FINAL DESTINATION 2
© 2003 New Line Home Entertainment
Disc Grade: B+
Reviewed Format: DVD
Rated: R
Stars: A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, Ali Larter, James Kirk, Lynda Boyd, Keegan Connor Tracy, Justina Machado, Tony Todd
Writers: J. Mackye Gruber & Eric Bress
Director: David R. Ellis
Distributor: New Line Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2003
Retail Price: $27.98
Extras: widescreen and fullscreen formats; Dolby EX 5.1; DTS ES 6.1 Surround; English & Spanish subtitles; commentrak; Infinifilm featurettes; deleted scenes; DVD-ROM content (screenplay, wallpapers, etc.); trailers
Buy it now!
FINAL DESTINATION 2
By: BRIAN THOMASDate: Thursday, September 04, 2003
My first reaction to titles like FINAL DESTINATION 2 is to scoff. I mean, isn't that a contradiction? How can there be so many FINAL FANTASYs isn't any of them the FINAL one? And shouldn't there always be another sequel to NEVERENDING STORY? But given this series' theme of characters cheating death to gain a second chance, for once this kind of title is fitting.
You may think New Line has been promoting this release awfully hard for a direct-to-video sequel, with billboards and commercials everywhere, but the fact is that FD2 actually had a theatrical release back in January. I know I had a hard time believing it myself, but it actually played in theaters. The original film, in which a premonition allows a group of teens and their teacher to escape an airline explosion, was a lot of fun, but a sequel hardly seemed warranted. But as it turns out, the sequel repeats enough of the fun of the original, while coming up with a few clever twists, to make it a worthwhile rental choice for a night of easy entertainment.
A.J. Cook stars as Kimberly Corman, the fetching young lady with a warning of disaster this time a big highway pile-up involving several cars and trucks who uses this vision to save a group of people from doom. One way that the sequel maintains interest is in changing gears successfully on its predecessor's formula: instead of saving her friends (don't get too attached), Kim's warning saves a group of random motorists. But when they start to succumb to freak accidents that seem way too freaky to be a coincidence, Kim and young cop Tom Burke (Michael Landes) try to organize those still left breathing to figure out a way to beat Death's plan, seeking advice from the first film's lone survivor, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter).
Another way the film keeps you glued is in the high quality of the stunt sequences. Director David Ellis, a former stuntman himself who has been in command of second units for some of the most impressive stunt sequences of the past ten years (MATRIX RELOADED, HARRY POTTER, etc.), shows his expertise in constructing fire f/x, car crashes, and plenty more, all calculated to give you a jolt. And speaking of jolts, for once a modern horror picture doesn't shy away from and even revels in its gore f/x. Note: this gore-friendly attitude extends to some of the menu designs, so beware.
In fact, one of the most enjoyable among the many behind-the-scenes featurettes on the disc is a surprise tribute to/interview with gore movie pioneer Herschell Gordon Lewis, who recently returned to the director's chair for BLOOD FEAST 2. This and many more such bits can be accessed via the menus, but they're much more fun to experience in context to the film via New Line's Infinifilm feature. By choosing this feature, which has been adapted by other studios, while watching the widescreen version of the film you'll be frequently prompted to branch off into various entertaining annotations (which automatically return you to the movie in progress at the same point). There's also a fun and informative commentrak with Ellis, producer Craig Perry and screenwriters Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber, and I like to watch the film for the second time with both the commentrak and Infinifilm running, getting the full film annotation in one big shot. Helping all the extras go down easily is the fact that no one has any illusions that this is anything other than a popcorn movie.
There are also other features that can be found only via the menus, while others are reserved as DVD-ROM content. One of the dangers of such a loaded disc is that it increases the chances that it may lock up, and unfortunately I found quite a few glitches and problems. The first disc I got from New Line contained what looks like sealant damage on the widescreen side, causing the disc to freeze up past the layer change. New Line is to be commended for including the cropped-but-acceptable fullscreen version on side two, which allowed me to escape my suspense and finish watching the movie. Unfortunately, the replacement they sent was just as damaged, with even the opening logo breaking up. Oddly, the feature played through beautifully on my computer - and may be fine on most other players, so I'll have to test it on other systems but locked up in some of the submenus.
Brian Thomas is the author of the massive new book VideoHound's DRAGON: ASIAN ACTION & CULT FLICKS, available now!
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