Final Destination 5

(2011) ***

In 2006 I noted the following in my Final Destination 3 review,

“In the original Final Destination, a guy has a premonition about a terrible plane crash and averts this tragedy by convincing his friends to avoid the flight. The plane crashes but his friends are saved, temporarily. Eluding death is not in the cards; however, and one by one his friends are dispatched in the order that they were seated on the flight manifesto. In the second Final Destination, a woman has a premonition about a terrible highway car crash and averts this tragedy by convincing her friends to avoid the highway. The traffic accident still happens, but her friends are saved, temporarily. Eluding death is not in the cards, however, and one by one her friends are dispatched in the order that they were seated in their cars. In Final Destination 3 (you see where I’m going with this)…”



If you want to review a Final Destination film, just use my handy-dandy fill-in-the-blank template:

In the fifth Final Destination, a guy has a premonition about a (terrible suspension bridge collapse) and averts this tragedy by convincing his friends to (run off of the bridge). The (suspension bridge) still (collapses), but his friends are saved, temporarily. Eluding death is not in the cards, however, and one by one his friends are dispatched in the order that they made it (off the bridge).



Final Destination 5 is not like a box of chocolates because you know exactly what you’re going to get. Every sequel is a paint-by-numbers remake of the first film, which follow the simple formula I noted above. As predicable as these films are, they work simply because of the formula. Every film opens with an amazing deadly premonition, which is usually the best part of the film, and then we’re treated to a series of clever, unpredictable, deaths. We don’t watch these silly films to see how they turn out since they turn out the same way every single time; we watch them because it’s fun to see how the teens meet their demise. If you liked the first Final Destination you will like all of them. Come to think of it, I don’t believe I ever watched part 4. I bet I know what happens…