Excellent story, could have easily been a masterpiece with better direction.

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2016)

While being a devout Horror fan for over a decade, I must sadly confess that I've missed out on many of the classics, by which I mean that even if I did end up eventually watching them, I was far too old to really appreciate them (and have thus lost most of the scare-effect in classics such as Children of the Corn, The Omen, Village of the Damned, and don't even get me started on Chucky). Thankfully, Final Destination is simply an excellent film, and therefore immortal.
The story altogether is original and compelling, showing a teenager which an obvious fear of flights getting a premonition of his plain bursting into flames. Thus he discovers his power to comprehend and anticipate death's "pattern", thereby avoiding it. What he doesn't realize before it's too late is that nobody cheats death. At first the story feels a little mixed up and not too well presented, even considering director James Wong's former known project (The X Files). With no build up whatsoever, the unfolding of the story feels like a long episode of the cult series, for better or for worse. Also, certain parts of the story are simply left out, and the audience is left with the sole option of figuring things out relying on later scenes. While not a dire shortcoming - this still feels amateurish and bluntly unnecessary, especially considering the few seconds it would have taken to set things right.
Then there's the acting, or more appropriately the cast. As a huge fan of both SLC Punk and Idle Hands, I simply couldn't take Devon Sawa as a serious (even tragic) character. I kept half expecting the joke or wise crack to magically appear around him, and that's the last thing one would want while watching a Horror film. Luckily I'd never realized he played the role of Stan in Eminem's music video, or it would have been ruined for me too. I assume this is a personal problem, as Sawa is a great actor and performs beautifully, and yet. Then of course there's the slightly weird choice of casting Steven Stifler as Billy (which brings us to the question - why have a Billy in the first place? Such films have absolutely zero need for a comic relief, this is not a slasher parody). After his immortal performance in American Pie (and later Road Trip), even seeing his face in a Horror film severely damages the sensation of fear and suspense. Lastly, Kristen Cloke as Miss Lewton. Having a young high- school teacher is a risky move, and takes some talented maneuvering to pull off (for instance Drew Barrymore in Donnie Darco). Cloke, while obviously a talented actress following bad directing instructions, is far too timid and overdoes the whole damsel in distress routine. Having such a character as a teacher, after presented as strong and secure at first, felt unrealistic (yes, I realize she's been traumatized, yet as I've said - overdoing it).
Then, of course, the ending, following a very weak plot twist (if it can even qualify as one) and being as predictable as one could imagine, and far too comical. If Sawa and Scott were too comic for my personal liking, the ending is simply too comical for the average Horror viewer. With such an ending as the wrapping paper, the entire project stinks of "I want to be mainstream". This is Horror... why try and be mainstream instead of trying to make a better film?
Please understand, the reason I have so much concrete criticism isn't by far that Final Destination is a bad film. On the contrary, the original and innovative story (even today, 16 years later! Hats off to screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick) could and would have been enough to make this film a masterpiece. Sadly, all these bad choices by Wong turned what could have been an excellent film, to just a good film. Such potential gone to waste...
All in all, I had a great time watching this. While obviously more Suspense than Horror, it's definitely one of the classics, and if at 30 and 16 years after its debut it still managed to leave such an impressive mark on me - I can't recommend it enough.