Final Destination 2 Year: 2003 Director: David R. Ellis Written by: J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress Threat: Death Weapon of Choice: Ladder Based upon: none Color/B&W/3D: Color Language: English Country of Origin: United States IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
Final Destination
Final Destination 3

Rish Outfield's reviews
I saw the original Final Destination at a preview screening in Hollywood more than three years back (could it REALLY have been that long ago?), and consider it one of the best post-Scream horror films and the best of 2000. It was with hesitation that I went to Final Destination 2 on opening night, keeping my expectations realistically low. After all, nearly none of the original cast returns, the plot was a pretty unapologetic rehash of the original, and the creative team of Glen Morgan and James Wong are conspicuously absent.
But you know what? I had a pretty good time. This story takes place one year after the original fateful Flight 180 disaster (although that can't really be, considering how much time actually passed in the original Final Destination) and starts out with a bang (pun intended) as we see what has to be the worst car accident in automobile history. But like the first film, one character, Kimberly, forsees the event and manages to save a handful of the doomed, "causing a rift in Death's design." And once again, each of these survivors is visited in turn by the Grim Reaper. Can you cheat death? Well, can you, punk?
The main character, Kimberly (played by A.J. Cook), took me a while to like but she wasn't bad, and by the end of the film, I sorta liked her. Ali Larter returns as Clear Rivers, now the experienced veteran character that pops up in a lot of horror sequels, but they really should have played with her psychosis and/or pessimistic view of life. As it stands, she didn't really bring a lot to the picture. I think the only reason I liked her was because I like Ali Larter and not for anything she does in the film. Tony Todd, the only other cast member to return, had more of the same to offer as the kooky undertaker, knowing everything but speaking in near-riddles, once again. The rest of the cast (all unknowns) acted their parts well. The stoner character I particularly liked, whereas they usually annoy me to no end.
Probably the goriest mainstream horror film in a decade, what I think is, that they took the Amanda Detmer splatter death from the first one, which was the highpoint of the film, and tried to replicate it a half dozen times. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. With computer effects, they were able to smash, puncture, decapitate, incinerate, and evicerate the characters, so that nobody merely died, they DIED. And when it happened, while many folks in the audience shrieked with horror and revulsion, I nearly always laughed.
I usually hate when a movie sequel breaks the rules set up in the earlier films (the Leprechaun, Wishmaster, and Friday the 13th flicks, for example), but by the time this movie ended, they really seemed to explain it in a (at least partially) satisfying way. A refreshing twist in the sequel was that the lead characters believe in their situation almost immediately, and are able to convince others (a virtual miracle in a film like this). One of the film's best sequences involved each of the characters describing near-death experiences they once had, and come to think of it, a lot of the dialogue was quite good. Jeffrey Reddick, the creator of the original, had a story credit and producer credit. The two screenwriters, with virtually no credits to their name, actually do an admirable job, with a clever, unpredictable plot and even cleverer "accident" set-ups. I especially enjoyed the Rube Goldberg-esque chains of events the filmmakers would orchestrate for each character to meet their maker, again taking something that happened once in the first film (with the teacher's death) and replicating it on a bigger, sicker, more elaborate scale. I also dug the cute little clues woven throughout hinting/warning what was going to happen next.
Final Destination 2 was not at all scary, though there were some tense moments. But it was vastly entertaining and a lot of fun. In fact, though the original was a scarier, better-written, superior film, the sequel was more fun. And that's a recommendation.
Best Scare: I'm trying to remember an actual scare, but I'm coming up short. Oh wait, here's one: at one point, Kimberly wakes up and looks at the shadow the tree outside her window casts on her ceiling. As the light changes, the shadows of the branches become skeletal hands that reach for her. Pretty nice.
Posted: May 19, 2003

The tyranist's thoughts
I can really only echo Rish's sentiments, I had a lot of fun watching this movie. Probably as much fun as the first time I saw Bride of Chucky and that is a higher compliment than it probably sounds like. It took the impending release of Final Destination 3 to finally get me to rent this one. I shouldn't have waited so long.
I really like A.J. Cook, she was in my favourite ski (or would that be snowboarding) movie Out Cold and I hope to see her more often. Ali Larter's a favourite as well, but her role seems secondary here. It's always nice to see Tony Todd in any role.
What stands out most, though, is what I think the strength of the franchise is: creative deaths. They tried really hard to top the magic of the first movie and to a large extent succeeded. While the deaths seemed even more contrived in this one, it didn't matter. They were the point of the movie and I can appreciate that the filmmakers knew what they were doing with it. In fact, it will get me out to see the third entry in this franchise.
My only wish is that Rish and I could watch this on together. Perhaps someday we will. Grab a friend and enjoy.
Posted: February 7, 2006

Total Skulls: 20

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?