The Popkorn Junkie :: Final Destination 2

I can vividly remember when I saw the first "Final Destination". I had heard very little about it, but walked out of the theatre feeling very satisfied indeed. It was a great little horror flick with a pretty cool plotline and some nice thrown-in touches, like John Denver playing at all the death scenes, and the number scheme. It was just an all-around entertaining romp through stupid, dead teenagers and a cameo from Candyman. Now, what they have done, is take a good idea, repeat it, and create a useless piece of crap that should have never even been made. That is "Final Destination 2"--one of the worst and most pointless sequels ever.

What is the story? Well, pretty much identical to the story of the first one, though means of transportation have changed from air to road. Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) is driving on the interstate one day when she has a terrifying vision of a deadly accident. She blocks the traffic on the on-ramp and saves herself and the people behind her from the grisly mess ahead. Alas, according to Death's design, she and the people she saved should have also been killed in the crash, and Death comes back with a vengeance. So, Kimberly calls upon Clear Rivers (Ali Larter)--the only survivor from the first film--to help her deal with the situation. What ensues is one unbelievable death scene after another. Whether it's someone choking to death or someone getting killed by an airbag, nothing is safe in "Final Destination 2".

This film has none of the subtle little nuances that made the first film so taut. Instead, they have evidently decided those touches were not well received, and they have replaced those nuances with clichés--one French word for another. Big mistake. Another big mistake was replacing an impressive cast from the first with a bunch of no-talent, unheard of rookies with very little charisma. They could have at least tried to get some decent actors. Well, I forgot about Tony Todd. He was pretty creepy in the first film, but serves as more of a comedy relief in this one. Why does he even have another role in this film? His character was not THAT important. He really gets around as a mortician.

David R. Ellis directed this joke of a film, which is odd considering his last effort was "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco". In case the sarcasm was too subtle, let me go ahead and say--THAT WAS SARCASM!!! He has no talent as a director and should stick to stuntwork, which he seems better at according to his impressive stunts resume.

So, this film is a flop in every sense of the word. Do not waste your time on it and maybe you can catch something with a message and some real value as a movie, like "About Schmidt" or "Adaptation". Thank God this one's only coming to around 2,000 theatres--maybe IT will miss YOU. Fingers crossed.

-- Billy Ray ( 0 pops out of 4 pops )

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Other Junkie's opinions.....

James ( 3 out of 4 pops )

Ah, gotta love them sequels, eh? I had such little expectations for this, but I really was not in an Al Pacino mood...(when am I ever?), so I saw this Saturday night. Saturday night means that you sit amongst teenagers who don't know how to shut up. But aside all this, I rather enjoyed the film. Sure, the plot was EXACTLY the same. Sure, there was some downright atrocious acting, but the sole purpose this film was made was to give offer up some cheap thrills. It did that. More so than the first movie. The effects are better, and the death sequences are more gruesome. I felt that it also added more insight to "Death's design" or whatever you want to call it. The plot is the same as the first, because guess what, the rip in death's design from the first movie was never closed, and Clear Rivers realizes in this one that what happened to them a year ago, has actually affected more people. Every moment they've been alive, they've been changing the routine of people's lives. I hated the first one, because it tried to be something it wasn't. It's not an intelligent thriller, stuff like this couldn't ever happen, it's a thriller in the only sense that it thrills people. They got it right this time. The plot is always going to be weak in stories like this. I want to see blood. I want to squirm in my seat and watch people get-- nah, I don't wanna ruin it for you. Go see this on the BIG screen, the effects (some of the best road ones of all time) will look like crap on a small one, then you'll be left with just the plot. Not fun.