Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Final Destination 5 (2011)

I've never been a Final Destination fangirl, but you have to admit, they've got quite the formula down.  Much like Saw, it's the franchise that won't die, but yet you don't have to put a ton of thought into the screenplay.  Some teenager/20-something has a premonition of a horrific accident and thoughtfully yanks others out of it.  Death ain't havin' that shit, and everyone who survived is on the list to die.

The best part of the Final Destination movies are, of course, the wild deaths.  Ever since Devon Sawa ran screaming from that flight to Paris, we've been treated to a hell of a lot of fun and gory deaths.  If you stay tuned through the credits of Final Destination 5, you'll be treated to a highlight reel of sorts.

So what's the plot of FD5?  A group of attractive 20-somethings take off on a corporate retreat on one of those coach busses.  As usual, the actors contain a bunch of veritable nobodies, and two somewhat stars to get those crowds in the theaters.  The lucky two this time are Emma Bell (The Walking Dead and Frozen) and Nicholas D'Agosto (Heroes and Inside).  Sam (D'Agosto) has a vision of a massive bridge collapse where nearly 100 people die.  In an effort to save everyone, he pulls a handful of people off the bus, who of course, survive.  And as Tony Todd reminds them, death does not like to be cheated, and that bastard is coming for them.
 
The formula goes pretty much as Final Destination movies go.  People try to avoid certain death, but get killed in bizarre situations and freak accidents.  The deaths in this movie were a blast, and my husband and I found ourselves exclaiming in amusement more than once.  The setups are always part of the entertainment as well, with all these little things being amplified while you wonder what's going to happen next. 

The real highlight of this movie?  The ending.  I thought they were gearing up for a FD6, but instead, they flipped the script.  It was a fun way to likely wrap up the series, and the special effects throughout were on point.  I usually bitch about sequels, especially those made in the last 10 years, but I can't say too much bad about this flick.  Much like the rollercoaster scenes in another one of the FD movies, this one was a fun ride.

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