Plot: What’s it about?
I can distinctly remember sitting in the movie theater waiting to see Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers when a preview came on for this movie. I watched and as I wondered exactly how long it would be before the movie came to DVD, I heard a woman behind me say “I didn’t know there was a first one”. True. Sequels have become so commonplace that often a sequel is over-hyped more than the original. I can only assume that the original did well enough to merit a “Part II” or it’s performance on home video (i.e. DVD) did well enough to merit a “Part II”. In any case, the gang is not all back as only one original cast member made it out of the first one alive. That would be Ali Larter, who reprises her role as Clear Rivers (no, that’s not a typo, it’s her character’s name). This time, we have a whole new gang that death may or may not have a little fun with and it just so turns out that everything and everyone just might be related…
What bothered me so much, yet was so clever about this film is the fact that it’s nearly the same movie! Sequels are often criticized for trying to re-create the original, but offering a twist. Thus, they usually don’t fare very well, though with some exceptions. This isn’t really the case with Final Destination 2. It’s really the same exact plot line as the first, the only thing different is that they kill the people in different ways. And the plane crash that was the highlight of the original has been replaced with a 10 car pile up on a New York highway. Kind of makes you want to stay in and off the roads, eh? This time our hero is Kimberly (A.J. Cook). Kimberly and her friends are off to party on Spring Break, but Kim has a vision of the aforementioned wreck on the highway. As a result, she doesn’t drive, only to see the wreck happen and thus her and all of her friends (and those around them) have cheated death. But Kimberly seems a bit smarter than other heroines from movies and she immediately seeks out the help of Miss Rivers (Ali Larter, who gets top billing here). Having committed herself to a padded room, it seems that this is one way to cheat death indeed! The two figure out that all of the people who were spared this time (the last time having been exactly one year earlier) are to die in reverse. So they know who dies and in what order, just not where or how. Can Clear Rivers and Kimberly save them all and cheat death again?
Probably not, seeing as how the title of the movie is Final Destination 2: You Can’t Cheat Death Twice! The film, for me, wasn’t really that scary especially after seeing the first one. What is a bit odd, though, is how the people die. It’s not like you’re being stalked by a serial killer, but these people die in everyday ordinary accidents (an apartment fire, airbag going off in a car, sheet of glass landing on you, etc.). Granted that these are a special set of circumstances and that the odds of any one of them happening to us are 1 in a million; but they could still happen. If it’s more of the same that you’re looking for, then you’re in for a real treat. It seems that the screenwriters just changed a few names here and there and changed how folks would die and then, bang, you’ve got a sequel. I don’t want to say that’s a bad thing, though, I watched it and was into it a bit. Though I couldn’t help but to laugh at some of the death scenes, just too funny (am I de-sensitized or what)? To say this movie ends with a bang is just that. Good entertainment, but a tad too predictable for my taste. Even if they were giving us more of the same, I’m all for a little more originality too.
Video: How does it look?
Final Destination 2 looks just as good as the original. Though the film has a very sleek appearance, the addition of some very obvious CGI does take it down a notch. The flesh tones are accurate and no oversaturation could be found. The appearance is very glossy and the “film-like” quality of the original are intact. New Line has long ago set the bar very high for it’s transfers and this is certainly no exception. The 1.85:1 anamorphic image is very sharp indeed. The black levels are right on target and I saw no evidence of artifacting at any point in the movie. Quite frankly, this is one outstanding transfer. A full-frame version is also included as well.
Audio: How does it sound?
Given not one, but two 5.1 soundtracks (make that a 5.1 and a 6.1), the movie has no shortage of sound when it’s called upon. I chose to listen to the DTS as I’m rarely disappointed with the way that it sounds. The ES mix that is provided here is active to the very last scene and has somewhat of an edge on it’s 5.1 EX counterpart. Though both will give you plenty of bang for the buck, the discrete surround effects of the DTS mix will likely win over more viewers that the Dolby Digital version. The LFE are very active all the way though and like the plane crash scene of the original; the car wreck scene here is on par with the previous scene. No matter which track you choose, it’ll sound great.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The original was part of the still great “Platinum Series” line and this one has been given the “Infinifilm” treatment. In addition to a great commentary track, we also get the standard “fact track” which is a “Pop Up Video” sort of effect to it. Watch the scenes and some information pops up and then you use your remote to find out a bit more about what’s popped up on the screen. This is pretty insightful the second time around as most viewers will want to just concentrate on the movie the first time around. But leave it to New Line to get you to watch the movie multiple times! We then go “Beyond the Movie” with a few featurettes. The first is called “The Terror Gauge” in which three test subjects are monitored by a specialist while they watch this movie. It’s a bit interesting to see how different people react to the film and I wonder what they’d say about me, I laughed most of the way through! Next is “Cheating Death: Beyond and Back” which explains the phenomenon of life after death, if only briefly. Some people are interviewed who have thought they had near death experiences (NDE). In the “All Access Pass” section, we find a 30 minute documentary called “Bits and Pieces: Bringing Death to Life” which tells not only the history of the splatter/gore movie, but how some of the death scenes were filmed for this one as well. Five deleted scenes are also shown in anamorphic widescreen and with or without director’s commentary. Additionally, there are two music videos and trailers for both Final Destination movies. Some DVD-ROM content is included as well with some cool screensavers, wallpapers and a link to the official website.
