FINAL DESTINATION 5 - More Tussles With Death

FINAL DESTINATION 5 (thriller in 3D)
Cast: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, David Koechner, Tony Todd, Courtney B. Vance, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, P.J. Byrne and Ellen Wroe
Director: Steven Quale
Screenplay: Eric Heisserer and Jeffrey Reddick
Time: 92 mins
Rating: * * (out of 4)

Emma Bell, Nicholas D'Agosto and Miles Fisher in FD5

PREAMBLE: This is one review that can have no spoilers no matter what I reveal. This is because from the title, you will know that everyone who cheats Death gets killed. And it is the aim of the movie to conjure and design their deaths in the most horrific ways. And yes, FD5 also has an intriguing concept for the affected victim to escape his or her turn.

SYNOPSIS: While travelling on a bus to a company retreat, Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) has a startling vision of a bridge collapsing, with each of his friends and colleagues meeting gruesome deaths. Snapping out of his nightmarish reverie, Sam herds those around him to safety - just before the bridge collapses in line with his premonition. While at the funeral of a colleague, some guy in a suit (Tony Todd) tells Sam what everyone in the audience knows - that "Death doesn't like to be cheated".

Thereafter, Sam and his girlfriend Molly (Emma Bell) learn that one by one, the survivors die tragic deaths, and Sam knows he will be next.

Jacqueline MacInnes Wood as Olivia

HITS & MISSES: The main offering of the FD franchise are sequences of how gruesome and gory the freakish deaths can get. In this instalment, the first 10 minutes of the opening are riveting. After that, it is all the same old schtick. So if you are one who likes to watch such horrors, FD5 should be your cup of tea, aided by the latest CGI effects and 3D glasses. Yes, the 3D provides the sense of stuff protruding and even flying into your face. Indeed, these choreographed horrors seem to be the film-makers main concern that nothing substantial is done to develop the characters or make them likable.

The cast of 'survivors', including corporate climber Peter (Miles Fisher), bespectacled beauty Olivia (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), gymnast Candice (Ellen Wroe), plant foreman Nathan (Arlen Escarpeta), skirt-chaser Isaac (P.J. Byrne) and sleazy boss Dennis (David Koechner), are after all 'dead meat' and we are not made to care for them. In some cases, we may even cheer for their demise. Somehow, director Steven Quale sees it fit to show the gory recaps of previous instalments with the closing credits, giving us a feeling of how tired and tiresome the Final Destination series have become over the decade.

THE LOWDOWN: Mainly for those who stop and stare at road accidents.