3 out of 5

Directed by: Steven Quale

A fun extension of the franchise that marries together the bits and pieces that have worked thus far into a successful modernization.

The first Final Destination will always have the distinction of setting the template for the series, but it was shackled by a confused tone that was thankfully ditched with the superior sequel. However, the ante-up in gore that entry presented created expectations and diminishing returns for the following entries, which completely lost a handle on how to do anything except find inventive ways of cartoonishly chopping people up. Which isn’t not enjoyable, but you don’t need 90 minutes of that, twice warmed over.

Stepping completely aware from writers / directors who’d managed the first four films, Final Destination 5 gets the same kind of revivalist treatment the second movie did, securing the stuff that’s needed to be an FD film, but trying to provide a competent movie besides that, and one that worked with the times. So we aged up our characters to post-school years – we’re all office workers now – shifted some of the character templates around to not be so blatant with them, and ditched the supernatural aspects that the series wasn’t really sure what to do with. From a character and story perspective, it’s a much more grounded movie (relatively), giving the “rules” of survival a dark kick that finally adds some zhuzh back into the story.

Which, to review, is the same as ever: someone has a full-on daymare premonition of a mass casualty accident; they “intervene” before the accident and save a handful of folks; who all discover that they cannot short Death on their apparent designs, are so are offed, one-by-one, in Rube Goldberg setups of bits and bobs going wrong. Our “someone” in this case is the milquetoast Sam (Nicholas D’Agosto), leading a generally milquetoast gaggle of guys and gals, but the script provides enough runway for the main actors to be human and not just 3D splatter fodder – yes, this one’s also in 3D – so while we’re still not particularly drawn to anyone in the movie, you can buy in to their inner worlds, and that helps keep the narrative sustained enough for the flick to work.

As for that 3D, it’s “tastefully” applied this outing, going for a couple glory shots but otherwise not structuring entire scenes (or the whole goddamn movie) around it; it’s fun. The kills still have the digital gloss that’s been there since the third film, but the setups are much more satisfying this go-round, really digging in to making you super nervous about what’s going to happen, only to swerve to something else at the last moment – a formula only the second film has really succeeded at previously.

Ultimately, Final Destination 5 doesn’t do anything new. But that’s never been the FD franchise’s m.o. Instead, it’s a question of how an entry balances the minimal lore with minimal story, earning the indulgence of its kills, and this sequel sits equal with 2 on figuring out the right balance of those elements.