An original idea that works

Rating: 8/10 (7 April 2012)

The plot = Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) along with his classmates are about to take a school trip to Paris, but Alex has a premonition that the plane crashes, so he and a handful of people leave the plane, it crashes, thinking that they've escaped near death, an unseen force known as death starts killing off the survivors one by one.
I remember going to see this movie in the cinema many years ago and never thought that this would start off a franchise. "Final Destination" is a really good movie and gives an almost entirely original concept. An unseen killing force known as death killing off the teens with tragic and nasty accidents. Okay I wasn't sold on the idea at first, as I'm old fashioned and prefer a straight up standard slasher, but when I saw this movie, I really enjoyed it.
Coming out at a time when the second slasher boom was starting to wane, "Final Destination" breathed new life into the genre. Okay it's a little slow to start off, but as it goes on it really kicks in and doesn't become predictable as the death scenes are accidents and could really happen making it suspenseful.
Another aspect that works is the cast, all of which give really good performances, not a bad one in sight which again is really rare in these types of movies. Devon Sawa was excellent as the lead, he manages to be sympathetic and convincing at the same time, pity he never did quite become a star after this. Ali Larter gives a well rounded performance as the female lead and plus has great chemistry with Devon Sawa. Kerr Smith plays the asshole jock really well. Kristen Cloke plays the teacher really well and makes you feel for her when her time comes, she should have had more screen time and Tony Todd was genuinely creepy in his small cameo role, it's always fun to see him in anything.
All in all A really good movie with an original idea that works for a change and an excellent cast really sums it up.