Final Destination DVD > Reviews > Surprisingly entertaining

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Unmemorable
Special Effects	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Entertaining, fast - paced, ingenious horror film
Disadvantages:	Mediocre acting, weak characterisation

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When Alex Browning (Sawa) embarks on a trip to Paris with his high school French class, he receives a shocking premonition of the plane's explosion just moments after take-off. Sensing his imminent demise, he panics and insists that everyone leave the plane. In the ensuing melee, five other students and a teacher are forced to disembark.
Back in the airport terminal, as the seven of them rage about their lost opportunity, the vision comes true when the plane explodes in midair. Understandably unsettled by their experiences, the survivors struggle to figure out how Alex anticipated the disaster. As Alex tries to return to a normal life, he comes to believe that somehow he and his friends have cheated death. However, one by one, each survivor meets an untimely end, and Alex and the remaining survivors must work together to change their destinies and continue to evade death.
Co-writers Glen Morgan and James Wong reveal their roots, having previously worked on both 'The X-Files' and 'Millennium', in this entertaining spin on the teen horror genre. The premise of the film is definitely a strong one, and the visual styling Wong brings to the proceedings is first rate. However, the script is patchy, featuring the usual stereotypical teen characters, and some of the acting is merely adequate. Probably the worst dialogue comes when Alex and fellow survivor Clear (Larter) break into a funeral home, encountering the mortician played by one-time 'Candyman', Tony Todd.
Nonetheless, the special effects are superb, especially Alex's vision of the plane's explosion, which is quite possibly the most graphic depiction of an airline disaster shown from the point of view of the passengers ever filmed. Also, the film is not without a sense of humour. While throughout most of the film, tension is maintained expertly, there are occasional entertaining moments, such as the interchange between the obligatory skeptical FBI agents assigned to the crash, and the use of John Denver's 'Rocky Mountain High'. Also, Morgan and Wong make tacit references to other thriller directors with characters named after Hitchcock, Browning, Val Lewton and even 'The X-Files' creator Chris Carter.
Overall, 'Final Destination' certainly delivers entertainment; it's a vibrant film with some ingenious death scenes and a well-paced story. However, if you're planning on taking a flight at some point in the near future, you'd be well advised to give it a miss!