I saw the original FINAL DESTINATION (2000) in movie theaters and it left an indelible impression on me: more than a slasher movie without a slasher but with a dash of humor, it posed some interesting philosophical questions about life and death, not to mention that it started with the most realistic depiction I had seen up until then of what it must feel like to be inside a doomed plane.
I had not seen any of the sequels until recently, when the opportunity came up to watch them in a binge session, and so I did.
FINAL DESTINATION 2 (2003) starts off with a spectacular multi-car collision scene which is among the most eye-catching in the entire franchise, but then drops off somewhat. There is a twist that the order of deaths is reversed and the protagonist is female this time, but overall it does not reach the original.
FINAL DESTINATION 3(2006) has an amusement park as the setting of its opening disaster, introduces a novel element of photographic clues, and also features a female protagonist.
Though the opening roller coaster disaster is among the weakest in the franchise, I feel the film is overall very slightly better than the second installment.
THE FINAL DESTINATION (2009) is the fourth and weakest of the sequels, and the problems come down to the quality of the CGI, which is noticeably worse than that of any of its predecessors, and the lack of "realism", in the sense that the characters no longer feel like real people. However, overall it is still (barely) an okay horror movie.
So, expecting the usual trend in horror franchises, where later installments almost invariably converge to crap, I got very pleasantly surprised when I saw numero Cinco.
The broad plot outline is the same as before, but little tweaks here and there keep it fresh: unlike in the previous installments, one person survives the initial catastrophe, and the idea latent since the original, that some of the doomed survivors might try to save themselves by killing others, is finally fully explored. The CGI is a major improvement, the no-name actors overall do a good job, and the deaths are as creative ever, being particularly good at amplifying ordinary fears we might already have, such as of acupuncture or laser eye surgery. And then there is a superb twist at the end which ties the entire series together.
It is not necessary to have seen the previous movies, but it adds to the enjoyment because of the references and easter eggs interspersed throughout, and the closing credits recapitulate the most notable death scenes in the franchise, so spoiler alert for those who have not seen the previous movies.
After the original, this is the best movie in the Franchise so far. Evidently, as of late 2023 a sixth film is in pre-production, so it will be interesting to see what it brings to the table and how good it will turn out to be.
I had not seen any of the sequels until recently, when the opportunity came up to watch them in a binge session, and so I did.
FINAL DESTINATION 2 (2003) starts off with a spectacular multi-car collision scene which is among the most eye-catching in the entire franchise, but then drops off somewhat. There is a twist that the order of deaths is reversed and the protagonist is female this time, but overall it does not reach the original.
FINAL DESTINATION 3(2006) has an amusement park as the setting of its opening disaster, introduces a novel element of photographic clues, and also features a female protagonist.
Though the opening roller coaster disaster is among the weakest in the franchise, I feel the film is overall very slightly better than the second installment.
THE FINAL DESTINATION (2009) is the fourth and weakest of the sequels, and the problems come down to the quality of the CGI, which is noticeably worse than that of any of its predecessors, and the lack of "realism", in the sense that the characters no longer feel like real people. However, overall it is still (barely) an okay horror movie.
So, expecting the usual trend in horror franchises, where later installments almost invariably converge to crap, I got very pleasantly surprised when I saw numero Cinco.
The broad plot outline is the same as before, but little tweaks here and there keep it fresh: unlike in the previous installments, one person survives the initial catastrophe, and the idea latent since the original, that some of the doomed survivors might try to save themselves by killing others, is finally fully explored. The CGI is a major improvement, the no-name actors overall do a good job, and the deaths are as creative ever, being particularly good at amplifying ordinary fears we might already have, such as of acupuncture or laser eye surgery. And then there is a superb twist at the end which ties the entire series together.
It is not necessary to have seen the previous movies, but it adds to the enjoyment because of the references and easter eggs interspersed throughout, and the closing credits recapitulate the most notable death scenes in the franchise, so spoiler alert for those who have not seen the previous movies.
After the original, this is the best movie in the Franchise so far. Evidently, as of late 2023 a sixth film is in pre-production, so it will be interesting to see what it brings to the table and how good it will turn out to be.