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Movie Review- The Final Destination (2009)
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Bobby Campo and Shantel VanSanten hang out in The Final Destination.
Movie sequels are the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. Audiences flock to them expecting to be enticed by what they've enjoyed before. Hollywood loves producing sequels because they're an easy way to make a quick buck without having to generate too many original ideas, if any at all. Conversely, sequels also tend to be easy fodder for critics, often they are targeted for their lack of originality. The first film sequel ever made dates back to 1916's Fall of a Nation, the follow-up to D.W. Griffith's landmark 1915 release Birth of a Nation. On August 28th two big budget horror sequels battled for the box office, Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 and The Final Destination. Don't let that numeral free title fool you, this is the fourth entry in the Final Destination franchise.
And if you've seen any of the three preceding entries, you know exactly what to expect. The Final Destination opens with the generic Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) attending an auto race with three friends. While watching, he experiences a premonition where his comrades and several others are brutally killed by an accident that occurs. Nick comes out of the premonition proclaiming that they need to leave immediately, so his friends and seven other strangers depart the race resulting in most of them avoiding their doomed fate. And then as time passes many of the remaining characters meet Death via horrible and/or ironic accidents. Roll credits.
Even for diehard fans of these movies, there is a lot wrong here. Simply put, the producers/writers have run out of ideas. The first three entries had fun with either drawing out the lead up to the deaths, or by misdirecting the audience and then surprising them with an ingenious and gory demise. The Final Destination does neither. Any originality that was present before is far gone by now. The series has even started cannibalizing itself, one of the best scenes from the first one is repeated here (and is also ruined by the commercials, as are some of the other death scenes). It seems as if director David Ellis (Final Destination 2, Snakes on a Plane) really isn't trying anymore.
On top of that, the 3-D effects (first time used in the series) are underwhelming. The movie feels like it's being seen through a Viewfinder. My Bloody Valentine 3-D, released earlier this year, looked a whole lot better. This didn't need to be a rote sequel, there are facets none of the early films ever investigated. Why do these premonitions occur? No film so far in the series has tackled this topic. This one doesn't either. Also, while the acting on display in this franchise has never been deemed Oscar-worthy, the characters in this fourth film are surely two dimensional, and barely even that. Part of what makes many horror movies work is that you either identify with or despise the characters being offed. In The Final Destination, no emotional reaction good or bad is elicited for these cardboard cutouts. So, who cares what happens to them?
There's really not a whole lot to recommend here, and this reviewer is a big fan of this series. Hardcore fans of those entries that came before will still see this no matter what anyone says, but this is easily the worst entry so far. Those who are not fans will not have their minds changed (those people should go watch the best one, Final Destination 2). Based on interviews (check out an article in the New York Times which quotes an interview with series producer Craig Perry here), this one was called The Final Destination because it's supposed to be the final entry. The producer is quoted in this article as saying they don't know what they'd do in a fifth movie. Too bad they didn't realize that before filming this one. But that's okay, there will surely be a remake/reboot in about ten years.
Check out local theaters and showtimes for 3-D showings (complete with 3-D glasses) here and cheaper 2-D showings here.
For more information: The Final Destination
Check out this reviewer's synopsis of the previous movies in the series here.
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