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The Final Destination 3-D

Movie Grade: B+

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: B+

I just recently made fun of my sister for refusing to recycle her 3-D glasses after a showing of Avatar. She proudly left the theater with 4 pairs of glasses convinced that they’d come in handy at some point later in her life. I thought it was absolutely ridiculous, but hey, live and let live. Cut to me a few days later with egg all over my face as I have to watch and review The Final Destination 3-D at home. Damn it I should have followed her lead!

The Blu-ray disc does come with two pairs of the old school 1980′s red and blue paper glasses but trust me they suck! They suck so hard I barely got through the opening credits sequence before they came off and I happily switched to the 2-D viewing mode on the disc and watched the whole film. If I had held on to the quality 3-D glasses (the ones that look and feel like sunglasses) I probably would have really enjoyed this film in 3-D at home; alas it was not meant to be. So right off the bat I’m telling you if you watch this at home with the glasses they provide you’re going to be severely disappointed, so hang on to those free glasses you get at the theaters folks or be prepared to watch this in 2-D only.

As for the movie itself it is the fourth in the line of these ‘how are they gonna die’ movies that are hit or miss (no pun intended) when it comes to achieving their goal of keeping the audience in chilled suspense throughout. I found the first film groundbreaking and innovative albeit far fetched and highly implausible, the second on the other hand was trying way too hard to top the first and ultimately failed in duplicating what the first had achieved. The third, which takes place at a theme park, was so far down the line for me that I didn’t even see it. Plus when I get on a rollercoaster I’m already thinking about all the different ways it can go wrong and I can end up dead so I didn’t need any help in that area. The fourth, which takes place at a NASCAR style race track (someplace you will never find me), seemed far enough removed from my life that I could check it out without being too freaked out by the dangerous possibilities that constantly surround us in life.

I must say I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this film! It’s by no means scary or at all original in its set up or execution (again, no pun intended) but it is a lot of fun to watch. It’s always interesting to see how several

mundane coincidences come together in order to cause a cataclysmic occurrence. There’s little point in discussing the situations or the characters involved other than to say they are all ridiculously attractive and believe it or not are able to hold your attention the entire time; and while these people are far from three dimensional, (damn… I did it again… I swear I’m not trying to), you do end up slightly caring about them.

Newcomer Bobby Campo changes things up by being the guy who is seeing the premonitions this time, Shantel VanSanten is his supportive girlfriend, Haley Webb is her bubbly best friend and super beyond hot Nick Zano is the cocky arrogant skirt chasing dude whose death is absolutely appropriate even if it does happen a little too early on in the film for my taste.

These films have also always been very good at adding little signs in the background of their shots that are fun to take note of. For example getting your hair cut in a salon called ‘Dante’s’ or working for ‘Destiny’ Towing or getting your favorite beverage not at Starbucks, but at a place called ‘Death by Caffeine.’ I love little extras like that as it shows that the filmmakers are really trying their best to entertain you as much as possible.

Also just a side note for anyone who ever finds themselves in a Final Destination movie or situation… if you avoid the following three things you will survive… Gasoline, Water and Ceiling Fans. If you can manage to avoid all of those you are golden and might make it to the inevitable sequel that will follow your film.

As far as special features go this disc is packed with them! Tons of deleted scenes most of which only amount to a few seconds of some additional death shots and then two alternate endings, neither of which were nearly as good as the one they ultimately went with. There are also a ton of behind-the-scenes featurettes that talk about the process of creating those elaborate death sequences. If dissecting the behind-the-scenes magic is your thing you’ll love these. Personally I can go either way on them; while I enjoy seeing how it’s all put together I also think it tends to steal away the illusion that they work so hard to create.

The final special feature is actually an exclusive sneak peek at the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie staring Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger due out in April 2010 and it looks sick! That’s going to be one that horror fans will be clamoring to see and it seems, with good reason.

No one is more surprised by my positive review of The Final Destination 3-D Blu-ray than I am, but what can I say, it was a fun movie that I’d definitely watch again without feeling badly about it.

Movie Grade:

B+

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: B+