***Innovative premise for a 'Dead Teenager Movie,' but the last act isn’t compelling***

This first "Final Destination" movie from 2000 was a rather innovative 'Dead Teenager Movie' in that the killer was Death itself, the Grim Reaper. A bunch of kids escape a great tragedy due to a premonition of one of them and the rest of the movie involves the Grim Reaper systematically slaying the kids who cheated Death in various creative ways. The opening tragedy in this case is a plane crash; in the second film it's a horrible highway pile-up; in the third it's a roller-coaster mishap and so on.

I've seen (and own) the first four of the currently five-film franchise, but they all tell the same basic story with different characters and a different location and are all of the same high quality of technical filmmaking. Whether you prefer one or another depends on whether you like the cast and the death sequences (and the locations) because, other than these factors, they're all basically the same.

This first one has a quality heroine or 'final girl' in Ali Larter. Amanda Detmer is also on hand as a fellow student while Kristen Cloke plays a freaked-out teacher. They coulda done better showcasing these women IMHO. On the opposite side of the gender spectrum there’s Devon Sawa, Kerr Smith, Seann William Scott and Chad Donella. Their importance to the story is in that order. Meanwhile Tony Todd makes his first of four appearances in the series as a mortician who curiously knows more than he should.

For me, what makes these movies kinda dull is the fact that it's impossible to cheat Death. Sure, you can escape it here or there, but Death's been in business for millennia and expertly knows what he's doing. As such, everyone's gonna die except maybe the 'final girl,' who will most certainly die in the sequel.

The script began as an X-Files teleplay and, indeed, the movie was made by two veterans of that series. And you can tell due to the basic feel of the movie and the inclusion of two government agents. I’d give “Final Destination” a higher grade because I love the concept, but this one curiously gets dull in the final act (despite all the ‘exciting’ things going on) and they coulda done more with the women.

The film runs 1 hour, 37 minutes and was shot in the Vancouver, British Columbia, area (although the events take place around New York City).

GRADE: B-