The original Final Destination was not a great film, if you’ve seen any good films from the 2000s era then you should already know this as a fact. That film was lacking a clear vision and was bogged down tremendously by some of the worst directions possible in a horror film. In fact, it didn’t even feel like a film at all, but rather a killing montage of people dying for an hour and a half in gruesome ways. There needed to be a story attached, there needed to be a vision and there needed to be a better direction. The entry of David R. Ellis is what put Final Destination on the map!
How to Download Final Destination 2
You can download the film from a digital store. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
Final Destination 2 – the Movie Review
Unlike the original film, this film starts out with a much more gruesome road accident that would lead to the deaths of many people. However, Kimberly gets the series’ iconic premonition and manages to save the lives of everyone involved. In full Final Destination fashion, Death begins its search for retaliation against the ones that survived and begins to hunt them down one by one.
This is a simple plot but this film is so much more effective in general because of the more stylistic approach, as well as better direction. Since James Wong was occupied with Jet Li’s The One, stunt coordinator David R. Ellis pumped into the director’s seat and created a sequel that was much better than the original.
This film does not feel as disjointed as the first one, and the character relationships in the film actually matter. The pacing is also much better with scenes of gruesome violence divided into character growth and character development.
This film sees huge growth in terms of character writing. The characters actually feel like regular people who are genuinely put into this life-altering situation. Of course, not all of the writing is great and there are a bunch of corny dialogues as well as some character development that is missing. However, for the most part, the film does a much better job than the original at dictating the relationships and the pacing of these characters. They also die at the perfect time and in some of the weirdest, wackiest ways.
The characters wouldn’t feel as interesting if they weren’t so well written, but the acting does take away from some of the viewing experience here. Ali Larter makes a comeback as Clear Rivers, and somehow, she’s the only good actor here. Tony Todd also makes some magical cameo, but it’s such a short moment that it doesn’t really matter. The rest of the cast includes A. J. Cook, Michael Landes, Noel Fisher, and a few more people who don’t really make much of a mark.
The best part about this film being directed by a stunt coordinator is the fact that almost every single horrifying way in which a character dies is so much gorier to look at. Of course, row the first film mainly relied on boring visual effects and camera tricks, Final Destination 2 mixes things up a notch by making sure every death is done only through practical effects.
This makes the deaths feel much more realistic, despite the fact that death takes some really weird routes to kill people here. It succeeds visually where the original film fails, though the cinematography is still quite underwhelming, the film feels brutal to watch.
Speaking of the music though, the soundtrack barely does anything. Out of all of the improved aspects of filmmaking, this is the one aspect where this film continues to fail. The Final Destination series was never really known for its music though, and most of the time people do remember this franchise for the shock factor.
The Verdict
While it may not be major, Final Destination 2 definitely sees a huge improvement in terms of many different filmmaking elements. It feels like an actual horror film, to begin with, the debts are more gruesome, and the practical effects are flashy and eye-catching. The film also sees improvements in character writing and character development. Though on its own, this is still a rough version of what could be, suffering from poor cinematography and some random story cliches, as well as some character development that feels missing.
