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Theatrical Review: The Final Destination

In Jurassic Park, when commenting on the fantasy that has come to life, Dr. Ian Malcolm at one point says to John Hammond the immortal words, “Life finds a way.”

For the Final Destination movies, the philosophy has always been the opposite: Death finds a way. Starting with the first film, which is a very fun genuine horror film, a group of teenagers are spared their lives from horrible accidents that wipe out a good many people because one of them gets a vision that that horrible accident is about to happen. Now in it’s fourth iteration, simply titled The Final Destination the formula remains the same…

… but this time it’s in 3D!!

And that’s the rub, there’s really nothing that’s very different for this film from the others, other than the fact that if your theatre is equipped, this time the grisly events can be witnessed in 3D, and it’s pretty good 3D at that. Now I like this series, though I’ll certainly grant you that the first one is the best one, but I’ve always had fun with it, and the fun to be had with these is watching the intricate Rube Goldberg-esque ways in which… Death finds a way. These are B-movies to be sure and they don’t try to be anything else other than short mindless diversionary thrill rides. David R. Ellis is the director here and he’s previously helmed the second film in the series as well as Snakes On A Plane, and he’s sticking to the formula… and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as that’s what you’re expecting. If you’re expecting more than that, well you probably shouldn’t even be interested in the first place.

Oh, I could talk about the characters, but there’s really no point, they are all 2-dimensional and they all serve their purpose for this movie, but if you like these movies, they’re probably not the reason that you’re going to see the movie anyway. If that is what you’re looking for, then look elsewhere, this one’s not for you.

I had fun with this, and the fun comes with sitting next to my friend who I saw this with and making our own little MST3K-like comments along the way, while being treated to some decent 3D effects. It’s by no means the greatest movie in the world, but still a fun diversion if you’re so inclined to enjoy something that’s a fun diversion more than anything else. If you’re looking for more than that, then this ain’t for you, but then you’re probably not reading this anyway…

By Darren Goodhart

Darren Goodhart is a 44-year old St. Louis-based Graphic Designer and Illustrator (and former comic book artist) who's been seeing movies all his life, but on an almost weekly basis in theatres for the last 20 years and owns nearly 1,000 DVDs for his home theatre. He's learned a lot about film over the 20 year period, and has taken his appreciation beyond the mainstream. His favorite types of film are mostly genre entertainment, but he also enjoys a wide range of drama, action and cult-y stuff from around the world, and is currently re-discovering a love affair with lower budget exploitation and genre films from the 70s and early 80s. He doesn't try to just dismiss any film, but if there's a bias against one, he'll certainly tell you that in the space of his reviews.

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