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Member since:02.07.2005
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* Please note: This review first appeared on dooyoo.co.uk under my dooyoo alias of dlb74 *
When the original 'Final Destination' hit the big screen in 2000, I was blown away by how original and fresh it seemed. Following the success of the 'Scream' trilogy, it could be so easy for a film studio to churn out yet another serial killer related film.
'Final Destination', however was something different. A film where people were facing a terrible threat. One that sadly we all must face one day. Death itself.
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THE PLOT:
A group of high school kids are flying from New York to Paris. Once on board the plane and awaiting take-off, one of the kids, Alex Chance Browning (Devon Sawa) has a premonition that the flight is going to explode on take-off, killing everyone on board.
Alex panics and demands to get off the plane. Amid the confusion, a fight breaks out between Alex and another student - Carter Horton (Kerr Smith). Other students and one of the teachers try to intervene and subsequently all get thrown off the plane.
Out in the airport foyer, as everyone tries to establish what spooked Alex, the student he fought with on the plane attacks him again - just as the plane taxis off. As the plane takes to the night sky, we see it exploding in a gigantic fireball. Seconds later, the impact of the explosion shatters all the windows of the airport foyer - leaving everyone terrified and looking fearfully
at Alex.
Soon, the FBI arrive and question everyone who got off the plane - especially Alex - as they are told about his prediction that the flight was doomed. They tell him that they know he didn't blow the flight up and eventually reluctantly let him go.
Shortly thereafter, other survivors of the crash begin to die in mysterious ways. Could it be that they should not have escaped their fate on the plane? Alex begins to realise that there may well be a pattern - a design for death - and that each of them must face their destiny... but can it be avoided - or at least delayed?
Who will live and who will die? To find out, watch 'Final Destination'.
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THE CAST / ACTING:
The cast in 'Final Destination' are for the most part very convincing and you end up even caring about them and what happens to them.
Devon Sawa is very good as Alex - giving the real impression of someone who initially feels real guilt for surviving the crash in which so many friends perished. From the guilt and shock, he becomes obsessed at trying to figure out death's 'design' so that he can try to save the lives of himself and the other survivors before it is too late.
Ali Larter plays Clear Rivers - a quiet, somewhat reclusive girl who has never spoken to Alex at school. Despite this and not actually getting involved in the fight that gets the group thrown off the plane, Clear feels that there is something more to Alex's claims than meet the eye - and gets off the plane voluntarily.
All of the supporting cast do excellent jobs at conveying what their characters require of them. The excellent Sean William Scott (perhaps best known as the foul-mouthed Stifler from the 'American Pie' movies) is Billy Hitchcock in this film. He manages to inject some sublime humour in between the shocks - which can be quite a welcome addition to this film.
To conclude, the cast do a really fine job in what could have been an absolutely awful film had it been handled wrongly. As it stands, they are all believable enough to make most people suspend their disbelief for the run-time of this film.
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THE SPECIAL EFFECTS:
The effects in 'Final Destination' are extremely effective - ranging from the CGI appearance of death itself right through to the fake blood that flies around when one of the survivors meet their demise.
Instead of having the victims being chased around by The Grim Reaper himself, the film handles this in a clever way. Death is seen in this first instalment as a kind of presence which appears as a faint shadow out of the corner of the next victim's eye and is often accompanied by a very slight gust of wind - even if no window is open.
Of course, a film such as 'Final Destination' requires some blood to be flung around - and this film certainly doesn't disappoint on that level. Let's just say that for a 15 certificate film, gore hounds won't be feeling left out!
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THE MUSIC:
The music in 'Final Destination' is worthy of a mention here and is composed by Shirley Walker (who also returned to score 'Final Destination 2' and 'Final Destination 3'). Earlier in her career, Shirley Walker worked a lot with Danny Elfman and something of his style has rubbed off on her whilst she manages to keep a style that is distinctly unique.
The score for 'Final Destination' is very dark, brooding and menacing. Ideal for a film that deals with our mortality - and ultimately our fear of it.
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THE DVD:
The picture and sound quality are both excellent on this DVD and should you own a cinema surround sound system, you will get fantastic sound to accompany the onscreen shocks.
This was one of the first DVDs I bought where I was very impressed with the animated menu. It starts off with a pattern which is made up of interlaced pictures of an X-rayed hand... all of this is accompanied by the ominous Shirley Walker music. IF you go into other sections of the menus then go back to the main menu, you will find there are several other equally impressive menu styles which are relevant to the film.
One of the few complaints about the menus could be the notable spoiler of showing a few of the characters dying. All fine and well if you have seen the film already - but a real pain if you haven't!
Anyway - here are the specifics of the DVD itself:
Extras: The extras on 'Final Destination' are actually pretty good all in all. They include:
- Audio commentary by director/writer James Wong, producer/writer Glen Morgan, editor James Coblentz and writer Jeffrey Reddick.
This audio commentary is definitely worth a look (or listen!) as it's very insightful and makes it clear how much thought actually went into the film.
- Deleted Scenes: Alternate Love Scene (3 mins) Pregnancy Test (1 min) Alternate Ending (5 mins)
- Theatrical Trailer
- Test screenings featurette (13 mins)
- Premonitions documentary (20 mins)
Some of the coolest, if somewhat bizarre and marginally morbid extras are the two games:
- Death Clock (You too can find out when you will die!!!)
- Psychic Test (Are you psychic? Find out with this game!)
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MY CONCLUSION:
I still love 'Final Destination'. It's the original and best of the films so far (although 'Final Destination 2' and 'Final Destination 3' weren't all that bad either). It's certainly not going to be everyone's thing but in my opinion, you could do much worse than see this film if you like watching horror films. Watch it before you board your next flight!!!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2003 - Horror - Director: Marcus Nispel - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, Erica Leerhsen, Mike Vogel, Eric Balfour, Andrew Bryniarski
Production Year: 1995 - Horror - Director: Bill Condon - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Tony Todd, Kelly Rowan, Timothy Carhart, Veronica Cartwright
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![Final Destination [DVD] [2000]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78522736.jpg "Final Destination [DVD] [2000]")
Sep 7th, 2006
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