Final Destination (2000) User Reviews

FINALLY! The first popcorn-tosser of the year!

[ElJay-W · 7/10 · 20 March 2000]

LOVED IT.

Imagine any great slasher with no killer. No person to blame, nobody to see and NO IDEA HOW THAT PERSON WILL DIE. That's about the simple horror of Final Destination, and it was done in almost artistic ways.

While many movie-makers have been unwilling or unable to get into the meat & potatoes behind a good R-rated movie, the creators of Final Destination have no such restraint. In fact, the death scenes were so freakishly violent and intricate that they were interesting in and of themselves. Imagine the force of death (not the Grim Reaper, but the "phenomenon of accidents", if you will) being MAJORLY p***ed for having missed a few. Hence the plot.

To make matters worse, the director displayed "the little things" hyper-accurately. That alone made watching it really hard at times without wincing, flinching or screaming out loud. (*those who have seen this know EXACTLY what I'm talking about*)

As someone who goes to the movies every Friday, I have been waiting for this FOREVER!!

Oh, and by movie, I mean MOVIE... not FILM, not INDIE, not FLICK. A MOVIE is something that I first hear of through word of mouth, first see a glimpse of via previews of another MOVIE, and, after seeing it, leave the theater flashing back through great scenes and lines for the next few hours saying to myself "that was great!"

Final Destination was a great movie. They don't make them like this too often.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if you were looking for flaws you could find them (no movie is perfect), but I wasn't and enjoyed my ride thoroughly as a result. Personally, I think that if you had the time to pay attention to those flaws while watching it for the very first time, I've got news for you: you missed a great movie.

My Daughter Will Not Watch This Before Flying...Lol

[damianphelps · 7/10 · 29 March 2022]

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 :)

It's still a fun watch after two decades.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 9 October 2023]

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.

Death Becomes You

[3rdRockSatan · 4 November 2001]

Final Destination, or ‘Flight 180' as it was titled right up until the last minute, was a surprise hit of 2000. It was made with a modest budget of $23m it grossed a nice sum of $53m in the US. It was in the UK, however, where the film really shone, up against the massive epic Gladiator at the time the movie managed to gross a none too bad £11m but what made it better was it was a true sleeper hit, it spent 14 weeks in the UK film charts. With no big name actors, and no major publicity the film did so well because of word of mouth and the word was it was damn good.

I admit I was sceptical at first in reading about Final Destination. It seemed like a tired teen horror movie that seemed to be spewing out of America at that time, indeed it was only until about 3 weeks in to it being released that I actually lifted my bum off my sofa and put my bum on the seat in front of the big screen to actually watch the movie. I loved it, and it was made better by the low expectations I had of it. It isn't groundbreaking but it is effectively chilly at times, the acting is surprisingly good and the plot is pretty fresh.

James Wong (X Files) came up with the idea of the movie, about cheating death, and it does seem to have a kind of X Files ring to it. The story goes as follows. Alex (Devon Sawa) is off, with his classmates, to France. Now being in America France is like our version of…America, so it's a pretty big deal. While on the plane he has a premonition of the plane exploding, slightly scared, he wakes up and finds that some of his premonition turns out real. Scared for his life, and the others on the plane, he cause a fuss which sees him and several other classmates chucked off the plane. Some of his companions are none too pleased…until they see Flight 180 blow up, killing everyone on the plane.

Thus begins the cat and mouse chase by Death himself. One by one, in seemingly ‘accidental' ways, the survivors of the ill-fated crash are dying. While others dismiss the idea of Death coming for revenge, Alex isn't going to let it go and soon he convinces friend Clear (Ali Larter) that it is up to them to try and stop Death himself.

As this happens we can witness some of the most imaginative death scenes ever. Thanks to the movie not having a masked killer doing the rounds the death scenes are not limited to the ‘knife in back/stomach/head/eye' routine. Indeed, the first death scene is both funny and horrific all in one because, like with many of the deaths in this movie, it can really seem as that can actually happen. It gives you something to think about.

The special effects, for a movie with as small as budget as this, are excellent (apparently they did actually spend half of their budget in the SFX). The plane crash is one of the most realistic you will see, its worrying to watch.

For a movie aimed at the teenager end of the market, and for a genre renowned for hammy acting, the people in this movie actually do a good job.

Devon Sawa, no stranger to movies, is perfect at playing the lead role of the troubled Alex. Kerr Smith (Dawson's Creek) does a major turnaround from what you are used to seeing him as, this time he's the typical school jock, flash car, blonde girlfriend, bad temper, but luckily he doesn't play it into overkill. Another nice surprise is Sean William Scott (American Pie, Road Trip, Too many teen movies), while we are used to seeing him as the guy who cracks jokes and makes fun of the others, he plays the geeky guy this time, and he provides us with quite a bit of comic relief. We also have a nice cameo of Tony Todd (aka the Candyman) as Bludworth, who plays the man at the morgue, he is suitably chilling, and is set to play a larger part in the sequel.

Suspense wise this film doesn't fail either. In many films like this you are guessing who will be killed next. Not so in this movie. You are actually told who is going to meet Death next. However this doesn't spoil it. Suspense is carried over by how the person will die. If you know a person is going to die as soon as the camera pans of them, and their all alone, then your waiting in anticipation for them to die, but there are many false scares along the way. Also the suspense is kept up throughout the movie, it doesn't seem to drag too much at any time.

There are very few bad points to the movie. Obviously it will depend on your taste whether you like it or not, whether you consider it too ‘teeny' or too teeny but just right anyway. This film does have fun as well as generate scares.

It is worth noting that there is an alternate ending to the movie and quite a few deleted scenes, namely a main subplot where Clear becomes pregnant. I think that it was wise to omit these parts, the ending seemed cheesy, but the one we are left with is excellent.

Final Destination, thanks to an imaginative story, nice acting and some elaborate death scenes breathes new life into the tired genre of teen horror. It is not as widely recognized as the Scream trilogy, but in many respects it's better. Lets hope the sequel maintains the high standard it has set.

FINAL DESTINATION IS

Different Nicely acted Filled with imaginative deaths

FINAL DESTINATION IS NOT

Low on suspense A typical teen horror Going to be shown as in-flight entertainment

Thrilling with a creepy atmosphere. *** out of ****.

[Movie-12 · 7/10 · 31 March 2000]

FINAL DESTINATION / (2000) ***

Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Chad E. Donella, Amanda Detmer, and Kristen Cloke. Directed by James Wong. Written by Jeffrey Reddick, Glen Morgan and James Wong. Running time: 90 minutes. Rated R (for terror violence and language).

I think it is safe to say every individual has different feelings about death. Some fear it. Others deny it. Most are weary in some way regarding decease. "Final Destination" is a perfect thriller for skeptics, detailing seven confused individuals who accidentally escape demise, discovering the impossibility of defrauding their destined time. The film's atmosphere provokes cringe through a presumably omnipresent force stalking the characters, producing audience participation whether the Grim Reaper is footsteps away from us all.

Devon Sawa ("Idle Hands," "Wild America") is a high school senior named Alex Browning. He and his French class are at an airport flying to Paris for a field trip with their teacher, Ms. Lewton (Kristen Cloke). Once on the plane Alex begins to experience a dream-like vision of the jet exploding in midair killing all of its passengers. As the plane is about to descend, Alex notices his illusion gradually comes to life. This leaves him no choice but to cause a small riot leaving him and six other passengers thrown off the flight.

Students Carter (Kerr Smith), the ignorant jerk and girlfriend Terry (Amanda Detmer), Alex's best friend, Tod (Chad E. Donella), other peers Billy (Seann William Scott), Clear (Ali Larter), Ms. Lewton and Alex watch from the airport as their late flight bursts into flames within minutes after takeoff-leaving these characters suspiciously confused about fate.

The film wastes no time depicting its setup. The rushed opening leads to lack of character development. Whereas the character's personalities are clear, we feel little remorse for many of them. The dramatic premise is horrific and revealing, playing like an extended "The X Files" episode without paranormal detectives. "Final Destination" is creative and full of variety; we witness the plane crash from two different perspectives, as a passenger and an observer.

Days after the crash, the survivors begin to die in unusual manners-almost as if a curse of death was placed on them for cheating demise. Alex digs deeper and discovers his companions are being killed by strange coincidences in the order they would have died from the explosion on the flight. In desperation, he attempts to contradict death for everyone remaining while under superstition of two disillusioned law enforcers.

There are a few overlooked characters in "Final Destination," mostly adults who seem to have an IQ score in the mid-nineties. The teenager's parents are left out most of the story. There is also a briefly creepy appearance by a mortician but is short-circuited by the plot. He is one of the many characters who end up explaining a lot of the plot to us.

Most recent teen horror romps feature a madman chasing characters with sharp objects. "Final Destination" is too smart to fall in that cliché, however. It has a punctual reason for inhabiting teens: these are young people full of energy and life, all the more reason for them to fight death.

The film, written by Jeffrey Reddick, Glen Morgan and director James Wong, never explains why the Alex character has visions of upcoming disasters. The idea makes for an intriguing story, but there are no interesting subplots or side characters here. Therefore without being backed up by supporting stories the filmmakers must thoroughly justify the character's reason for being. Wong seems to overlook Alex's illusions, a concept holding the entire movie together.

Although "Final Destination" provides many edge-of-your-seat surprises and tension, the film likes to poke fun at many of its scenes. Like the average teenage thriller, the movie takes itself seriously about three quarters of the time-leaving the last quarter as comic relief. Certainly having nothing against comedic sequences in horror flicks, I just prefer a movie true to its genre. Even though "Final Destination" is nowhere near perfect, it is the truest film to the teen slasher gender along time.

"Final Destination" is brought to you by New Line Cinema.

" Fear cannot harm you, it is only the feeling one gets prior to it occurring "

[thinker1691 · 7/10 · 21 March 2011]

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. ****

Clever, perhaps even ingenious

[ebeckstr-1 · 7/10 · 25 October 2020]

The first Final Destination is recognized as somewhat of a classic in some circles, but for whatever reason doesn't seem to have been given its proper place in the pantheon. The idea for the story and the way it is executed, pun intended, is really clever, filled with diabolical humor and imagination. It's most ingenious device is making literally the entire world, from the most mundane object to the most innocuous event, into the "monster."

Teen Movie Only! - Story that lacks depth

[RARE-T · 6/10 · 29 October 2000]

I originally sought out the movie because of the James Wong/X-Files link. I was hoping for some thought provoking movie in the Horror Genre. But I was disappointed. The story lacks depth. Its essentially a bunch of teens running around getting bumped off. Does that sound familiar? On the plus side - the start was great. After the first 15 minutes, I was left wondering where could it go after this? Unfortunately it went to exactly the same place as the movie "scream"! I thought it was a great movie to look at and the acting was good, it was just the story that was lacking. I would recommend the movie if your are into teen movies or if you are a "teen". I guess if your are into the X-Files - you might want to check out what Mr. Wong is upto - its worth watching - But not buying! 06/10

still a blast to watch, if even subtler than its sequels; Devon Sawa is young gold, characters you care about, and while not perfect, is worth its merit

[jdring2007 · 9/10 · 7 March 2022]

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.

Destination to death

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 1 December 2017]

'Final Destination' is most notable for two things mainly. The first being that it was the introduction of a fascinating and clever premise that is pretty unique for a supernatural horror. The other being that it was the feature film directing debut of James Wong, best known beforehand as a veteran of 'The X Files'.

It spawned four sequels with the fifth film being released in 2011. While it is flawed and somewhat of an uneven film, the first 'Final Destination' is still, six years after the fifth film, one of the franchise's better outings. Perhaps even the best, and the one where the premise feels the freshest. The more stale the concept got, the more the novelty wore off and the less effective the film. Could 'Final Destination' have executed its premise better? Perhaps. Mostly, to me, it did it quite well.

Visually, 'Final Destination' looks pretty good for low budget. It's slickly shot and very atmospheric, while the plane effects in the Flight 180 plane scene/explosion are quite impressive. The music score has a suitable eeriness.

The film is never dull and is a vast majority of the time fun and suspenseful, with elaborately creative death scenes that are ingeniously unsettling. The film's highlight is the opening Flight 180 scene, anyone already with a fear of flying will have their fear exemplified and it is likely to turn people from boarding a plane for a while. Wong does competently with the directing and the portrayal of Death is an interesting and well done one.

Acting varies, with personable Devon Sawa, affecting Ali Larter and Tony Todd's creepy cameo coming off best. Really liked the characters' surnames, that were nifty homages to horror/suspense icons.

Not all the acting works however. The others are saddled with one-dimensional and flatly written roles and are a mix of bland (Kristen Cloke) and irritating (Kerr Smith), also found myself not being able to take Seann William Scott seriously.

The biggest issue is the script, which is very high in the cheese and awkwardness factors and there is some clumsy exposition that often feels under-explored and not really going anywhere. Generally the story is nice, but things could have been explained better and explored more and it's a little too reliant on coincidence. Things also take a dumb turn towards the end before the film concludes on a logic-defying note.

Overall, patchy but entertaining. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A relatively interesting premise, but Final Destination ultimately sinks nearly to the level of the mass of bonehead teen thrillers that have been so prevalent in the 90s.

[Anonymous_Maxine · 5/10 · 23 August 2001]

(spoilers) Final Destination starts off really well, with our unlikely hero Alex in a great scene where he has a dream that the airplane that he is on with all of his high school friends (what high school goes to Europe for a senior trip?!) is going to explode upon take off. This is unquestionably the best scene in the film, both for its creativeness as well as its effectiveness. This kid falls asleep on the plane as everyone is boarding (another common occurrence among high school kids on planes filled with their friends, I'm sure), and has a dream about a defective seat back table and a subsequent, and pretty impressive, explosion on the plane that kills everyone.

As the plane is going up in flames and people are getting sucked out through the hole in the side of the plane and burning to death and whatnot, Alex wakes up in a cold sweat and a frantic panic. Suddenly back to reality, he climbs over people trying to get back to the seat where his dream takes place, and when he gets there, he finds the same defective seat back table that was in his dream and therefore concludes that it was a clairvoyant dream and starts yelling that the plane is going to explode. Not bad for a movie that doesn't appear to be anything more than the latest teen slasher movie. And to top it all off, the part where the plane actually does explode (as seen from inside the airport), and especially the brief pause before the windows of the airport explode inward as well, is also one of the more satisfying scenes in the film.

Unfortunately, it's pretty much all downhill from there. It seems that by avoiding being blown to bits on the plane, the kids who got off (some whether they liked it or not) seem to have `cheated' Death, and Death doesn't seem to be too happy about it. They are apparently being stalked by Death, as he (or, more likely, she) begins killing them one by one in increasingly outlandish and sometimes laughable death scenes. Is this really as original and entertaining as the explosion scene at the beginning of the film? Probably not. In fact, not even close. A bunch of scared teenagers being killed off one by one. Can you name another movie where this has happened? Can you really name a horror movie made in the 90s where this HASN'T happened?

On the one hand, you KNOW that nothing like these scenes would ever happen in real life. For the most part, computers that people have in their homes do not have anything in them that would explode if vodka were accidentally spilled into the monitor, and even if there was something like that inside it, it probably wouldn't explode through the screen, the strongest part of the entire thing. I also fail to feel any sympathy for someone who strangles in the bathroom because he thrashed his legs around while hanging by his neck from a cord, kicking his feet everywhere except directly underneath him. Take some knowledge, people (as this poor guy would have said), if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, stand up. It'll save your life. And don't even get me started on the power line at the end of the film that whipped around like a severed worm in fast forward. This is just garbage, couldn't they think of something better than that? Power lines do not behave like loose fire hoses on full blast when they are cut, they behave like cut cords. Probably the only death scene in the film that was really shocking and impressive (as well as relieving, given the character) was the one with the city bus.

On the other hand, this stuff does have a sort of purpose. Sure, every death in the film was ludicrous (even the rather grisly one dealt to Seann William Scott), but this gives shape to the character of Death. It's one of the film's good points that the Grim Reaper wasn't personified as a huge shape in a black cloak, stalking the kids and killing them. That would have put Final Destination in the same stagnant pool with all of these other goofy teen slashers and also would have ruined the movie beyond all hope. Instead, we get these outlandish and often ridiculously exaggerated death scenes, so it almost gives the feeling that Death is taking time out of his busy schedule to hand these people their asses personally. As Mallory Knox would say, `There's no escapin' here!'

There are very few interesting things about this movie, other than such things as that you can see Tony Todd, known as virtually nothing other than the Candyman, in a small role as the freakiest mortician on the planet. Also, it's interesting to ponder what would possibly have made Alex so hated and feared for saving those people's lives, especially when he is alienated the most by the very people that he saved. Carter, in particular, develops an unfathomable hatred for Alex that swells to the exploding point. You'd think those jerks would be grateful.

At any rate, the film as a whole is entertaining enough, but doesn't make much progress in attempting to elevate itself above the recent abundance of terrible teen thrillers and slasher movies and horror films. It is far above the abysmal level of such messes as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Valentine, as well as hideous spoofs like the Scary Movies, but Final Destination is definitely not meant for a more mature audience. If you decide to watch it, try to enjoy it for what it is, but keep your expectations low.

Final Destination is the best part in the series (among 4 parts)

[eva3si0n · 8/10 · 16 February 2022]

Final Destination is the best part in the series (among 4 parts). Here is a really original idea and interesting set scenes of character deaths. In general, Final Destination is an interesting concept, I am glad that we were able to make a separate full-length film from the idea for X-Files. And although suspense is hardly felt when watching, you look further only for the sake of curiosity, who and how will die next.

An Interesting Concept

[dj35 · 7/10 · 29 July 2022]

This film shows the sense of paranoia and fear about what will happen to you if you're gonna die like some unfortunate events will happen. You survived but only later to die another die. You never what's gonna happen. Great concept.

Death is coming for you and it won't be pretty

[view_and_review · 3/10 · 30 January 2007]

A high school class is boarding a plane to go on a trip. One of the boys' has a vision of the plane exploding and decides to get off. A few other teens join him as well as the French teacher. Upon take off the plane does blow up and so the group effectively eluded death... at least for the moment.

One scene wraps up this movie for me:

The teacher is cooking something on the stove. She has a mug near the fire and it gets hot. She pours some liquor into the mug and the cold liquor cracks the hot mug unbeknownst to her. She proceeds to walk into her living room near her computer. Some of her drink leaks through the fine crack in the mug and gets into the computer monitor. The computer monitor short circuits AND BLOWS UP!! sending a shard of glass flying right into the lady's neck. She still isn't dead though. With blood spewing from her neck she stumbles into the kitchen to get a towel. The fire is still going on the gas stove and they bring a lot of attention to that. Somehow she falls down on her back, but she is still groping for a towel. While on her back, with one hand still trying to stop the bleeding, she grabs the towel she was groping for. OOPS!!! The towel was under a wooden block full of stored knives!! They all fall out of the storage block, face down no less, and puncture her in numerous places. Death is not finished yet. To make sure she is dead, and that her young student doesn't rescue her, the towel caught on fire and proceeded to burn up the entire kitchen, the rest of the house, and of course her as well.

AB-SURD!! That describes the movie. It was wholly absurd. How many freakish ways can you be killed? I guess the makers of this movie wanted to explore all 6 million. It was bad enough that a girl got hit by a silent bus that was traveling 60 mph and didn't brake though it had splattered flesh all over it, and that a "live" wire took on a new meaning when it came to life and literally attacked people, but they had to go way over the top with the teacher. I don't mind reality being stretched a bit, but there are limits to where my intellect just says: "This is too much."

original and scary

[Special-K88 · 14 February 2002]

Inventive, effectively eerie spine-chiller is a step up in the teen horror genre. High schooler Sawa has a horrific vision of his plane crashing just moments before its departure on a class field trip. He and several others exit the plane only to discover that it does in fact crash, but things take a shocking turn when the remaining survivors begin to die in the most mysterious ways. Story is intriguing, suspense ebbs and flows throughout, and there are enough violent deaths to satisfy the target audience. Although the ending is a bit of a disappointment and should have been planned out better, overall this is one of the better films of the genre. ***

Only "bad" movies dare to be this bold

[jakerhamilton · 7/10 · 5 September 2021]

It's not surprising that critics bashed this movie. In a movie review, most critics primarily value cohesion, refinement, calculated expertise; clearly that is not Final Destination.

Much of the acting feels reminiscent of day-time TV shows. Lots of the dialogue is awkward, and contrived as ways to clarify plot points and move the story forward. The editing often fails to convey the right mood: seemingly dramatic moments coming off as humorous, humorous moments feeling at odds with the rising tension. In short, as with most teen horror flicks, this is not what most would consider a "good" movie.

But something special can happen when a movie stops taking itself too seriously:

Pure inventiveness.

The idea that the "killer" can be the fabric of life itself, instilled in me a type of fear I'd never expected from a horror film. Everyday objects like kitchen appliances and fishing rods are now something to be feared; it leads to a sense that you can't trust any aspect of the seemingly mundane world around you.

And though many of the deaths feel pretty ridiculous (though in incredibly entertaining ways), in a sense, they are also the most realistic deaths a horror movie could show. Freak accidents happen everyday. Most of us don't know how or when we're going to die; the world around you could be out to get you at any time. The fear comes through in the character's distrust in everyday life, and struggle against the inevitable.

From this paranoia comes a fun and compelling story, one with unexpected turns around every corner as the characters fight against this unique existential threat.

What Final Destination lacks in refinement, it makes up for in creativity and pure entertainment.

This isn't bad for a teenage 'horror' movie

[philip_vanderveken · 6/10 · 14 September 2004]

The past years there has been a real boom of teenage horror movies and thrillers. Just think of 'Scream', 'I know what you did last summer',...

This one is good, but not very special. We see a class preparing to go on a field trip to Paris. One of the students gets a vision of the airplane exploding, killing everybody inside. He escapes together with a teacher and some other students. But crossing Death's plans doesn't mean that they will stay alive. One by one they get killed in the most incredible ways.

And that is where, in my opinion, the biggest weakness of this movie lies. The ways they die are so incredible. If this had been a comedy, I wouldn't mind, but now they want to be taken serious and that is where they fail. That doesn't mean that I don't like the movie at all, but it will never be one of my favorites. I give it a 6/10

Surrealist suspense(spoilers)

[the red duchess · 7/10 · 28 August 2000]

'Final Destination' pulls off a great trick. While managing to retain a commendably non-'Scream' seriousness of purpose, a solemn accretion of suspense, a faithfulness to genuine fears and emotions, the multiple deaths in the film are as blackly funny as they are elaborately gruesome; but this note of the comic in an otherwise grimly portentous movie, never betrays its ambitions. These ARE some deaths, though; some intolerably protracted, implausibly set up, yet deliciously executed; others sharp, horrifying, hilarious shocks, one of which suggest the scriptwriters must have seen Lynne-Maree Danzay's brilliant short 'Fetch', where autobuses are used to similar effect.

With films like 'The Sixth Sense' and 'X-Men', it looks like Surrealism, once mocked as a dotty, marginal movement, has finally pervaded the Hollywood mainstream. Not only does most of the action take place at night, but there is also an early suggestion that the whole thing is dreamt by Alex, not just the first plane crash - as he falls asleep on the eve of the trip, the clock showing 1:00 fades into the 180 that is the number of the plane; the dissolve is drawn attention to, signalling a move into the dream or imagined that the film never comes out of. The narrative, therefore, becomes an expanded Unconscious, a drama of a whole set of fears.

It is appropriate that Alex is 17, on the brink of adulthood - his dad dolefully suggests that his whole life is ahead of him, as if freedom, youth, fun are all at an end. And they are. As all fears are often sexual in basis, it is appropriate that Alex doesn't reach the final destination of the title at first - the plane crash is a coitus interruptus, like the bomb that stops the kiss in 'Touch of Evil'; it is a stunting of growth, a refusal to move into adulthood, to progress sexually (Paris, of course, being the stereotypical city of love). As his friends are either trying to get off with girls, or are lucky enough to have one, Alex remains a solitary figure, locked into his own mind, whose only sexual relief is an old copy of Penthouse.

Whereas the teen movie, for all its modish trappings, is generally conservative, concerned with finding a mate, fitting in, asserting order, like a Shakespearean comedy, setting the continuity of the species in motion, Alex is a destructive force, linked to death (the scrappaper with Tod written on it, as well as alluding to his friend, also refers to the German word for death), sterility; we are never quite convinced that the events are out of his control. In one brilliant sequence of cross-cutting, Alex's opening of his Penthouse is linked with the leak of Tod's toilet, setting in motion his friend's death, Alex's onanistic seed a murderous power.

As the film proceeds, he becomes increasingly detached from community, from reality, setting himself up as a godlike power, imposing patterns on the randomness of life, right down to the obscurely arrogant climactic gesture of self-sacrifice. Even when order seems to be asserted at the end, he has finally reached Paris, and he has a relationship with a woman, has joined the status quo, he is unable to deal with it, he has to destroy it. Like Melville's 'Le Samourai', 'Destination' is a dream of masculine selfhood, of wholeness, of the fears that it will be diluted, fragmented, by compromise, society, difference. As a study in heightened megalomania, 'Destination' reaches heights from modest ambitions unavailable to the risible pretentions of the 'Beach'.

The Surrealist aesthetic also informs the film's treatment of suspense, a steady accretion of 'normal', familiar, domestic details, imbued with the terror of a diseased mind - the opening airport sequences are a masterpiece of anticipatory dread, the everyday made malevolent. The unsensational revelation of the plane explosion, a mere firework, in the background as boys fight, is staggeringly, resonantly beautiful, sequences such as the tasteless memorial to the air-crash victims - a statue of an eagle! - suggest that Surrealism, as Breton said of the English, is less a view of the world than a way of life. For some reason films like this and 'The Faculty' are treated with hostility and indifference by critics. Don't you realise you are living in a golden age of horror movies?

Uniquely entertaining

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 14 July 2016]

Once in a while a film comes along that you have no hopes for, but which pleasantly surprises you anyway. And into the over-saturated market of the teen flick comes FINAL DESTINATION, a dizzying and suspenseful shocker which has to be the best teen horror film we've had since SCREAM - all right, I know that's not saying much, but watch this anyway. Tired viewers will be glad to hear that this teen-orientated film isn't full of moronic dialogue and boring situations set in a school - instead, the film is focused entirely on the central premise, there is no deviation.

Created by the two guys who made THE X-FILES so interesting when it first started - James Wong and Glen Morgan - this is, at last, an original film. There is no bogeyman here, no masked slasher, instead the killer is fate itself. I'd give my right arm for a little bit of originality these days, which is why this film enthralled me so much. The film starts off excellently with a strong sense of impending doom and a horrific to watch plane explosion. It then slows down only to pick up the pace in the second half, becoming both exciting and thrilling. Of course, it's the deaths which are the highlights of the film, and these definitely do not disappoint.

Inbetween them, we get some typical teen angst as the shunned Sawa tries to convince his friends that they're about to die. Sawa, who starred in horror comedy IDLE HANDS, is surprisingly good in the lead role, giving us a likable neurotic who manages to be heroic when the time comes. Okay, so the rest of the cast are merely passable - full of the beautiful but bland faces populating most American soap operas these days - but it's nice to see Tony Todd pop up in a cameo as a creepy morgue attendant who gets all the best lines.

As I mentioned before, the death scenes are outstanding, yes, FANTASTIC; they consist of a series of commonplace accidents which culminate in the victim's demise. They're grisly and surprisingly gory in places, making a nice change these days from relatively bloodless stuff like I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER. Okay, so the fiery, frenetic climax is a bit predictable but there's a nice twist at the very end. FINAL DESTINATION is a clever film, and one to be watched. It has a uniqueness about it which sets it above the rest and it's thoroughly enjoyable too - what more can be said?

Finally a horror film worth a lot of Praise!

[MissCzarChasm · 10/10 · 26 March 2000]

Final Destination has made my list as one of the best horror films in the wake of the teen/slasher revival. in fact it's the most original horror film since the original Scream and it may be better than Scream. There have been many cheap imitations(Urban Legend, i still know what you did last summer, etc) but this one is a keeper.

The film begins with the most exhillerating 15 minutes in recent memory(and if you're afraid of flying be prepared to be shocked). Alex browning(Devon Sawa) is getting ready to leave on a class trip to France. while on the plane he has a vision that the plan is going to explode. Later he awakes from this vison and immediately he goes crazy telling everyone the plane is going to explode. eventually 6 students and alex leave the plane and sure enough moments after the plane takes off it explodes. This is where the story gets interesting by getting off the plane Alex soon realizes that him and his friends have cheated Death and they have to figure out when death is coming back at them.

The one thing i thought was trully good about this film was whenever "Death" came after the remaining students that got off the plane it wasn't some grim reaper type guy you could see. whenever death was around it was very subtle. shadows, wind, etc. death never showed his ugly head. he used everyday thingst o kill his victims. in fact it was stuff that you could accidentally do in your home and that is what makes this film scary.

The acting is great. Devon Sawa proves that he can carry a film. he has great talent. Ali Larter is a terrific actress who is well on her way to becoming the best actress ofher generation, but Kerr smith of dawson's Creek shines here. he was really good and i hope to see him in more films.

Great film worth every dollar i spent to see it. 10

First and the best...

[Thanos_Alfie · 7/10 · 29 January 2014]

"Final Destination" is a movie that starts a new era in final destination and I think that this movie is the best from all of these which followed this one. In this movie we have a teenager who had a vision of him and his friends in which all dying, he succeeded to save them but now Death will hunt them down all one by one and he will never stop.

I liked this movie because it was something new and I had never seen a movie like this before. I think that this was something which made this first movie of final destination so good and special.

I liked the plot of this movie and I also liked that throughout the whole film had suspense and you could not predict what it's going to happen next.

Appalling, Abysmal, Ridiculous, Pathetic...

[Chris-448 · 1/10 · 19 May 2000]

This movie has to be the most disappointing of the year. I don't understand how people have claimed that it is even remotely original or interesting. The entire film is packed to the brim with the traditional "horror-movie" cliches, such as the curtains blowing in the wind and the strikes of lightning occurring every time something bad is about to happen. Not only that, but each death becomes more and more predictable as the film progresses, and by the time Billy was randomly decapitated by a piece of metal sent flying by a train, I was just laughing. The only commendable aspect of the whole saga was that the enemy, Death, was never visible, although whenever he was about to strike, there would be a lamentably stereotypical shadow cast across the room. Not even the plane crash was remotely scary, and the actors showed very little emotion about the fact that 50 of their classmates had just been killed in a mile-high fireball. Several killings were unbelievably improbable, such as Todd's "suicide" in the bath, Terry's collision with the bus (which I cannot believe nobody saw coming), and the electrocution and train scenes, where, amazingly, Alex manages to cheat Death. For a film which was supposed to promote the idea that Death is unavoidable, "Final Destination" has an abysmally happy ending. The cherry on the cake though, was seeing Tony Todd in cameo role as the morgue attendant who tells Alex, "I'll be seeing you soon." Worth seeing so that you can spend a couple of hours mocking every aspect, but this movie can't really score more than a 4.

Scared Me Good

[dee.reid · 10/10 · 19 December 2000]

I have to admit that when I first saw the previews for Final Destination, I didn't think much. But after reading several reviews that said how good it was, I thought about seeing it, but couldn't because of a busy year.

The story is about a kid named Alex(Devon Sawa) who just so happens to have a fear of flying. With a class of 49 students, they are going to France on a field trip. When Alex has a horrific premonition about dying in plane crash, he freaks out and is kicked off the plane with five other students and teacher. Minutes after getting kicked off, and Alex is calm, the unexpected happens, the plane actually does explode.

Over the next few weeks, however, teachers, the survivors, as well as the police become increasingly suspicious of Alex. Some of his friends even think of him as a god. Anyway, the survivors of the plane crash soon begin dying in gruesome and sometimes horrific fashions. Alex soon discovers that by getting off the ill-fated flight, that he had intervened with Death's predetermined pattern. Death, however, has made a new pattern and Alex must find out what it is to save his friends as well as himself.

I have to say that this movie scared me and my parents good. I also must say that this film deserves a lot praise. Although the plot is not original, however the antagonist is, Death itself. What I really liked about it was that Death never showed itself and that it turned simple everyday items into murder weapons.

Of course no horror movie is perfect. There is one beef I do have with Final Destination. Some of the death scenes are pretty creative and terrifying, but some of them seemed to have been forced. I mean who is going to place a beverage on top of a computer monitor?

Other than this one minor flaw, Final Destination is still a great and scary horror film.

8/10

Interesting original concept

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 21 October 2013]

Alex (Devon Sawa) is going to France on a school trip. He falls asleep and has a vivid dream where everyone dies in a fiery crash. It's so vivid that he freaks out and gets thrown off the plane with many of his fellow students. The plane actually explodes and those people seem to escape death. Only something is hunting them down one at a time.

It's a great original concept. However it doesn't lend itself to being filmed in a compelling way. Basically weird things happen and everybody dies. There isn't a crazy manic. The kids aren't trying to outrun somebody. Death is invisible. That's the whole point. It's just one weird death after another. There's something much more visceral about an axe murderer gutting his young nubile victims.

an insult to intelligence!

[benthien · 1/10 · 8 April 2000]

this movie is plain stupid. No computer screen do not explode, they implode, a knife falling from a 50cm height cannot acquire enough energy to pierce your chest, and I don't think the professor of French stored a tank of gasoline in her house which could explain the sudden explosion of the house....

I could continue for a long time the list of nonsenses present in this movie....

I wasted my time and my money. I want a refund and a compensation for one wasted saturday evening.