Review of The Final Destination (2009) by Sean W — 05 Sep 2014

As the franchise reaches its fourth and supposedly final instalment (which turned out to be false), one would hope that filmmakers would have perhaps turn the plot in a new direction. Nevertheless, 'The Final Destination' confounds all positive expectations, and the result is a lazy, poorly-acted, predictable mess.

Regular FD buffs will know how the film goes before the opening titles finish: big opening disaster witnessed in a vision, guy with vision saves group, group begins to die in intended order. The previous instalments could be forgiven for their predictability on account of their sense of humour, their gleefully gory death sequences and their impressive cast. Yet, this film has nothing new to offer whatsoever. The appalling acting skills of the cast and the melodramatic script turn the film into a parody of itself, and any attempts at achieving a sense of humour are cringe-worthy.

Even the 3D effects could not disguise the wafer-thin personalities of the characters. The death sequences - one of the most fun and highly anticipated parts of any Final Destination film - are so ridiculous they are simply irritating, and do not contain a hint of suspense or tension that made the previous films famous.

The final insult, however, is twofold: a sex scene thrown in simply for some gratuitous T&A scenes, and an equally pointless, inappropriate and grotesque use of "the 'N' word" simply for shock factor. Even if you do not have high expectations before seeing this film, you are guaranteed to be utterly stunned at how atrocious this abomination really is.