The fourth film in the 'Final Destination' franchise despite the inexplicable lack of a numeral in the title, 'The Final Destination' once again circles around a group of young adults who come to believe that Death is out to get them after one of them has premonition that saves them from a grisly accident. Shot in 3D, the film has a large number of objects fly out at the camera during its death scenes, which in turn makes it one of the most visually arresting entries in the series. There is little else though that can be written up in the film's favour. Clocking it at an extremely brief 80 minutes, the movie makes almost no attempt to explore its characters in depth, instead leaving them as simple fodder for as many inventive deaths as the filmmakers can think of. There is also once again no attempt to explain how the premonitions (or Death's design) work and the film does not have any fun scenes like the dentist bit in Part 2 and the gym sequence in Part 3 in which it is left up to the viewer to guess what the exactly cause of death will be. The death scenes are, however, as deliciously elaborate as ever, including a neat sequence involving a cinema audience watching a 3D horror film not unlike 'The Final Destination' itself. More self-aware meta elements like this could have really helped the project. As it is, this is mostly just a catalogue of gruesome deaths.

Who in the blue decided gore is the way horror movies should be shown? I saw bits and pieces of the first three films and man I all wanted to do is throw up in disgust. Some yahoo with a sick mind calls this entertaining and most twisted. What the hell is wrong with this planet? Real life is twisted as it is with terrorism and mindless car accidents, murders committed all over. It's ugly. It's just plain sick to place Death on the silver screen for everyone to get extremely messed up and desensitized by this. Who knows? Perhaps, these folks may join ISIS because they won't be bothered by violence anymore."You call this entertaining? (Spits in the ground)" (Russel Crowe as Maximus, Gladiator, 2000)

Fourth entry in this series (advertised as the "last" one at the time) keeps the old formula going, with young Nick (Bobby Campo) given a premonition of horrific deaths to come. He and his friends are at a speedway, where, of course, horrible things do happen. And since these people and others are able to temporarily dodge Death, it will come looking for them again, in the typically elaborately orchestrated series of over the top set pieces.There's no way that these movies could possibly be taken seriously, not by this point. And the filmmakers (David R. Ellis, who directed the second movie, also directs this one) seem to know it all too well, often turning their entry into a cartoonish festival of death, destruction, and digital gore. It's so stupid at times that it's uproarious, and is not for people seeking a legitimately GOOD horror movie. You only need apply if all you want is to see people die in various disgusting ways.Not that "The Final Destination" is completely lacking in humanity, or any interest at all, but even its more serious portions just come off as somewhat laughable. Death is so eager to claim these chosen few that it keeps cheating one person who repeatedly attempts suicide.The movie is loud, slick, and crammed with CGI / 3D effects.Our cast isn't particularly appealing, even if the ladies (Haley Webb, Shantel VanSanten, Krista Allen as a hottie mom who stuffs tampons in her kids' ears) are strikingly attractive. Mykelti Williamson is wasted as a security guard mourning his late family.The best, most intense sequence involves a car wash. Otherwise, don't better with FD4 unless you're just looking for brainless fun.Six out of 10.

Although I'd really enjoyed the first film (and to some smaller extent the second and third), I did find myself wondering what exactly did the directing duo James Wong and David R. Ellis have that was going to justify another film - and then another. Wong did the first and third, Ellis the second and this one, and after watching it - I daresay I almost pray Ellis took charge of the next project as well. The Final Destination has without a doubt matched the first film, and in a way maybe even surpassed it.After an excellent first film (could have been a masterpiece but Wong's directing botched it), the 2nd and 3rd were mostly appealing to the already existing fan base, offering absolutely nothing innovative or in any way new. This 4th film, however, has decided to shuffle the deck and reintroduce the familiar motives, and has done an amazing job! The protagonist, a male character like in the first film, has numerous vision this time, most of them being the clues and signs to which the group must pay attention in order to foresee the next death. Having the signs appear as independent (yet confused) visions is a wonderful upgrade! The of course, the opening credits scene featuring the deaths shown in the first 3 films, and the ending scene - both have some very nice use of visual effects. The ending has some sort of a twist to it, offering a new perspective on the futile battle the group has against death. Everything feels upgraded, new and improved.Personally, I wasn't happy with the gore scenes (which I consider a cheap cheat and something that has no place in Horror, but in a separate inferior genre), nor the nude scene (again, cheap and unnecessary), but these were the only blunt disadvantages I could find. All in all, The Final Destination isn't a masterpiece more than the first film, but it finally lives up to it (unlike the two previous films). One of its best features is that it appeals to old fans of the anthology as well as to new viewers, as it doesn't at all rely on the occasions of the previous films (perhaps a small hint here and there). If you've seen the first three film, this one is a must-see for you, and if you haven't - while I'd always recommend starting at the beginning, you might as well begin with this one and enjoy the upgrades.