Customer Reviews

Final Destination [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(164)
4 star:		(109)
3 star:		(49)
2 star:		(24)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

"Final Destination" is a pretty good flick considering that it's filed under the "Teen Slasher" title. The concept of Death coming after those who have thwarted their fate seems fairly original to me. I don't recall any other movie using this concept.

As most of you probably know, the story starts out with a young man(Devon Sawa) having a vision of Flight 180, the flight he and his classmates happen to be on, exploding into a ball of flames. He freaks out, gets himself and some of the other students and a teacher booted off of the plane and shortly thereafter, his vision becomes truth. He's considered a prime suspect for planting a bomb on the plane.

One by one, however, his classmates begin to die in some rather unorthodox ways. The agents tailing Sawa happen to notice that he has been around when most of these deaths occur, further incriminating him. Sooner or later Sawa, Ali Larter, and a few of the other surviviors realize that Death is hunting them down in the order that they should have died in the plane explosion.

This is where the train goes off the tracks. The plot gets a little bit loopy and things get rather silly as Death picks off the survivors one by one. The death scenes are rather original, and some of them make you cringe for a second as Death narrowly misses his victims. Of course, you have to wonder how Death can pull off a plane explosion, but can't manhandle a few puny high schoolers after they avert him the first time around. Just don't take this movie too seriously, and I'm sure everything will be okay. Look beyond the absurdities and you'll love every minute of it.

Overall, this isn't a bad flick. The story, though somewhat absurd, is original and the pacing of the film is perfect. The acting is solid, though Sawa seems a little bit stiff compared to the others. Ali Larter does a fine job as the loner who is the first to believe in Sawa's character. All of the death scenes are morbidly entertaining. I'm sure everyone has heard about the scene with the bus. If not, keep your eye out for it. It's one of the quickest, most violent deaths I've seen in the past few years. Also, look for the guy from "Candyman."

Recommended to teen slasher fans who like gore more than actual scares and anyone who just wants a neat popcorn flick to kill a little time. This one is entertaining enough to fill that need.

This teen scare flick is a cut above most others. Here, it is not some crazed killer which does away with most of the cast but, rather, the fickle finger of fate that selects the next denizen of the great beyond.

The movie starts off happily enough with a class of high school seniors about to depart for Paris. Once they board the plane, our main man, Alex, cannot quite overcome his fear of flying, as he has a premonition that the plane is going to blow up upon takeoff.

His hysteria is such that he, as well as four other students, is escorted off the plane, accompanied by faculty members, one of whom returns to re-board the plane. No sooner does the plane take off, it blows up in mid air. It seems that fate has snatched these lucky individuals out of death's clutches...or has it?

Their relief, at having escaped being blown up on the plane, turns to terror, as it appears that fate will not have them cheat death. The lengths that these young people go to evade fate, and the steps that fate takes to hunt them down one by one, makes for a crafty and clever thriller. Teens and adults alike will enjoy this flick.

I went in hoping very much to like this film, and I came out being surprised that I actually did.

A group of students bound for Paris leave the plane when one has a terrible vision, only to find that it comes true a few moments after takeoff. Oh, but death doth not allowth such an easy route out. Soon the ole Grim Reaper begins to hunt down each of these students one by one and kill them off. Wow, a slasher flick with the ultimate slasher, huh? Yep, and it works beautifully.

The film starts off with the best plane crash perhaps ever seen on screen and is quickly followed by two very original death scenes. And well, then it kinda goes downhill. What started out clever becomes cliché, and the last few deaths are not nearly as original as the first. The ending is also very lame and seems more tacked on for sequel purposes than for a "complete film."

Still, even with those flaws, and the semi-bad acting, the dialogue shines and the movie itself blazes. Final Destination has its flaws, but in spite of them it ranks as one of the most entertaining films so far this year. Go see it, but beware if John Denver comes on the radio...

This movie takes a revolutionary approach to the teen slasher flick - remove the slasher. Instead of a dude in a mask, our photogenic heroes are up against Death himself. Death doesn't need a butcher knife or a fisherman's hook to kill - the instruments of death are everywhere, from the slippery tiles in the bathroom to the can of turpentine in the garage.

The filmmakers make the most of style and atmospherics, loading the beginning of the film with almost subliminal foreshadowing, using subtle tricks of light, set, and sound design to enhance the feeling of foreboding. The result is a film with a unique, look and feel to it, not another run-of-the-mill horror flick.

There's also a welcome sense of morbid humor at work here. It's not precisely the satiric post-modernism of Scream. Rather, it's the blackest kind of comedy: we have to laugh at death, because we can't do anything about it.

I can't say I cared enough about the characters to have an emotional stake in what happened to them, which is the film's only flaw. Though they're more 3-dimensional than your typical cliched teens, they weren't real enough to elicit my sympathy.

Nevertheless, it's a finely crafted thriller, with genuinely disturbing scenes and grim humor amiably rubbing shoulders. Some said this makes an inconsistent tone, I disagree. Life itself is tragic one minute, comedic the next. You just have to roll with it. The comedic scenes don't diminish the horror, or vice versa.

The DVD is a five-star treatment, with several deleted scenes leading up to an alternate ending that fell victim to audience testing. It's a more philosophical ending, but almost ridiculous in its earnestness and not quite true to the spirit of the film; still, it's interesting to see. There are also two commentary tracks, one with the filmmakers and one with the actors. Add to that assorted documentaries and games, and you've got hours of fun.

Definitely a cut above your average teen-in-peril flick. If you're a horror fan, you'll enjoy this.

Version: U.S.A / New Line - Warner / Region Free
VC-1 BD-25 / AACS
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Running time: 1:38:02
Movie size: 20,306,337,792 bytes
Disc size: 22,792,510,156 bytes
Total bit rate: 27.62 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 21.30 Mbps

Dolby TrueHD Audio English 1644 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1644 kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround

Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish
Number of chapters: 20

#Audio Commentaries
#Deleted Scenes
#Featurettes
--A Look at Test Screenings (SD - 13 minutes)
--Premonitions (SD - 20 minutes)

I tend to like a lot of high-brow dramas and foreign films, but I also enjoy a good, exciting thriller. What sets Final Destination above so many high school-set horror films is its original premise. The killer is not some deranged madman or...cheerleader, but Death itself. Another good thing is the production values. The quality of the special effects, the locations and even the actors (they aren't Olivier, but they're believable) is pretty high for this kind of film. The writers and director (Morgan, Reddick and Wong) pay great attention to detail and are good at building tension in the story. Watching the bathroom scene puts my nerves so much on edge that I cannot watch the entire thing with my eyes open. The DVD is nice because it shows the alternate ending, and discusses the screening and previewing process. This is just a fun, but scary movie to watch at home with your folks or some friends. I've seen it a couple of times. My only real complaint about it is the character of Clear Rivers, portrayed by Ali Larter. She came off as kind of cold and maybe creepy. I'm not sure what the deal was with that; I'll have to listen to the director's commentary one of these days.

This movie was awsome. It has a nice plot great acting from teen cast. awsome gore. and a wonderful plane crash in it.Alex Brownig(Devon Sayer)is taking a field trip to paris. on the way he gets signs about the trip. his clock messes up and says 180. a book that is handed to him talks about death. and his departure time is the same as his birthday. as he boards the plane he gets a bad felling when he sees the planes wing all messed up. as the plane takes off its starts to shake then it stops. THEN it starts again and the left side blows up and the plane just explodes!!! but as you see him burn up it stops and we see alex wake up and get off the plane with his friend todd(chad Donella),Billy hitchcock9Seann william scott, His enemy Carter(Kerr Smith) and carters girl friend terry(Amanda Detmer),his teacher Ms.Lewton(Kristen Cloke)and Clear rivers (Ali later). they all think hes gone crazy untill they see the plane crash. then alex thinks its all over. that he survived and he saved some people. then they start to die mysteriously. Alex and Clear go see this mourtionists who is Tony Todd from candy man. he tells them to find deaths disign. from then on death brings alex and clear threw hell to save all the survivalists.

OVERALL:
Great plot, Good acting,Nice crash,Awsome Gore,a A+ movie

What sets this teenager slasher movie apart (and above) the others is the villain. After endless Jasons, Freddys, Michael Myers, Scream Ghosts, it's hard to imagine a creative new bad guy. Enter "Death". In the hands of lesser film-makers, we would have had to sit through a whole flick of a cloaked, dark figure a la, "I know What You Did Last Summer", but here we get to see, or experience, death as a natural force. Because you can't see the figure, and because it can be ubiquitous, it makes the "shock" killings all that more shocking. This is a suprisingly tight, well-made movie. It's perhaps no surprise that it's the brain child of X-Files alumni Wong and Morgan. While other reviews have balked at the mix of humor and gore, I think it plays really well. It doesn't fall into pastiche comedy-horror, but rather titilates the audience with a teasing sense of humor. While you can assure yourself that there's no Freddy or Jason under your bed and get a good night's sleep, this movie makes you realize death is on its way and there's no escape. How confrontational is that for a teenager slasher? Kudos to the film makers for something different and enjoyable. Also, the DVD provides the original ending and a documentary on the "test screening" process and why the ending got changed. One of the best DVD supplements I've seen.

The first thing I would like to say about "Final Destination" is that it's not "Final Destination 2." For those of us who saw both films, you know what I'm talking about. If not, I am referring to the first ten minutes of the second film, which surely ranks as one of the finest, most breathtaking ballets of gory mayhem in American horror in the last ten years. That said, I thought the first "Final Destination" a good, not great film. Perhaps the best thing going for this film is its originality. While "Final Destination" and its sequel borrow several elements from the tried and true slasher formula, both do something quite different with this tired genre. And a tired genre it is considering the number of straight to video slashers arriving in a video store near you number roughly a couple of billion a month. Many horror fans worry that the rapid increase in the amount of by the numbers horror movies threatens the future of the genre. This concern is understandable yet premature. As long as somewhat original films like "Final Destination" come along from time to time, I don't think we have much to worry about. At least I hope so.

"Final Destination" begins by introducing us to Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), your typical All-American kid getting ready for a trip to Paris sponsored by his high school French club. But something doesn't seem right. Sinister warnings pointing toward an imminent disaster keep popping up. For example, the digital clock in his bedroom flashes the number of his impending flight. Once he arrives at the airport with his classmates and chaperones, it's a bit disconcerting to notice that the word "terminated" appears next to his flight number on the arrival/departure board. Coincidence? Maybe, but things soon get much, much worse once the kids get on the airplane and it takes off. Something horrible happens to the plane soon after lifting off the runway, namely the rapid disintegration of the aircraft into a ball of fire. We see people sucked out of a rift in the side of the plane, flames roaring through the passenger cabin, and people screaming as they burn up. Talk about seeing something that will soak you in sweat! These opening scenes successfully play on the fear most of us have about perishing in an airplane disaster. We almost feel cheated when Alex suddenly wakes up, and realizes that the disaster was nothing more than a bad dream. Or was it?

Unfortunately, what Alex Browning saw in his nightmare unfolds right before his very eyes. The same conversations occur on the plane, as do the same events. He's so alarmed by the similarities between his dream and reality that he begins panicking, starting a ruckus on the plane that embroils him in a confrontation with class jerk Carter Horton (Kerr Smith). The result of this yelling match is the immediate removal of Browning, class loner Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), Horton, Horton's girlfriend, and one of Alex's friends from the plane. While the authorities severely reprimand the kids for their atrocious behavior, the plane takes off and promptly blows up over the runway, killing everyone on board including the rest of Browning's classmates. Now the authorities express real interest in Browning's dream. But in the interim the survivors of the explosion assume different attitudes toward Alex Browning. Horton's hostility increases exponentially. A teacher left behind because of the fracas also expresses real suspicion about her clairvoyant student. Clear Rivers, however, becomes quite interested in Alex Browning. What's more interesting is what happens soon after the accident. Browning's friends begin to die in horrific ways. Why? Because his dream thwarted "death's design."

Alex and all of the survivors were supposed to perish in that plane crash. Since they lived through the catastrophe, their lives imperil the future. At least I think that's the reason. The greatest strength of "Final Destination" is how death must go to extraordinary measures to make sure these survivors meet their doom. In this respect the grim reaper, although never physically actualized, stands in for the typical slasher maniac. Instead of dispatching various characters with such boring and unimaginative devices as sharp farm implements, something more baroque is in order. The torturous path water takes in a bathroom results in Alex's friend slipping and falling into the shower whereupon he expires from a nasty strangulation. The best atrocity by far happens in a very sudden and unexpected encounter between a bus and Horton's girlfriend. Needless to say, the other survivors drop off one by one in extremely imaginative and painful ways. Fortunately, there is nothing painful about the production values, special effects, and acting in "Final Destination." Most of the actors do a good enough job with their roles, even "Dawson's Creek" refugee Kerr Smith. No one is going to win any awards for their performance here, but the acting is better than most of the histrionics we see in horror movies. Be sure and look for veteran horror actor Tony Todd in a small role as a creepy mortician.

I ultimately enjoyed "Final Destination," although not as much as I liked the sequel. In the second installment of what looks like an enduring series (there are plans to make a third entry), the filmmakers cleverly linked the two films together while at the same time ramping up the gore to horrific levels. As a big fan of sauce heavy films, I appreciated the extra effort. The second film's DVD also contains a lot more extras than this one. Still, you do get a few trailers, behind the scenes stuff, and a couple of commentary tracks on the "Final Destination" disc. Give this one a watch--there are worse ways to pass a couple of hours.

This movie is a must for fans of true scary movies and not cheap, boring slasher flicks. With a very interesting screenplay by the writer of many X-Files episode, James Wong and Glen Morgan and a very hip cast, they spin a tale that will chill you to your bones and prey on your most primal fears. The first 15 minutes of this movie is the best opening to a film I have ever saw and it keeps getting better. Here is a little taste to wet your appaetite. Alex and a group of high school students take a flight to Paris for a French class trip. Before they set off, Alex has a premonition of the plane bursting into flames minutes after take off. He tells everyone to get off the ill-fated aircraft. Moments later in the departure lounge the student see the plane explode before their very eyes. Now the FBI thinks that Alex had something to do with it and follows his every move. His friends start to believe he had something to do with it also and slowly fade out of his life. But now, each one of his friends is mysteriously being killed by something that appears to the Grim Reaper. Alex starts to believe that fate is starting to taking it's toll. This film on DVD is a must have...