Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

The Final Destination

also known as “Final Destination 4,” “Destinatie finala 4,” “Destino final 4,” “El destino final 3D,” “Final Dead Circuit 3D,” “Final Destination: Death Trip,” “Final Destination: Death Trip 3D,” “La Destination Ultime,” See more »
MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for strong violent/gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality.

Reviewed by: Brian C. Johnson
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Horror, Suspense, Thriller, Sequel
Length: 1 hr. 22 min.
Year of Release: 2009
USA Release: August 28, 2009 (wide—3,000 theaters)
DVD: January 5, 2010
Copyright, New Line Cinemaclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema Copyright, New Line Cinema
Relevant Issues
Copyright, New Line Cinema
Films in this series
  1. Final Destination (2000)
  2. Final Destination 2 (2003)
  3. Final Destination 3 (2006)
  4. The Final Destination (2009)
  5. Final Destination 5 (2011)
Death and judgment

Death in the Bible

Final judgment

Is there an actual place called “Hell”? Answer

Why was Hell made? Answer

Is there anyone in Hell today? Answer

Will there literally be a burning fire in Hell? Answer

What should you be willing to do to stay out of Hell? Answer

How can a God of love send anybody to Hell? Answer

What if I don’t believe in Hell? Answer

Salvation

THE GOOD NEWS—How to be saved from Hell. Answer

Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer

How good is good enough? Answer

Violence

VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

Every time you buy a movie ticket or rent a video you are casting a vote telling Hollywood “That’s what I want.” Why does Hollywood continue to promote immoral programming? Are YOU part of the problem? Answer

Featuring Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Haley Webb, Mykelti Williamson, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, Justin Welborn, Stephanie Honore, Lara Grice, Jackson Walker, Phil Austin, William Aguillard, Brendan Aguillard, Juan Kincaid, Monique Detraz, Chris Fry, Tina Parker, Cecile Monteyne, Stacey Dizon, Dane Rhodes, Gabrielle Chapin, Harold X. Evans, Camille E. III Bourgeois, Curtis E. Akin, Eric Paulsen, Belford Carver, Dennis Nguyen, Jedda Jones, Joseph T. Ridolfo, Chris Langlois, Trey Burvant, Larry E. Lundy Jr., Courtney James, Jenna Craig, Rolexis Delaney, Marc A. Hess, Laurie Lee, Jennie Parrish, Preston Strother
Director David R. Ellis
Cellular,” “Snakes on a Plane
Producer FlipZide Pictures, New Line Cinema, Practical Pictures, Richard Brener, Tawny Ellis, Walter Hamada, Sheila Hanahan, Craig Perry, Warren Zide
Distributor Distributor: New Line Cinema. Trademark logo.New Line Cinema, division of Warner Bros. Pictures

“Rest in pieces”

Ahhh…finally, “THE Final Destination”! In 2000, director James Wong brought to life an interesting concept about the timing of death. In the original “Final Destination,” a young man has a premonition that the plane he and his schoolmates are boarding will ultimately explode. He and several others are ejected from the plane, which saves his life, as the vision became a reality. They would soon learn that Death has a plan, and each of the survivors dies in the order they would have if they had remained on the plane. Such is the case in “Final Destination 2,” except the setting is a crash on the highway, and the carnage continues in “Final Destination 3,” when the students are saved from a roller coaster crash at an amusement park. Director David Ellis (who also directed the second installment) concludes the series with the action resulting from a deadly car race.

The cast of “The Final Destination” includes relatively unknown actors, except for Mykelti Williamson (“Forrest Gump,” “August Rush,” “ATL”) who plays George Lanter, a racetrack security guard who is on Death’s most wanted list. The lack of seasoning and experience shows; the acting is mediocre, at best. Bobby Campo stars as Nick O’Bannon, the young man who prophetically predicts the car crash, and Shantel VanSanten who plays Nick’s girlfriend, Lori. Nick not only divines the car crash, but is quick to learn that he can see elements of the circumstances or causes of the others’ deaths; he and Lori work to save the day (which includes staving off their own demise).

Fans of the series will find the usual fare—a premonition of doom, a few people escape—at least temporarily—and through a series of random and unexplainable events, the survivors do not survive. Fans of the series will more than likely find this to also be the film’s downfall—the film follows the original (and subsequent) storyline to the letter—no risks, no turns. The thrill is definitely gone from this thriller, except for the addition of Real 3-D technology. This film was made for 3D; the ghastly randomness of the death sequences is heightened by the coolness of cinematography.

Most Christian audiences will find this film objectionable; it is incredibly violent and gory, there is some bad language, and one nude sex scene which was absolutely unnecessary to the overall film (come on Hollywood!). Those willing to deconstruct a film in this genre may be open to a discussion on being ready when death comes a-knockin’, but sadly, there is little else.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

Are you going to Heaven?Are you going to Heaven? Are you SURE you know the answer this extremely important question? Or have you made some common wrong assumptions? Find out now!

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive

none

Neutral
Neutral—This is gonna be a tricky one to review. I try to look at it from two perspectives and anyone that judges me on this really shouldn’t.

First and foremost, if you see this and didn’t like it based on religious beliefs, then you would have to be crazy to have even seen it in the first place. The rating, the movie poster or even the fact there is three other movies to watch before should show you this is not a godly movie. I often wonder if people see these movies just to complain.

Movie wise I wasn’t as impressed as I was with the past ones. For one while I didn’t see the “3D” version it seems like everything was based around long pointy objects. Making it at times seem silly. That’s the downside to 3D movies that are seen in 2D.

Another thing is there was one sex scene. While I don’t care if a scene is done with some tact, this scene was over the top and actually had no real purpose other then to show a naked woman among other issues. At least in the last movies the nude scene was part of the movies flow. And frankly we know they add these scenes now to attract more people.

Violence wise, its Final Destination. That’s what this movie is about. Christian wise, obviously we shouldn’t be watching this. I, myself, can’t stand horror movies. I only ever liked this series because it’s funny how over the top ridiculous how people die. Not the death is funny mind you, but I know its a movie. Where as some people can’t seem to discern this.

There wasn’t much swearing, not compared to a lot of movies I seen. I know a lot of people tend to hear more then they actually hear in movies. About the worst thing I heard was “white supremest” that called a black man the N word. On that subject since this is a religious review that same man does try to do something with a cross but, well I can’t ruin it. He gets whats coming. In the end the movie is not as good as the past movies in some ways. Christian wise the movie is not for most. The movie is about one thing and one thing only… death. And, yes, I admit I have seen every movie. We all have a cross to bare.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Matt S., age 27 (USA)
Neutral—For other verses on why it is wrong to judge others, just take a look at Romans 14. You can make comments about their review, but do not say anything about that person. Now, for my take on the movie. If you do not like gore, then I would definitely stay away from it. That’s the biggest part of the movie. There was one sex scene in it, and it reminded me of how dumb Hollywood is getting nowadays. It wasn’t even necessary. At least in “Final Destination 3,” they were in a tanning salon, so it kinda made sense. Still not all that appropriate though. As for language, very few and far between. They had some, but the movie is very tame on it. Having said that, I did find the movie entertaining. I don’t mind gore that much, as I know it’s fake. I liked how this movie reinforces the fact that you do not know when you are gonna die. It can happen at anytime and in anyway. If your mature in your faith, you will not feel impacted at the end of the film. At first, I wasn’t sure if I should see it or not, but after I did, I realized that there is a time and a place for anything, AS LONG AS IT ISN’T DIRECT SIN. It doesn’t glorify the violence, as the characters are trying to cheat death’s system.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Jake, age 20 (USA)
Neutral—Final D. Wow. You know they’re fishing for more money when it’s not only part 4 but in 3D. The first movie was ok. Not a bad concept by any stretch of the imagination. Invisible killer lurking around since the beginning of mankind. Death. Only he likes to drop by unannounced in rather creative ways, especially after being stood up at the tea party. That’s the gist of these flicks. And imho, the second installment is still by far the best. Aside from the obvious reason—Ali Larter—it has one of the finest crash sequences ever portrayed on screen. Fake, cgi-laiden, staged. It doesn’t matter. It’s a beautiful scene I personally had to rewatch several times because of the blended chemistry of stunts, pyrotechnics, and digital manipulation.

The third flick? Never bothered to watch it. It just didn’t appeal to me. This last one? Well, it’s definitely fun. I enjoy it for what it’s worth. I also appreciate the inordinate detail put into constructing all these zany shots. But let’s just say “My Bloody Valentine 3D” is still the best horror movie to grace theaters this year. A big reason that is the king in this 3D enterprise of horror is because it uses the “3rd dimension” sparingly.

The Final D on the other hand is non-stop. One big excuse to watch people die and have stuff launched at the audience. No character development. No catchy one-liners. No memorable tunes. Only the speculation “Could there be a part 5?” If this one fares well, I don’t see why not. Like the Saw franchise, sequels can stretch as far as their box office returns allow. :|
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Mega Tron, age 23 (USA)
Negative
Negative—This movie followed the premise of previous versions. Gruesome death scenes. There was one point in the movie—a totally unneccessary scene of nudity and sexual content. I had checked the reviews and rating beforehand, but it never once said anything about the sex scene. I was mortified to know there were parents with many young children in the theater watching this movie. As a christian this movie more for this scene than for its premise offended me. If you go watch this movie for its entertainment value take it as such fine but read more into it is not good.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Florinda, age 37 (USA)
Negative—ok, so here we go again, accident happens, people die and then you see it’s just a vision again! The movie is only worth seeing because it’s in 3D. This is why I gave it 3 and a half stars. The movie got a little boring because really it’s not something we’ve never seen before… f-words don’t begin until the middle of the movie… There is one sexual scene with naked woman. I am not one to tell you to not go see this movie. Its totally up to you…. The 3d is truly worth it! But just be prepared, it’s all the same, nothing really new. Perhaps some new ideas, that’s about it. If u decide to see the movie, enjoy the ride!
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3½
Renee, age 36 (USA)
Comments from non-viewers
I have not seen this movie. There is no reason to do so. The purpose of man is to know God, make Him known and glorify/enjoy Him forever. When you say, “I’m going to watch a movie that glorifies death”, you will find it much more accurate to say “I’m going to take some time to specifically turn my back on fulfilling God’s purpose for my life today”. No excuses. It’s that simple. We don’t lock ourselves in Christian cages. We also don’t go out of our way to deglorify our Creator with our actions. To the “neutral” reviewer. You ask us not to judge you. However, we are told to Judge in John 7, and even the oft misused “do not judge” passages tell us “how” to judge (remove the plank first) not simply not to judge. We are to judge actions and draw non-hypocrytical conclusions. In that vein, you need to understand that you made a poor decision. Do what you will with the impact of that truth.
Brock, age 30 (USA)
I’ve never made a post on a movie I haven’t seen before, because frankly, I think the notion of reviewing a movie you haven’t seen is ridiculous. However, I feel compelled to intervene. That chapter (which is actually in Matthew 7, for those others who would look it up) starts right off the bat with, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Fairly straightforward. Not a lot of ifs, ands, or buts about it. Don’t judge people. So why does Jesus then say to first remove the plank from your own eye before removing the speck from your brother’s? These two statements are contradictory—the first basically says that you should not judge, ever, or you will be judged as well, and the second says it’s okay to judge as long as you’re sinless. Wait. Did you catch that? Sinless. And who among us can make that claim? I don’t believe Jesus was saying that literally. I believe he used that as an example just to prove that we would never reach a point where we can judge. As far as our relationship with the sins of others goes, we are only called, as Christians, to help each other along. We are not to assume this stance that says, “I’ve got the objective truth about which movies are okay and which aren’t,” and then go around judging others because of their decisions. We’ve all got planks in our eyes. Sometimes, they’re different planks, but they’re still there. I believe that with movies, three people can watch the same thing, and not all of them will sin while doing so. Whether or not a movie is okay to watch is strictly between the viewer and God—pray about it. If God says no, and you watch it, you’re sinning. That’s the standard that should be used. Because if we come up with an objective standard, we’re going to be running ourselves in circles all day. When is something too violent, too sexual, too obscene? Who can possibly come up with that standard? Only God. Which is why it’s between him and the viewer.

Anyway, sorry if I seemed angry—I’m certainly not. But I dislike it when I see judgements like that being made, because it really is unfair. If we start pointing fingers on someone’s taste in movies, a million are going to come straight back—kind of like how I think it’s wrong to watch a hyper-sexual movie like “The Hangover,” but people think it’s wrong that I accept any kind of fantastical spirituality in a movie simply because it’s fantastical. And I can point at others for watching a movie that’s too violent, or has too much bad language. And we could do that all day, and it would only divide the church further. My point of view? Let’s work on the stuff we all agree on instead of pointing fingers regarding all the stuff we don’t.
Matt Triponey, age 18 (USA)
Rom. 12:9… “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Liking something that is evil, is sin! 1 Thes 5:21… “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good…” What is good about this movie? 1 Corin. 10:20-21… “Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” Make your choice, be of the world or be a child of God?

Almost every movie out there goes against the teaching of God and yet we are drawn to it like a bug to a bug zapper. In the beginning, a new Christian is drawn to God with a fiery zeal for knowledge and thirst for his peace and comfort. Then without everyday self examination, study, prayer, and the strength to be free from the world and with like minded brethren; the passion for Christ silently slips away. It doesn’t take much to desensitize someone back into sin or sinning. A bit here and a bit there and before you know it, your the electrocuted. For those of you who are neutral, Revelations 3:15-16 — “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

You either like something or you don’t, you are tolerate of something or you abhor it, you do something or you don’t. There is no in between. If you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel. Do not be afraid to stand for what you believe.
Heather, age 28 (USA)