Cheating Death: “Final Destination”

The long running Final Destination franchise took flight back in 2000 and has been splattering itself into theaters every few years since then. James Wong, a former X-Files producer and director, took the helm as director of this film and was able to give the movie going audience an intriguing story line to follow: Can one cheat death’s plan? The characters in this teenage supernatural-horror tried to accomplish just that.

Alex Browning and his fellow classmates were boarding a flight to Paris as he had a stunning vision of the plane blowing up. Frantic and scared, Alex made a commotion on the pane that got him as well as six others kicked off the flight. Minutes later, Alex’s premonition came true as the plane exploded just after take off. The lucky seven were able to cheat death, but for how long…? Soon after the disaster, death had came up with a new design for the surviving seven. With the FBI trying to pin Alex for foul play, one by one the friends began dying off in horrible ways as they were strangled, smashed and stabbed. Alex and the others remaining soon realize death’s new plan and did what they could to try and avoid it.

Final Destination found mixed reviews as it was released. Some complained about the acting and felt the film was dramatically flat. Many critics found it be be crude and a waste of time and money. But, with all the negativity coming from these old-stuffy and out-of-touch “film critics,” the film found itself a worthy fan base and took in 10 million on it’s opening weekend. The film peaked at number three and lasted in theaters for 22 weeks in the United States and took home an impressive 112 million internationally. With the financial success from Final Destination, this movie was able to spawn multiple sequels with the fifth installment slashing it’s way to theaters this weekend. If the film becomes a box office success, it has been reported that the 6th and 7th chapters will be then filmed back-to-back. Overall, it’s a fun start to a fun series. The characters are fairly likable here and the death scenes are fairly ingenious.

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