Final Destination - Or Is It...?

This is one of those movies that made an indelible impact on the genre, throwing away the conventions of 'teenage friends die horribly' films and putting in the place of the armed psycho or bloodthirsty beastie the concept of Death itself. It's kinda screwy, as you'd expect from some X-Files old hands, and generate some respectable uncertainty and tension.

You've probably all heard the story... Alex boards a plane with his school's French club, only to have a terrifying vision of the craft's disintegration. He loses his marbles briefly and as a result, he and six others are booted off. It gets weird when Flight 180 does indeed explode shortly after take off, and two things happen - everyone on board dies, and our hero and his friends are justifiably a little put off given their suspicious survival. For a few weeks, Alex is a bit of a leper, as the whole school (and the FBI now that you mention it) knows that he predicted the accident, and must be some sort of unlucky charm/demonic wizard. But then Alex's best mate dies in suspicious circumstances which are passed off as suicide, but the survivors are convinced that there is something out there trying to finish off what should have started on the plane that fateful night... And that something may just be Death itself.

Our cast here is a real mixed bag, as with most teen ensembles. Devon Sawa displays some charisma as Alex, especially when facing off against death solo in a deserted cabin, but he seems a little immature in a role that perhaps is too heavy for him. The other youths have similar problems, notably Sean William Scott (in the days prior to his talent for comedy being singled out as his primary focus) and Kerr Smith - they just can't seem to grasp a) the seriousness of imminent death and b) that there are real people dying around them... I dunno, I just wasn't convinced. Director James Wong (aside from not being able to wring much from his young cast) is solid with his build-ups - several sequences which ultimately result in some untimely but beautifully choreographed deaths are well-orchestrated, and still manage to wring some suspense more in trying to figure out how exactly the character will be disposed of. On that note, I'd level some criticism at the lack of emotion they built in towards the people under attack from Death - I was possibly more interested to see them die in interesting ways than see them cheat Death's plan. Lastly, aside from the below par long shot of the aeroplane goin' up in a cheap looking explosion, the VFX crew should cop some praise. A nice visual signature marks the scenes when you know something's going down - the internal shot of the plane being conflagrated, the bathroom asphyxiation, Ms Lewton's vodka fuelled Rube Goldberg style death and the train collision are particular highlights.

It took a formula and gave it a kick in the teeth. I respect that. The fact that it wasn't in fact the final destination [film] is indicative of the niche it filled. I've seen Final Destination 5 and I have to say I prefer the fifth (which is unusual for a franchise of such longevity), largely due to its impressive effects, higher calibre of actors and unexpected twist. But the original Final Destination is not too bad - I hand it a cheeky 3 out of 5 doomed younglings.