Yeah, not a surprise, but the real problem with this franchise is that it's a one-hit wonder. Is the idea novel and somewhat interesting the first time? Sure, but when you go five sequels deep, you should have developed something more than what they ended up developing.
Now, what claims to be the "final" final destination is separated by 14 years from the last sequel. That's 14 years for them to try to figure out something a little bit better, and I have to admit, I was hopeful. The opening sequence and even the first half of the film did feel slightly above the average Final Destination fair.
Over the course of the film, we get to see that maybe all of the films were "related." My man Bludworth (Tony Todd) even gets a full name in this film, and we learn just a smidge more about him -- he was the little boy at the beginning of this film...
Brief note about Tony Todd: He looks horribly thin in this film. He's bald and gaunt. I didn't know until I after I saw the credits that he died after making this one, from stomach cancer. What a trooper, to make this film even when he knew he was on his way out. Now, the morbid part of me wonders why they didn't make his death more of a plot point. Bludworth does say that he's surrendered to his fate, and I'm guessing Todd was as well...But why not have him die in the film?
The ending of this one seems to replay the ending of the first sequel -- the idea being that if you die and come back to life, you've broken death's cycle. So Stephani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) drowns and then is brought back to life with CPR, but then a random character says, "Nope, that's not really dying." She gets the skin prick with the blood, but this time, no vision. She just knows that there's no real escape and the ending mirrors more the ending in the subway train than it does the ending in the first sequel, although there is a train, and there are logs...
For whatever reason, every movie in this franchise, except the first and second, I guess, feels like it has to have the surprise twist at the end. Since it happens ever film, it's not more a surprise than how the movie always "plays through" the events in the vision as though they are actually happening. You're fooled the first time, but every other time, you're like, nah, that's just the vision... that's not happening.
If I had to guess, I'd bet there will be more Final Desinations down the road. This may be the place where I get off, though. I gave them six movies to show me something more than what they've given me... and my generosity isn't limitless. I was at about 2 1/2 or even 3 stars on this one, but the ending knocks it back down to 2 stars.
Rating: 2/5 stars
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