The latest chapter of Final Destination is easily the best sequel in the series to date. Reinvigorated with a sense of cleverness, Final Destination 5 excels where previous "part fives" in other horror franchises have failed. It distills the concept to the bare basics and throws out the desire to excessively layer on or needlessly twist the rules ? a problem found in the previous sequels. The film is a real reward for the die-hard fans who felt the films were getting a bit stale...
...When the survivors start getting bumped off in this one, it's a lean and mean ride with some truly outrageous sequences. Who would have thought gymnastics could be so brutal? Or that a chain of minor occurrences can lead to a wicked nasty laser eye surgery session, deadly not just for the patient, but for a teddy bear as well?
It's definitely during these moments of mutilation Final Destination 5 wields its smarts. But there's an added element to freshen things up that doesn't dominate the core mythology of the series or try to, as aforementioned, "rewrite the rules." The survivors learn this time that if they take a life, they've gained a life. So, tapping into murderous impulses presents one more threat in Final Destination 5, and it's a good one that results in some amusing pay-offs.
