Based on the ending death montage, I'm guessing that the writers really did think this one was the final movie in the series. And compared to the previous film, this movie did seem to have something going for it. The formula is the same as always: A major accident, with a few younger people surviving, only to realize that you cannot outlive death.
Each time, one person has the vision, and then they start to figure out there's a "pattern," and deaths start to occur in the order in which they "should have occurred." This time, we also get the wrinkle that if it's your turn to die, someone else can "take your place" which returns death's balance. The problem is: you only end up with as much time as that other person was slated to live. If you kill the wrong person and they had an extra day to live, then that's all you get.
Maybe I was most happy to see Bludworth (Tony Todd) return to the series, after being absent in the 4th film, He actually gets to appear in a few scenes this time, and it's clear now that he's the coroner. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much to contribute this time, except laying out the "pattern design/the fate of death" idea. Pretty straightforward stuff, and for anyone who's already seen the first four films, completely unnecessary. Bludworth doesn't seem odd and spooky this time. He's not the Grim Reaper's assistant; he's nothing more than the "grim recapper."
All that said, the movie's CGI looks a little better than the 4th movie. The writing and characters also feel a little more serious. At least, unlike the last film, they all have at least a little character development and personality, and they are all given character names. (What's funny about the actors in this movie: For the most part, this is the only movie they appear in -- like this is the final destination of their acting careers.
As far as end twists go, this movie has not one but two. I liked the first one, but the second one ruined it somehow for me. In terms of endings, I'd rather they just leave things a bit ambiguous rather than going one step too far.
I've also been thinking that none of the death scenes in this franchise can really be all that satisfying. For the most part, the deaths are quick and instantaneous. Only rarely does any character suffer, or does a death take more than a split second to complete. Don't get me wrong: I'm not wanting the deaths to go on and on. On the other hand, if you've invested in a character -- to whatever extent a movie like this allows you to invest in a character -- and then they're gone in a split second, literally just a split second of screen time before the movie moves on, that's not satisfying.
If Bludworth knows more that he tells each group of survivors, and if the deaths started happening before the deaths occurring with Flight 180, I wish he would have had more to say on the subject. If he's a Coroner in his 50s, say, does he have 20 or 30 years of Final Destination experiences? Why don't we ever get to see more from his point of view? What don't we ever get his backstory?
Rating: 2/5 stars
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