Campy fun, if that

Rating: Null/10 (16 January 2019)

Somewhere buried deep in the film's premise lies the kernel of an intriguing idea - and that's Final Destination's lone good point. What happens if someone on board a plane has a premonition of disaster, flees from the aircraft before takeoff, then watches in horror as it explodes once it is airborne. Of course, it takes about ten minutes for it to become apparent that Final Destination is only going to use this as a hook. The point of the movie has nothing to do with how the survivors cope with guilt and uncertainty. Instead, Final Destination is intent upon illustrating that, while it's possible for seven people to cheat death by disembarking from a doomed plane, the Devil still demands his due. So, with John Denver singing in the background, they start dying one-by-one. Even the special effects are no good. Near the beginning of the film, as Sawa's character, Alex, has a vision of the plane's destruction, we are treated to the same kind of visuals used several decades ago when Christopher Reeve's Superman took to the air. Later, for a beheading scene, the decapitation is so ineptly done that I found myself choking back laughter. Moments like that make you wonder if this film could have had a chance as camp. Unfortunately, the somber, serious tone deflates any hope of this.