Film Review: THE FINAL DESTINATION (2009)

Director: David R. Ellis
Running time: 81 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Horror/Thriller
UK Release date: 28^th August 2009

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 4^th September 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Despite the title they went and made another one, and so, having seen the previous three, I thought I’d take a look at the non-final one (if you know what I mean). I must admit I had turned my expectations down pretty low, it was made for 3D and it showed in spades. I’ll tell you more after this brief summary.

Four friends, Nick, Lori, Janet and Hunt are at a car race when Nick has a vision of an impending horrific crash in which they all die. He persuades them to leave and a few others find themselves outside as well as the crash happens and many are killed. In the days that follow, one by one the survivors begin to die in bizarre accidents. Each time Nick has a vision before it happens and he begins to realise that they are dying in the order he saw in his original vision at the track. With the help of George, a security guard from the track, Nick and Lori try to track down the survivors in an attempt to break the chain before it gets to them. Will they succeed, well, I don’t want to spoil the fun so I won’t tell you here. Those Spoiler Police are just looking for an excuse anyway.

I saw this in 2D and even in that format you could see the very obvious pointy things at the screen for the 3D version. This made it look pretty cheap and obvious I’m afraid and the sooner this fad dies out the better (IMO). Performance-wise, well I thought Bobby Campo as Nick O’Bannon and Shantel VanSanten as Lori Milligan both stood out. They had some pretty bad dialogue to deliver and I thought they both coped pretty well. Nick Zano as Hunt Wynorski and Haley Webb as Janet Cunningham were both pretty average, but ok. Finally, a mention for Mykelti Williamson as George Lanter, he did a pretty good job.

It’s almost a carbon copy of the previous three films, only the initial situation has changed. It did nothing the previous three did, apart, maybe from being made in 3D. On the plus side, there were a few decent tunes in the soundtrack, but then again if you put “Burning Bridges” by Anvil in there then I’m gonna notice. The CGI was pretty average but some of the stunt work was pretty good and it’s not too long (always a plus) so it’s not all bad. Sadly though, NOT recommended.

My Score: 4.7/10.

IMDb Score: 4.9/10 (based on 28,002 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1144884/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 29/100 (based on 93 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/final_destination_final_death_trip_3D/

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Lori: Janet, come on We have to leave right now.
Janet: No. No, I can’t keep doing this, okay? You’re both nuts.
Lori: Janet, we gotta go. Come on.
Janet: No. Don’t you see? This is where I was supposed to be in the first place, not that stupid race. I was meant to see this movie.

Hunt Wynorski: That's a lot of Tampons for one woman.

LINKS:
Official Site: http://thefinaldestinationmovie.com/dvd/index.html
Trailer: