FINAL DESTINATION 5
(R)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
There have been four Final Destinations before this one, and the most recent was actually named “The Final Destination,” so the necessity of this sequel seems a little silly. However, when you finally get to the end of the film, it works in the context of the series and definitely tops the previous installment. (However, it’s still not as good as the first three films.)
This iteration of the modern horror classic sees a group of employees from a paper company going on a corporate retreat. While in the middle of a bridge, one of them has a vision that it will collapse and they’ll all die. After convincing several to get off the bus and run away, the bridge does collapse, letting this random group escape death. However, soon death comes back to get them one-by-one in elaborate and grisly events.
“Final Destination 5” was released in 3D, just like the previous film, and for a gimmick movie it was fun. The film does lose a bit of the decadent fun by not being in 3D, particularly in the impressive bridge collapse sequence. Still, for the fans of the modern non-slasher slasher movie, it can be fun.
Like many movies that get released nowadays, “Final Destination 5” didn’t quite live up to its hype of the freshness that the trailers promised. However, upon second viewing on Blu-ray, things improved. If you know all the twists in the film (which are actually spoiled on the Blu-ray cover box, so tread carefully when looking at it), it’s interesting to watch to see where the filmmakers did them justice or betrayed them (because they do both).
But knowing how the deaths play out work better in retrospect because there are just too many red herrings flung at the audience as the weird Rube Goldberg set-pieces fall into place.
Easily the most impressive moment is the bridge collapse, which is cool and chilling to watch. Death mopping up its final victims through the rest of the film is a bit ho-hum at times. And the movie could have used some gratuitous nudity. It is an R-rated horror film, after all.
The Blu-ray comes with the UltraViolet Digital Copy through Flixster, which allows it to be streamed to a portable player. Special features include alternate death scenes, split-screen special effects comparisons of two key scenes and a featurette “Final Destination 5: Circle of Death, Your Final Destination,” which is loaded with spoilers so should only be watched after viewing the film.