MOVIE REVIEW: THE FINAL DESTINATION

English – (18SG) – 03 September 2009 – Thriller/Horror
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Running Time: 82 mins.
Director: David R Ellis
Producer: Craig Perry, Warren Zide
Writers: Eric Bass, Jeffrey Reddick
Casts: Bobby campo, Shantel VanSanten, Haley webb, Nick Zino, Krista allen
Plot: When Nick O'Bannon had a premonition of a racecar fatally crashing and instantly killing his friends in the most gruesome way, he decided to just shake it off. But when everything looks so real, he began to panic and persuaded the other teenagers to leave the place immediately. Soon after, debris began to fly and all his dreams turn into tragic reality. As for Nick, along with his girlfriend, Lori and her best friend, this is just the beginning. When survivors began to die one-by-one in a most horrifying way one can imagine, Nick must think of a way to cheat Death once more.

The Verdict:

Green Tea Bern Says:

Now the Death God is looming yet again, lingering around the town to seeking for the latest bunch of idiotic victims. For the fourth time, the Death God played a similar tactic and modus operandi, trapping the victims with no where to run except the only exit that is written on top of it – death. As expected, the Death God has no match and competition at all and seeing people dying in gore-fest is no longer a fun or creative idea to champion with.

For the fourth installment and like previously, it tells the story of a person with a sudden and unexpectedly received a vision about something bad is going to happen. This time, Nick (Bobby Campo) and his friends were watching a motor race when he suddenly received a vision about a possible catastrophic event that will happen. He managed to pull several survivors safely from the accident. However, realizing that no one can ever escape or cheat death, some unseen forces start to kill each survivor in a freak accident that only natures know how. Can Nick and his friends do something to stop the death list to materialize? [....]


To be frank, this series is getting a bit awkward and annoying that it really challenges the need for a fresh idea. There is no originality left and the fact that this movie has no longer sharing the same feel like its original 2001 movie proved a massive failure in giving audience a different sort of phenomenon, hope and story. The plot of one people receiving the vision, safe the rest but somehow all will eventually died due to some freak accident in a sorted determined list is getting out of hand.

If you think the third movie is getting nowhere clarity, this is even worst – going through those same thorny agonizing path of death and again in the end of the day proof pointless, a very much nothing but an insanity display of gore smashed, ripped and splashed body and flesh around the story. Again, coincidence, perfect timing and precise nature of the freak accidents become the only thing I can admired while acknowledgement the franchise is getting boring is pretty much overwhelmed the admiration.

With the need for someone to suggest them to directly stop producing any more about the franchise, the satisfaction becomes zero. However, the only awesomeness to ponder is the way they died and what else is it to be proud off? The story for the fourth movie is a bit shallow, shorter and involves little twist. If the first one was a so-called original idea that makes it all a breakthrough, a second one produces a different approach by reversing the list. The third one goes back the way the order but what about this one? Nothing except an inclusion of the second premonition daydream and uneasiness déjà vu as a warning that again leads the movie to nowhere.

Again, casting is another disappointment. Just throw in some new fresh faces that we never really knew and let them died in horror – the idea is getting rotten and no longer appealing. The main character Nick by Bobby Campo is a bit unstellar, woody and uninspiring at all. Even, his friends like Hunt, or Janet, or Lori does not have the appropriate emotional ridden that we hope to drive the storyline. The characterization is on par but still does not give any immediate or necessary impact that influences the whole thing. Just in other word – characterization is lacking and the acting is pretty dull.

Special effects are another pain-in-the-ass. Just imagine – Nick's premonition does not have the awesomeness effects we hope for, but rather runs like a draft of lousy story board chalked in to serve a cartoon – not a thriller horror. However, the different approach is luckily used to manifest the process of each freak and well-coordinated accident. Therefore, I can say that it is pretty tedious to see how people died in vision but somehow pretty stylish when the process materialize.

As a whole, you may need to avoid this because you can watch two-third of the movie via the movie trailer while the remainder can seemly said a fresh source of materials to our eyes. Other wise, do not even bother about this movie as you can save for another better movie.

THE RATING…

STORY – 1.0 stars

CASTS – 1.5 stars

CINEMATOGRAPHY – 3.0 stars

EFFECTS – 3.0 stars

Overall - 2.0 stars

Green-Tea-O-Meter: 7.0