Final Destination (2000) Dir: James Wong
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It's been several years since I last watched any of these goofy horrors, but I remembered them fondly enough, and fancied giving them another go. This first one, directed by James Wong, is the one I remember most, and was, of course, the natural place to begin again.
The first thing I noticed was just how dated the visual effects were. I realise the film is nearly a quarter of a century old now, but even for the early noughties it looked pretty terrible. The practical effects did at least recover some brownie points - they still looked decent, all things considered.
The story was not the most thought provoking narrative ever, but it was fairly effective in what it was trying to do, I suppose. I can't say it kept me captivated in the same way as it had done back when I was a teenager, that much was certain.
Devon Sawa led a pretty mediocre set of performances from the main cast. He had flashes of positivity, but the majority of his performance was rather lacklustre. He was still better than the bulk of the supporting cast, mind you.
The trio of Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Kristen Cloke barely registered any impression with me as I watched the film, despite their fairly significant supporting roles. They were only memorable for how decidedly average their performances were.
Sean William Scott, who is easily the most recognisable actor in the whole film, was also the most entertaining, despite a relative lack of screentime. Even then, however, I found him to be pretty below par - but at least he was somewhat enjoyable.
Overall, I was a little disappointed to find that I didn't enjoy this film anywhere near as much as I did when I was younger, although, I recognise that tastes change, nevermind that I've since become more critical, justifiably I feel, in my assessment of film and television. I digress, this is a fine enough film for an evening's entertainment, but not so much for me anymore.
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