Peter Charney’s review published on Letterboxd:
Hooptober 11 #17 of 31
As a big fan of amusement parks growing up, this was the first “Final Destination” movie that really caught my attention when it was released, and it was the one I was most excited to watch today. After another exhilarating opening sequence—this time tapping into the common fear of roller coasters—I realized I’m always left disappointed when these movies move on to the rest of the plot. Their structure tends to open with their most unique aspect, but then feels somewhat repetitive as the story unfolds. However, despite the photographic clues feeling less logical than the unexplainable premonitions that happen solely in a character’s mind, this update to the concept adds an intriguing layer of mystery. We discover the setting of the deaths, but not exactly how they’ll occur.
Given that these movies are slasher-adjacent, the teen horror-comedy tone in this installment works well. The inclusion of relationships and family members makes it easier to connect with the characters, raising the stakes and adding a deeper sense of guilt, which emotionally grounds this one a bit more. I also appreciated how the events of Flight 180 are now almost treated as an urban legend, though the story starts to lean into a "gaslighting horror" angle, which I was glad the original movie avoided.
Dinner break before the fourth movie. I’ve heard that one’s the best, right?
Peter liked these reviews
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_b4232853-2980-42a7-bacf-01f5122f01cc" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-b4232853-2980-42a7-bacf-01f5122f01cc'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-b4232853-2980-42a7-bacf-01f5122f01cc'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-b4232853-2980-42a7-bacf-01f5122f01cc'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_ceb1e7ed-9e31-47d6-aca7-5e795d2397ea" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-ceb1e7ed-9e31-47d6-aca7-5e795d2397ea'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-ceb1e7ed-9e31-47d6-aca7-5e795d2397ea'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-ceb1e7ed-9e31-47d6-aca7-5e795d2397ea'));
