Review - Final Destination 5 (2011)

“This just got way more fun.”

Director: Steven Quale

Starring: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fischer 

Writers: Eric Heisserer

Oh Final Destination, I never expected much from you, but at least for a while you kept me entertained. I liked the first and second films, wasn’t really fussed on number three and couldn’t be bothered paying the money to watch the fourth. So it was with free ticket in hand that I headed to see if this was any good at all. Expectations were low, and as the 3D titles began I knew I was in for a ride. But would this be a crappy haunted house ride?

Well first off I’ll say that some of the deaths made me cringe, and in that respect the film is a success as people really only go to the Final Destination movies for one thing. Death! Death by the bucketful. Who cares about the characters, let’s just see the gory delights you have. So to start with the most positive aspect of this movie, hats off to the constant swerve in how people are going to be killed. Often the scene will highlight a few ways characters will die, which does leave the audience guessing. The movie isn’t boring, and going from the big opening disaster to the climax, it was over before I knew it. Also the use of the 3D while at it’s most gimmicky in a film like this was used effectively and did hit the squirm button a few times.

Now it might seem like a free kick to bash the acting in a movie like Final Destination but it wasn’t exactly that bad. Also the two leads were distinctly not assholes. While this may seem weird to point out, all too often in the current crop of horror movies, nearly every character comes off as an asshole and therefore the audience doesn’t care and just wants to see them knocked off. I actually wanted the two leads (Nicholas D’Agosto and Emma Bell) to survive. In fact most of the characters weren’t asshole barring two, which seemed to absorb all the assholes traits into themselves. Those characters I did want to see die. But not to over do it, while the acting wasn’t bad, there was nothing memorable. So in this case I got more than I expected but still nothing to really make this Final Destination break free of its gory roots.

As for the story we have the same basic establishment from all the other movies. Character has a vision of the tragedy, character saves various others, death starts killing off characters in a set order, and there are rules to save their asses. For a bare skeleton of a plot this works, I mean it’s sustained four other movies. There is some attempt to change things up by introducing a new rule, and it does make for some interesting themes that are never fully capitalized on. The story though is never trying to be daring or different, and after the movie finished, while I enjoyed myself I knew that I wouldn’t be revisiting the movie unless I managed to catch it for free sometime.

With a movie like this, everything is really streamlined to highlight the deaths. Audience’s expect this and don’t want to deviate from the formula, but on the other hand Studio’s have fostered this expectation in order to get people hooked on the franchise. It does come down to if you liked the previous instalments.

My recommendation is to go and watch the first Final Destination. If you like it and what more, then continue with the series. As for the 3D spectacle, I think I was more enamoured with it because it was a free ticket. When it comes down to the twenty dollar price tag for this movie, I don’t think I could recommend it to people to go in cold. Honestly people who will like this movie have probably already gone to it. At least this was better than the third one.

Tony Todd is made of awesome, but it just seems like a waste having
him in such a small part in these movies. STOP WASTING HIS TALENT!