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Overall Rating : 7/10
Directed By : Steven Quale
Nicholas D'Agosto (Drive Thru)
Emma Bell (Frozen) Miles Fisher (J. Edgar)
Tony Todd (Final Destination)
Supplied By : Warner Home Video/New Line
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : December. 20, 2011
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| PLOT Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and in Final Destination 5 it strikes again. During the bus ride to a corporate retreat, Samhas a premonition in which he and most of his friends — as well as numerous others — die in a horrific bridge collapse. When his vision ends, events begin to mirror what he had seen, and he frantically ushers as many of his colleagues — including his friend, Peter, and girlfriend, Molly — away from the disaster before Death can claim them. But these unsuspecting souls were never supposed to survive, and in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group tries to discover a way to escape Death’s sinister agenda.
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THE REVIEW |
In FINAL DESTINATION 5, part-time chef Sam is on his way to a company retreat with the faculty and his co-workers at his other job at Presage Paper, a paper company. The group has all packed into a bus, and are on their way as Sam has a premonition as the bus stalls an a New York suspension bridge. In the premonition Sam sees the bridge collapsing, putting he and his co-workers in danger. Sam rush's to save his friends, as well as his girlfriend, Molly. Sam witnesses as his friends, as well as everyone else on the bridge meet their demise in some way or fashion, before witnessing his own death. Sam soon snaps out of the dream-like trance, and hurries to rush everyone to safety. Everyone's puzzled by Sam's enthusiasm, but soon realize, that Sam's premonition is indeed a reality. Sam and a group of co-worker's manage to dodge death. But in the weeks that follow, as they all attempt to get on with their lives, the soon come to the realization that death is unavoidable if you have been chosen. Soon the survivors begin to die in the order which they were meant, each in gory, grisly fashion. Death is back again, and this time, are there any true survivors? When closing out my review for 2009's THE FINAL DESTINATION, I found myself questioning whether it would truly be "The" final entry in the series, stating, "Time would tell" Well, it is nearly to years later, and time has certainly spoken, because here lies the fifth installment of the FINAL DESTINATION series. "Death" film's ultimate villain is back, and why not? The series is successful, and lets just admit it, the premise, as well as its crazy death scenes are fun, no matter how many times we see them repeated. Like the previous 4 films, FINAL DESTINATION also deals with a group of survivors, who survive a horrific event, only to later find out that death gets angry when we escape it, and essentially, there is no escaping your fate. FINAL DESTINATION 5 continues the tradition in following that familiar pattern, which see survivors eventually dying in various gruesome ways, in the order in which the were supposed to die during the accident. We have seen this four times over already, so going in, I hoped that this entry would have a little something to set it apart from the rest, and as I would find out, it does indeed. Now, I may be wrong here, but this is the first time that I believe there has have been a way to dodge certain death in these films - it has always been presented in such way that there is absolutely NO way to escape death - although the survivors do try. This time around how ever, the group of survivors learn from a returning Bludworth, that one may cheat death by killing someone, a sacrifice if you will, and in exchange, that person would earn the deceased's remaining years. Yes, it's a harsh new addition, but for me, it was a welcome one. This stipulation, in my opinion adds a little more depth, as well as tension as we see characters go as far as turning on each other. All things familiar, and all things new here, keep things exciting. Going into this film, you should know exactly what to expect from it. THe first 10 minutes or so are utilized for the set up, of course. Over the course of this series, we've seen plane crashes, huge traffic accidents, a roller coaster ride gone awry, speedway destruction, and now for this one, a suspension bridge collapse. With the fourth film's initial set up being sort of lackluster in my opinion, the fifth installment really picks things up again. Not only is the sequence full of suspense, it is actually fun and of course, gruesome. And speaking of gruesome, that word perfectly describes the series' forte', that is of course the death scenes. In my review for THE FINAL DESTINATION, I noted how in that film, that the filmmakers made things less serious in making the death scenes less realistic and more over the top. Well, in FINAL DESTINATION 5, I can say that this stays true to an extent, the death scenes, while some are ridiculous, they are all equally fun. a good majority of the FINAL DESTINATION audience come for the deaths, so why not amp them up, and make them as shocking and unpredictable as possible? In my opinion, they do just that. There are a couple of memorable death scenes featured here, but i'd have to say that my favorite scene would have to be the gymnastic death. So over-the-top, but so brutal! Poor girl. Like THE FINAL DESTINATION before it, FINAL DESTINATION was shot for 3D. I complained in the previous review, that since it was shot in 3D, some of the scenes just didn't transcend well when viewing the film in 2D. It seemed as though the Director was a little too concentrated on the 3D aspect. I could imagine that shooting in 3D is difficult, because you must map everything out to get specific 3D shots, but with THE FINAL DESTINATION, I felf that the focus on the 3D took away from the other aspects of the film. Luckily, this time around, it seems as though the filmmakers have grasped the idea. Yes, it is a 3D movie, but unlike THE FINAL DESTINATION, FINAL DESTINATION 5 has the right balance, while not having "too much" 3D. So in other words, the viewer who prefers to view the film sans 3D isn't so much distracted this time. Also improved here in my opinion is the cast. In the previous entry, the cast, was made up of nearly unknowns or lesser knowns, not a bad thing, necessarily, but for me, it gave the film a more independent, and less experienced vibe. While There are a few newcomers here, it was great to see some familiar faces such as Emma Bell(FROZEN, THE WALKING DEAD), Arlen Escarpeta(TV's "American Dreams"), and of course, the great Tony Todd as "William Bludworth", who has always been sort of like death's "Messenger" The overall acting in FINAL DESTINATION is a full step up in my opinion. The characters are interesting, thus making it easier to care about them, which is what these film should be about - us wanting them to survive. Honestly, I kind of like all of the films that make up this series, but when choosing, my least favorites have to be FINAL DESTINATION 2 and THE FINAL DESTINATION. It's just a coincidence that they both happen to have been directed by the same guy(David R. Ellis), but they just lacked the excitement that made the original film so great. In the case of FINAL DESTINATION 5 however, it is a film that returns to the series roots, and essential breathes new life into an otherwise dying series.
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GORE
METER |
7/10 Multiple imaplements, a crushed head, a body crushed and distorted, a detached eyeball, etc. (really too much detail for me to explain).
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MUSICAL
SCORE | 6/10 The scoring really sets the tone, and gets the audience into what's happening. It reminding me a lot of the score for the original film.
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OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM |
FINAL DESTINATION 5, turned out to be the film I hoped it would be, which was a film that would revise a premise that was growing stale. Essentially, it put the fun back into series that has always made it an enjoyable one. As I stated above, FINAL DESTINATION 5 is a welcome improvement. Just when think we have seen the last of the FINAL DESTINATION series, this entry comes along and proves that the series still has strength. Will it continue on? We shall see, however the film did kind of come full circle in the end. If you did not like THE FINAL DESTINATION, give this one a shot, as you just might like what the fifth installment offers. This film will be released on Blu-Ray DVD Combo Pack/DVD on, December 27, 2011. Special Features include - Instant Streaming with UltraViolet Digital Copy - "Circle of Death" featurette - Alternate Death Scenes - Visual Effects of Death: Collapsing Bridge - Visual Effects of Death: Airplane Crash
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STILLS |
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