stepping foot into the theater. But, regardless, I wasn't let down one bit. This movie, unlike the others (minus the 1st), succeeded in giving character development. The death scenes were awesome and not too overly fictional, and even managed to throw in a new rule, "kill or be killed." Which gave a breath of fresh air to the almost stale plot that we all know of. The premonition scene is definitely the best of the franchise and the acting was on par. Not Oscar worthy, but definitely believable for what it is. I just can't say enough how great this movie is. Now I won't spoil anything for anyone, but the ending was EPIC! Words can't describe how amazing it was. Steven Quale did wonders with the use of 3D as well. Should it be seen in 3D…? YES! The film was shot in 3D and Quale knew when to emphasize the use of it without shoving it in our faces (except for the extra long title sequence, and credits). Anyways, while I loved this movie and everything about it, it did have a few things about it that underwhelmed me. The use of CGI blood was a bit more than I wanted, and at some points did look a bit fake. Also, some parts of the film were a bit too comedic. The comedic level should have been toned down for a particular scene (I'm looking at YOU, Issac.) Other than that, the movie was fantastic and an excellent installment into the FD family. I really recommend this movie, but only to those at least knowing what they are getting themselves into.

I was surprised to see a part 5 of this movie franchise, but it was a welcomed one though. And it was with some anticipation that I sat down to watch it.

Initially, the story here in part 5 is the same as in the previous four movies. Despite liking all movies, seen with a reviewer's eyes, the story has been abused a tad too many times now. I mean, seriously, it is just the same story over and over in all 5 movies. But what makes it worthwhile and worth watching is the inventive and cruel ways that people meet their demise at. At least that is it for me, it is what drives me to keep watching these movies. I want to see what ways people die, and I want to see the effects.

If you are a fan of the series, you definitely want to check out part 5 as well, as it is every bit as entertaining as the previous four, and the ways people die in this movie was cool - as in the previous movies as well. And the effects were quite nice, and it had just enough gore to keep most gorehounds well-fed as well.

Despite enjoying the movie and the deaths, five movies cooked on the same broth is just getting too thin. You know the story already before you sit down to watch the movie, it is not a matter of if they die, it is a matter of how they die.

One thing that was awesome in part 5 was the way they made it come full circle with the first original movie. That was a very inventive stroke of genius on the writer's part. Thumbs up for that twist, it was well worth it.

The cast in "Final Destination 5" was pretty good. Again, lots of nicely talented young actors and actresses, and people here did a great job with their roles and bringing their characters out on the screen.

"Final Destination 5" is well worth a watch, if for nothing else, then for the death scenes alone.