You can't cheat Death twice.

Rating: 10/10 (23 February 2011)

***WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS SO IF YOU DON'T WANT THIS MOVIE SPOILED FOR YOU, DON'T READ ON. JUST KNOW THAT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU VIEWING IT BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE BETTER HORROR MOVIES AROUND***
I still remember seeing this movie opening weekend on a cold night in 2003. It was one of the best movie-going experiences of my life. This is how you properly make a sequel. Final Destination 2 is my favorite movie in the franchise for many reasons:
1.) The Continuity from the first movie. Clear Rivers (played by the brilliant and beautiful Ali Larter)having survived the first movie, checked herself into a mental hospital so she could be safe from Death. One day she gets a visit from a woman named Kimberly who needs her advice since Clear "beat" Death in the first movie. Kimberly and the survivors of the pile-up need her help so they can stay alive. The essence of continuity is ever present in this movie and one aspect I appreciated was Clear's matured role. Her character really evolved and matured from a damsel in distress in the first movie to the smart, tough leading lady in this one.
2.) The Vision. I still get chills running up my spine thinking about this highway pile-up scene in the beginning. I didn't think they could beat the vision from the first movie but they did. I remember experiencing heart palpitations in the theater because it was so intense.
3.) The Characters. Normally in a horror movie, the audience doesn't care about the characters. They just want to see how gory their deaths are going to be. What sets this film apart is that I actually cared about these characters, so when they died, it was more upsetting and emotional. The only thing I didn't like was that they killed off Clear Rivers at the end. But in keeping with the movie's theme, I learned to accept this because it shows that when your time is up, no one can really cheat death.
I highly recommend this movie even if you're not a horror fan. The death scenes are very intense/gory and unexpected giving it a massive fear factor. This should serve as a model for great horror movie sequels right next to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Final Destination 2 stayed with me long after I saw it and remains to this day one of my top 10 favorite horror movies.
BUT BEWARE: THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.