Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Movie Review: The Final Destination

On Friday, I went to see the new action/suspense flick The Final Destination.  I’m not a huge fan of the franchise, but I’ve seen the first three films and enjoyed each of them.  None of the predecessors were particularly highbrow cinema.  The plots were goofy, the scripts were weak and, to be frank, the acting and direction were something quite atrocious.  And oddly enough, that’s just what I found so peculiarly charming about them.  They were superficial, high-octane, thrill rides that never pretended to be anything more.  And this new installment does not deviate from the formula.

As with the last three films, the plot revolves around a horrible, high-casualty accident.  A by-standing, to-be victim has a premonition of the tragedy and manages to warn a small handful of people before it’s too late.  Soon afterward, however, the survivors start succumbing to bizarre deaths in the particular order in which they would have died during the initial calamity.

This movie has all the classic elements of your run-of-the-mill suspense thriller.  There are plenty of outlandish, wall-splattering death sequences.  Some unnecessary swearing is thrown in for good measure.  And, of course, you have your token gratuitous sex scene.  Apart from a little cheesy dialogue here and there, the script is actually not too bad.  And the acting from the top four or five cast members is surprisingly good for this kind of flick.  Naturally, the biggest draw to movies like this is the special effects, and while they may be a bit choppy and fast-paced – a problem endemic to this series – they still get the job done.

Overall, I would definitely consider this the best addition to the Final Destination franchise to date.  If you’ve got 90 minutes to turn your brain off and just unwind, then I would recommend The Final Destination.

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