After a decade and a year, and a fourth installment which was supposed to be the final movie from the series, a fifth and way better installment (if I may say) was released.
Final Destination 5 (2011)
Directed by Steven Quale
Written by Eric Heisserer & Jeffrey Reddick
The Final Destination franchise will forever remain a classic movie. With its unique style and pattern of premonitions, and the heart pounding gory death sequences, people have learned to anticipate for its every installment. Looking back, it sure has come a long way to have many sequels. But now,
*SPOILER ALERT* time for a prequel (there, I said it).
Though I hardly remember every scene from the first one (explosion of flight 180) because I was so young when I first saw it, it definitely gave a major impact. Ergo, it must be really good, because 1) there's Devon Sawa; and 2) because it is obviously the root of all these. Then comes the second installment (route 180 pile-up) which stars Ali Larter and A.J. Cook. And it sure did live up to the viewers' expectations. Based on reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, this got the second highest rating among the five films. While the third installment (devil's flight roller coaster accident) starring the stunning Mary Elizabeth Winstead was not as remarkable. It was still acceptable. Not as satisfying as the first two, however, entertaining enough. Besides it was still a James Wong film after all. Unfortunately, there will always be that one movie that everyone would hate -- and that was the fourth installment (McKinley speedway car crash). I don't remember this film even making a buzz despite the history created by its predecessors. It was not all bad, but it was more bad than good (which makes it really bad). I just cannot believe the fact that the people (Eric Bress & David R. Ellis) behind this were the same guys who worked for the second installment. Maybe they run out of creative ideas, eh? And I quote,
"It is the only film in the series to not devote a scene to reference the past films, only a news paper clipping of 'The Flight 180 Premonition' is seen for a brief second." * So yes, that's another lesson learned: Never forget where you came from. With that being said, the final installment was produced, giving all the recognition to the original film: where it all began. And I loved that idea.
Final Destination 5 was worth every penny. I am not saying that it is better than the original, but it is a very satisfying end to the FD franchise. The plot was nothing new nor extraordinary. The premonitions were given in a way we all knew. The order of deaths was in no different from the first installment. But it is all because they were meant to be that way in retrospect of the original movie. The collapsing bridge incident also reminded me too much of the pile up in Route 180 (FD 2). I was not sure though if the information about 'killing another life to spare your own' was a new idea or was already mentioned in the previous films. But anyway, the gory scenes and the visual effects were quite decent. Nonetheless, it was the twist that saved the final installment.
Sadly, there would not seem to be another installment after this. This is actually the FINAL-FINAL INSTALLMENT of the franchise. Though there is still the thirst for a final-destination kind of death porn, this movie is a very acceptable denouement (and at the same time, beginning).
