REELGUY'S REEL REVIEW: "The Final Destination" misses a good cast, compelling story, and Tony Todd

The "Final Destination" series has been startlingly successful since its inception in 2000. Surviving the teen horror crash which left the "Scream" and "I Know What You Did . . ." series in the dust, "Final Destination" has prospered with its two sequels in 2003 and 2006. Now, three years later, audiences are treated to a fourth entry called "The Final Destination." The director of the second (and weakest) film in the series, David R. Ellis, returns with one of the two screenwriters from that film. Given a clean slate similar to "Final Destination 3" to work with, Ellis proves without a doubt to be the less gifted filmmaker compared to series originator James Wong. "The Final Destination" misses the spark and excitement of the prior films. It also lacks the sense of history or scale that the series seemed to be building up to. Instead, there are several unrelated, uninteresting people killed in rather random, though occasionally well-conceived ways. "The Final Destination" is now the weakest and least interesting movie in the series.

A new group of friends are saved from an automobile racing crash by a well-timed premonition. It is unclear what these people's relationship is or approximately how old they are (are they college, high school kids or even older?). What is sadly clear, is the fact that none of these four people were worthy of starring roles in this film. They are all so bland with little detail or development, that I couldn't give you one of their names by the movie's end. Several other unremarkable people are saved by the guy's freak-out but death haunts them afterwards. People begin to die off in several coincidental mishaps, several of which look a little too familiar. Run away automobiles? Check. Nail gun accident? Check. Rivers of gasoline spilling? Double check. The series apparently is running low on new ways to kill its characters. That's too bad because the best parts of this film are the intricate death scenes the series is known for.

The addition of 3D (where available) is only a slight bonus to the experience. I didn't think you could be bored in a movie less than 90 minutes and in 3D but there were several slow moments here. The bad acting from the cast makes the possibility of death being after someone feel outlandish and unbelievable. There was a little tension near the end but it was despite the efforts of the actors instead of because of them. "The Final Destination" felt done on the cheap and without too much thought. The creators couldn't even bring back Tony Todd for this one. He’s certainly getting his revenge now.

Rated R for strong violent/gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality.