The “Final Destination” series really does have a genius concept. You cast a group of a half-dozen or so very killable twentysomethings, stage a big, gory opening set-piece where they’re the only ones who escape a grisly death, and then have an invisible Grim Reaper collect his debt using items we live with every day (ceiling fans, lawn mowers, shampoo, the escalator!) to knock them off one-by-one in the goriest ways imaginable.
If this is what you’re looking for, “Final Destination 4,” sorry, “THE Final Destination” delivers … and in 3D!
The concept’s so good there’s really no need for a story. The key to making it fun is how elaborate and creative each death is staged and “The” doesn’t disappoint. Each deadly chain of events — and they come about every seven minutes — is elaborately orchestrated: Pretty Young Thing (PYT) gives change to a bum. Bum scares off pigeon. Pigeon poops on PYT’s car. PYT’s sunroof is on the fritz. PYT goes to the car wash… All. Hell. Breaks. Loose.
FD4 isn’t all that suspenseful, but that’s not the idea. The goal is giddy anticipation and with a group of friends you’ll have a great time. My screening took place in a packed theatre filled with excited fans all wearing 3D glasses and relishing each and every kill — which made for one of those unique theatre experiences. There’s plenty of gore but the presentation is intentionally cartoonish (and witty). Director David R. Ellis wants you shielding your eyes and laughing, and that’s exactly what you’ll do.
As he proved with the all-kinds of entertaining “Snakes on a Plane,” Ellis knows his way around this genre; how to hit the exact right tone, sustain it, and from A to Z keep the ride as unassuming, unpretentious and amusing as possible. Like the violence, the gratuitous nudity is wonderfully gratuitous and your job is to take a seat, put on the glasses, accept FD4 on its own terms and give yourself over to it.
This won’t be the best movie you’ll see this year, but it could be the best time you’ll have at the movies this year … and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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