Final Destination

Final Destination
Review by Alexander Hall
4/21/20

***Review may contain spoilers***

Final Destination was released by New Line Cinema in 2000. It was directed by James Wong and produced by Glen Morgan, Warren Zide, and Greg Perry. The script was conceived by Jeffrey Reddick, who originally wrote a spec script for an X-Files episode. The film stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Seann William Scott, Kristen Cloke, Amanda Detmer, Chad Donella, and Tony Todd.

When teenager Alex Browning (Sawa) boards a plane headed to Paris with his classmates, he has a premonition of the plane exploding mid-air. He panics after witnessing the vision, and ends up getting him and a group off the plane. Just in time, though, as the plane actually explodes, as his vision comes true. As each of the survivors begin to get killed off, Alex must find a way to 'cheat' death's plan before it is too late, and death comes for him.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I had a blast with the first film in this franchise. When I was growing up, this film scared me, because I had a fear of planes. Seeing the plane explode made me scared of flying in an airplane, just like Jaws made people have a fear of swimming. Just the intense tension leading up to the disastrous result (the plane explosion) terrified me when I was young. The score by Shirley Walker helped to build said tension. When I was watching the movie, and the first kill occurred, it slightly disturbed me, because it looked like a freak accident. That tone stayed with the rest of the movie. By far, though, the most enjoyable kill was the bus death. It was so unexpected that I was on board with the rest of the film's deaths.

The acting in the film is pretty good all around, with strong performances from all of the actors involved. By far, my favorite character was the ominous Mr. Bludworth, played by Tony Todd. The way he conveyed his part in the film felt like Death himself. Even with his last line, "I'll see you soon". Creepy! Towards the end of the film, the pace falters a bit, as there are no deaths But, the tension still lingers through, with a surprise ending that set up a sequel.

Final Grade: 7.5/10