A relatively interesting premise, but Final Destination ultimately sinks nearly to the level of the mass of bonehead teen thrillers that have been so prevalent in the 90s.

Rating: 5/10 (23 August 2001)

(spoilers) Final Destination starts off really well, with our unlikely hero Alex in a great scene where he has a dream that the airplane that he is on with all of his high school friends (what high school goes to Europe for a senior trip?!) is going to explode upon take off. This is unquestionably the best scene in the film, both for its creativeness as well as its effectiveness. This kid falls asleep on the plane as everyone is boarding (another common occurrence among high school kids on planes filled with their friends, I'm sure), and has a dream about a defective seat back table and a subsequent, and pretty impressive, explosion on the plane that kills everyone.

As the plane is going up in flames and people are getting sucked out through the hole in the side of the plane and burning to death and whatnot, Alex wakes up in a cold sweat and a frantic panic. Suddenly back to reality, he climbs over people trying to get back to the seat where his dream takes place, and when he gets there, he finds the same defective seat back table that was in his dream and therefore concludes that it was a clairvoyant dream and starts yelling that the plane is going to explode. Not bad for a movie that doesn't appear to be anything more than the latest teen slasher movie. And to top it all off, the part where the plane actually does explode (as seen from inside the airport), and especially the brief pause before the windows of the airport explode inward as well, is also one of the more satisfying scenes in the film.
Unfortunately, it's pretty much all downhill from there. It seems that by avoiding being blown to bits on the plane, the kids who got off (some whether they liked it or not) seem to have `cheated' Death, and Death doesn't seem to be too happy about it. They are apparently being stalked by Death, as he (or, more likely, she) begins killing them one by one in increasingly outlandish and sometimes laughable death scenes. Is this really as original and entertaining as the explosion scene at the beginning of the film? Probably not. In fact, not even close. A bunch of scared teenagers being killed off one by one. Can you name another movie where this has happened? Can you really name a horror movie made in the 90s where this HASN'T happened?
On the one hand, you KNOW that nothing like these scenes would ever happen in real life. For the most part, computers that people have in their homes do not have anything in them that would explode if vodka were accidentally spilled into the monitor, and even if there was something like that inside it, it probably wouldn't explode through the screen, the strongest part of the entire thing. I also fail to feel any sympathy for someone who strangles in the bathroom because he thrashed his legs around while hanging by his neck from a cord, kicking his feet everywhere except directly underneath him. Take some knowledge, people (as this poor guy would have said), if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, stand up. It'll save your life. And don't even get me started on the power line at the end of the film that whipped around like a severed worm in fast forward. This is just garbage, couldn't they think of something better than that? Power lines do not behave like loose fire hoses on full blast when they are cut, they behave like cut cords. Probably the only death scene in the film that was really shocking and impressive (as well as relieving, given the character) was the one with the city bus.
On the other hand, this stuff does have a sort of purpose. Sure, every death in the film was ludicrous (even the rather grisly one dealt to Seann William Scott), but this gives shape to the character of Death. It's one of the film's good points that the Grim Reaper wasn't personified as a huge shape in a black cloak, stalking the kids and killing them. That would have put Final Destination in the same stagnant pool with all of these other goofy teen slashers and also would have ruined the movie beyond all hope. Instead, we get these outlandish and often ridiculously exaggerated death scenes, so it almost gives the feeling that Death is taking time out of his busy schedule to hand these people their asses personally. As Mallory Knox would say, `There's no escapin' here!'
There are very few interesting things about this movie, other than such things as that you can see Tony Todd, known as virtually nothing other than the Candyman, in a small role as the freakiest mortician on the planet. Also, it's interesting to ponder what would possibly have made Alex so hated and feared for saving those people's lives, especially when he is alienated the most by the very people that he saved. Carter, in particular, develops an unfathomable hatred for Alex that swells to the exploding point. You'd think those jerks would be grateful.
At any rate, the film as a whole is entertaining enough, but doesn't make much progress in attempting to elevate itself above the recent abundance of terrible teen thrillers and slasher movies and horror films. It is far above the abysmal level of such messes as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Valentine, as well as hideous spoofs like the Scary Movies, but Final Destination is definitely not meant for a more mature audience. If you decide to watch it, try to enjoy it for what it is, but keep your expectations low.