"There's a pattern..."      

FINAL DESTINATION (R)

Reviewed March 19, 2000 - Check out the Final Destination Website.

Studio Synopsis: Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), is embarking on a trip to Paris with his high school French class. In the plane's cabin, buckled-in and ready for take-off, Alex experiences a powerful premonition. He sees the plane explode in a fiery blaze moments after leaving the ground. Alex panics and insists that everyone get off the plane. In the melee than ensues, seven people including Alex, are forced to disembark the ill-fated aircraft.

Back in the departure lounge, Alex and his friends Billy (Seann William Scott) and Tod (Chad E. Donella); Clear (Ali Larter) a young woman who instinctively heeded Alex's warning; Carter (Kerr Smith), whose derision of Alex's paranoia had him and his girlfriend Terry (Amanda Detmer) thrown off the plane; and Ms. Lewton (Kristen Cloke), the teacher who volunteers to stay with the disembarking students, all watch as Alex's horrific premonition proves tragically accurate when the plane explodes in a catastrophic fireball.

Ironically, even though Alex's intuition saves lives, after the crash he is plagued by both guilt and suspicion. Ominous portents of doom as well as the FBI, dog his every step. Alex comes to believe that somehow, he and the other survivors have briefly cheated death, but will not be able to evade their fate for very long. Clear befriends Alex, but no one, not even she, really believes his macabre theory -- not even as one by one, these fugitives from fate fall victim to the grim reaper.

Fuzzydog Review: The basic premise of Final Destination is an intriguing one: seven people "cheat" death when they get off an ill-fated flight, and so death comes after them one by one...presumably to finish the job it was supposed to do.  It's intriguing, yes, but as executed in this particular film, it's a premise that goes absolutely nowhere.  With weak dialog and unconvincing performances, Final Destination really feels like little more than a teen slasher flick, with lots of dark, ominous camera angles and even more random, gory violence.  Not particularly scary, funny, or convincing, this is a film that runs short (just over 90 minutes) but feels very long.  Okay, I'll say it: I was bored.  Though the end of this film leaves the possibility of a sequel wide open, I'm crossing my fingers that this will be the final installment of Final Destination.  Believe me, this is one film that does NOT deserve a second flight...

Responses from cyberspace--thanks for writing!

gillianlover@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "Interesting premise is let down by the fact that after the first 20 good minutes the film decides that it will just deteriorate into the usual formulaic, cliched pattern that is the same with all other horror movies (except the 3 "Screams"). Devon Sawa wasn't convincing as the lead." (7/15/00)

webguy@gci-net.com gives this movie  stars: "WOW! This movie is one of my ultime favs now. What an excellent and unique idea to have in a movie. Suspense, action, comedy, and gore... what more could you ask for in a great flick? I have seen it twice and folks, the second time around is better than the first!" (5/8/00)

silky@marijuana.md gives this movie  stars: "Final Destination was an excellent movie. I found it to be extremely better then alot of other movies of the same genre. (Sixth Sense, Scream 3) The movie was well acted out by the cast, especially Devon Sawa. I cannot understand why alot of reviewers thought it was 'sh**' and a 'Sixth Sense rip off'. " (4/26/00)

jessfrogy@prodigy.net gives this movie  stars: "I loved this movie this is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. The story is really good it keeps you on the edge your seat the whole time. I'm sorry the reviewer didn't like it I didn't find it the least bit boring. I hope there is a sequal but it probally won't live up to the original. The only problem was the ending was bad but non the less its still a 5 star film. I highly recomend it. After you see it your freaked out wondering when will it be my turn." (4/13/00)