Final Destination

There are a number of super talented actor/directors in Hollywood. One of the most prolific is James Wong. In this film which he not only wrote, but directed as well he displays what many would consider his best work to date. This is the story of Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) who accompanies his high school friends on a field trip to France. However, moments before the plane departs, Alex has a premonition the plane will explode in mid-air. Sensing he is about to die, he breaks for the exit in a violent plea to leave the aircraft. When he demands to be put off, several of his friends add to his fear by panicking. When they are asked to leave, they are held by the security police in the waiting area, where they all see the plane depart and then moments later explode in mid-air. There after things which should go better for him, having saved peoples lives, go terribly wrong. One by one all the people whom he saved begin to die mysteriously with Alex realizing he knows why. Death stalks everyone, but in this story, they are warned in advance. The movie has some horrific moments, which the audience senses become more pronounced as death arrives. Great acting by the cast makes this film a must see. ****

I really liked this movie. It's probably one of the better teen slasher flicks to ever hit the screen.

Let's face it: teen slasher flicks are not outstanding cinema. The writing is always lame, the plots are even lamer, they're usually vehicles for the latest trends in fashion and music and showcases of the heartthrob and/or bombshell-of-the-month. They're really just vehicles for post-pubescent hormonal stimulation.

But "Final Destination" is different. First, it has real imagination going for it. The plot is unlike your typical "madman in the corn chases teenage bombshell through puddles," it actually took some thought to put this together. It's not just shock-factor movie-making, they actually sat down and outlines how all the deaths would work in a way that keeps the plot alive. A tale of kids trying to cheat death's design is much harder to write than a dude with a chainsaw.

Then there's the death scenes themselves. Outstanding! I love a clever death scene in movies like this ... it's why you pay the $8! And these are some doozies. You can tell the filmmakers sat around for hours simply trying to find the coolest way to kill people. And if you have a sick mind (like yours truly), you'll find these death scenes simply hysterical! A really good movie. 8 out of 10. I'm giving it a high score because it's outstanding within it's genre.

Barky

Student Alex Browning is set to travel to Paris along with his classmates, before he gets on the plane he has a vivid premonition, and sees the plane destroyed, he and a few others get off the plane, but death has a plan already mapped out.

I've always rated Final Destination as one of my favourite horrors, I think it scores incredibly highly in terms of originality, re-watching it now, I guess I find it a little corny, possibly not as good as I remember, but it still a fun watch.

It holds up pretty well, it's straightforward to follow, unlike some of the movies in the genre today. I think it's worthy of a 7/10, it holds your interest.

The special effects, for 2000 aren't bad at all, I think the plane sequences still look great, some of the accidents are perhaps a little less convincing.

Devon Sawa is fine as Alex, he plays the part well, even if the character is a little irritating at times.

7/10.

Final Destination is an awesome movie full of fun jump scares and humourous 'accidents' which is exactly what you want in this type of movie.

As there are half a dozen of these movies it does become a challenge to separate what deaths happen in each movie as they all blend together somewhat.

Its targeted at a teen audience, in spite of that the film works for all age groups. Check it out :)

The one that started it all: a franchise of over-the-top "action," outrageous gore, and characters you often couldn't care less about. Yet in this one, none of those really apply. The death scenes are in ways subtle and clever, sometimes drawn out to exacerbate tension, while others are arguably very predictable, but nonetheless thrilling. The plane scene is chaotic and how it culminates, very intense. Aside from one decapitation, not much gore. Meanwhile the characters, in my opinion, are the best the series has had to offer, particularly thanks to Devon Sawa, and the personality he elicits in Alex Browning. Others satisfy, too, from Sean William Scott to Kerr Smith. There's some subtle humor, some drama, and some creativity to be had. As much praise as I have to offer the movie, it still has its many flaws and even silly moments. But for what it's worth, it was the beginning, and it remains a fun watch despite the slew of even more over-the-top installments that followed it.