I probably know more about the relationship between The X-Files’ creator Chris Carter and screenwriters James Wong and Glen Morgan than I should.
You see, when Fox Television The X-Files premiered, I was thrilled to see a program finally getting into the weeds of subject matter I had long been fascinated with and thought ripe for weekly procedurals. The sightings of U.F.O.s, contact with aliens, government conspiracies, and backwoods monsters were the stuff of local legends all around the world, and X – under Carter’s stewardship – finally gave voice to this kinda/sorta fringe history of High Strangeness, of which Wong and Morgan were known to have crafted several of the franchise’s best installments. Those days, it was a great time to both be alive and be a fan of such content as X’s popularity arguably influenced other contenders to go boldly in the direction of exploring cryptids, flying saucers, ghosts, goblins, and the like; so it was only natural, I suppose, for tensions behind-the-scenes to put cracks in what appeared to be going so well.
As I recall, Wong and Morgan wanted to push X in a slightly different direction than Carter did; so, they departed to go off and do something different. When that didn’t quite work out the way they planned, Carter – surprisingly and to his credit – welcomed them back into the fold, and fans were the recipients of some incredibly vivid and prescient storytelling. But friction has a way of working up its own head of steam, causing the trio to once again part ways and explore separate projects. Also, from what I know, the group did manage to kinda/sorta work things out and collaborate when The X-Files experienced its TV revival (in 2016 through 2018), but even then there were differences of opinion over how elements of the program’s long-established mythology should be dealt with and/or resolved in the modern era.
Sigh. Such is life, I guess.
In any event, 2000’s Final Destination – the duo’s project with New Line Cinema – actually began its storied life as a spec script for The X-Files (per Google.com). Wong and Morgan saw the potential behind the idea of the Grim Reaper itself serving as an unseen (or was it?) spectral entity with elaborate machinations at its command to coordinate a wicked tapestry around the demise of individuals as a potential gold mine for the screen – possibly even a franchise – and the studio agreed. Thus, a tentpole Horror entity was born, and worldwide audiences were thrilled. It grossed an impressive $112M on a budget of less than $25M … so a phenomenon was born out of Death.
You see, when Fox Television The X-Files premiered, I was thrilled to see a program finally getting into the weeds of subject matter I had long been fascinated with and thought ripe for weekly procedurals. The sightings of U.F.O.s, contact with aliens, government conspiracies, and backwoods monsters were the stuff of local legends all around the world, and X – under Carter’s stewardship – finally gave voice to this kinda/sorta fringe history of High Strangeness, of which Wong and Morgan were known to have crafted several of the franchise’s best installments. Those days, it was a great time to both be alive and be a fan of such content as X’s popularity arguably influenced other contenders to go boldly in the direction of exploring cryptids, flying saucers, ghosts, goblins, and the like; so it was only natural, I suppose, for tensions behind-the-scenes to put cracks in what appeared to be going so well.
As I recall, Wong and Morgan wanted to push X in a slightly different direction than Carter did; so, they departed to go off and do something different. When that didn’t quite work out the way they planned, Carter – surprisingly and to his credit – welcomed them back into the fold, and fans were the recipients of some incredibly vivid and prescient storytelling. But friction has a way of working up its own head of steam, causing the trio to once again part ways and explore separate projects. Also, from what I know, the group did manage to kinda/sorta work things out and collaborate when The X-Files experienced its TV revival (in 2016 through 2018), but even then there were differences of opinion over how elements of the program’s long-established mythology should be dealt with and/or resolved in the modern era.
Sigh. Such is life, I guess.
In any event, 2000’s Final Destination – the duo’s project with New Line Cinema – actually began its storied life as a spec script for The X-Files (per Google.com). Wong and Morgan saw the potential behind the idea of the Grim Reaper itself serving as an unseen (or was it?) spectral entity with elaborate machinations at its command to coordinate a wicked tapestry around the demise of individuals as a potential gold mine for the screen – possibly even a franchise – and the studio agreed. Thus, a tentpole Horror entity was born, and worldwide audiences were thrilled. It grossed an impressive $112M on a budget of less than $25M … so a phenomenon was born out of Death.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“After getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student, saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.”
Not every person or culture fears death, but our collective wish to know whether or not anything exists beyond our current state of affairs has arguably fueled a great many motion pictures. The question that needs consideration at this juncture is whether or not 2000’s Final Destination should be considered amongst such an elite library; and, frankly, I’m coming up a bit short on that matter. The flick as written by James Wong (who also directs), Glen Morgan, and Jeffrey Reddick is certainly an interesting thrill ride, what with its portrayal as Death serving as a vengeful spirit manufacturing these horrific Rube Goldberg scenarios for everyone’s expiration, but its characters – a bunch of teenagers – are all a bit too thin for me to really give much of a damn over their passing.
Along with his classmates, Alex Browning (played by Devon Sawa) is bound for France on some school-sponsored field trip when he’s stricken with a wicked case of paranoia. In some fevered dream while awaiting take-off, he experiences a vision of their plane going up in a ball of flame and plummeting back to Earth. Waking in a panicked state, he essentially rushes off the aircraft, accompanied by several others; and, naturally, the airport authorities refuse to allow him or those who deplaned in the process back onboard. From their lowly state in the gate waiting era, they watch as Flight 180 ascends into the night sky and explodes.
At this point, Alex and the handful of survivors’ lives are thrown into even more chaos. FBI agents suspect that the young man or perhaps those with him might know something about what crippled the aircraft, be it an act of terrorism or whatnot. But as the days pass slowly and family and friends gather to mourn the loss of their loved ones, Alex grows increasingly concerned that he’s been somehow gifted with a singular experience that may yet prove to be the death of him: he comes to believe that the Grim Reaper is insistent upon collecting the souls originally planned, and one-by-one the survivors find themselves targeted by existential forces unknown.
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“After getting a premonition about a plane crash on his school trip, Alex, a student, saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them.”
Not every person or culture fears death, but our collective wish to know whether or not anything exists beyond our current state of affairs has arguably fueled a great many motion pictures. The question that needs consideration at this juncture is whether or not 2000’s Final Destination should be considered amongst such an elite library; and, frankly, I’m coming up a bit short on that matter. The flick as written by James Wong (who also directs), Glen Morgan, and Jeffrey Reddick is certainly an interesting thrill ride, what with its portrayal as Death serving as a vengeful spirit manufacturing these horrific Rube Goldberg scenarios for everyone’s expiration, but its characters – a bunch of teenagers – are all a bit too thin for me to really give much of a damn over their passing.
Along with his classmates, Alex Browning (played by Devon Sawa) is bound for France on some school-sponsored field trip when he’s stricken with a wicked case of paranoia. In some fevered dream while awaiting take-off, he experiences a vision of their plane going up in a ball of flame and plummeting back to Earth. Waking in a panicked state, he essentially rushes off the aircraft, accompanied by several others; and, naturally, the airport authorities refuse to allow him or those who deplaned in the process back onboard. From their lowly state in the gate waiting era, they watch as Flight 180 ascends into the night sky and explodes.
At this point, Alex and the handful of survivors’ lives are thrown into even more chaos. FBI agents suspect that the young man or perhaps those with him might know something about what crippled the aircraft, be it an act of terrorism or whatnot. But as the days pass slowly and family and friends gather to mourn the loss of their loved ones, Alex grows increasingly concerned that he’s been somehow gifted with a singular experience that may yet prove to be the death of him: he comes to believe that the Grim Reaper is insistent upon collecting the souls originally planned, and one-by-one the survivors find themselves targeted by existential forces unknown.
A popular third season episode of the aforementioned The X-Files – namely “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” – a glum and unsuccessful life insurance salesman is cursed with the ability to foresee one’s death. Despite the fact that he knows the exact circumstances around which a potential buyer will meet his (or her) untimely end, the somber Bruckman can’t quite seize the day and take advantage of his gift mostly as he knows on some level that to do so for profit would be an unfair advantage. But at one point in the highly-regarded installment, the man waxes on rather eloquently to the FBI agents about how all of the things needing to happen in the universe in order for them to come together in a single time and a single place is mind blowing; and this is exactly the kind of sentiment that underscores a good deal of Final Destination, except that it’s dealing more with Death than life. These death sequences are elaborate – the choreography alone was likely a logistical nightmare for the cast and crew – but its meant to underscore that when your number is up then your number is up. There will be no way out … well, except when there is.
To that end, Destination functions efficiently on its slim premise, perhaps a bit too much so as the film inevitably succumbs to feeling entirely formulaic in the worst sense of the word. It would seem that the Angel Of Death not only works entirely off a celestial checklist but also has a wicked sense of ingenuity, taking victims only after putting them the most elaborate obstacle courses imaginable. Rather than simply have Tod (Chad Donella) fall in the bathtub, he must first be enticed to slip on water magically running from an unbroken toilet valve … only then to fall face-first into a clothesline … only to have the clothesline coil like a maniacal python about his neck … only to knock over a bottle of shampoo … only to stumble into the tub … only to now step on the bottle and squirt out enough of the oily gel so that he can’t get a suitable foothold to stand up … only to be choked to death by the line tearing into his neck over the added weight of his herking and jerking body.
To add insult to injury, Tod dies with a pair of scissors – something which could possibly have saved his life – just tantalizingly out of reach from his post in the tub.
Look. While I can appreciate the resourcefulness that went into creating such a showstopping fatality, storytellers wound up painting themselves into a corner that required each and every looming death to up the ante even further as the story continued. There are a few more spectacles along the way, and I won’t even try to elaborate on the level of inanity required to sustain this process in what could’ve been Clear Rivers’ (Ali Larter) swan song suffice it to say that – by this point – the idea pretty much devolved into a near-parody of itself. I’m quite certain that isn’t what anyone involved intended; and yet here we are.
To that end, Destination functions efficiently on its slim premise, perhaps a bit too much so as the film inevitably succumbs to feeling entirely formulaic in the worst sense of the word. It would seem that the Angel Of Death not only works entirely off a celestial checklist but also has a wicked sense of ingenuity, taking victims only after putting them the most elaborate obstacle courses imaginable. Rather than simply have Tod (Chad Donella) fall in the bathtub, he must first be enticed to slip on water magically running from an unbroken toilet valve … only then to fall face-first into a clothesline … only to have the clothesline coil like a maniacal python about his neck … only to knock over a bottle of shampoo … only to stumble into the tub … only to now step on the bottle and squirt out enough of the oily gel so that he can’t get a suitable foothold to stand up … only to be choked to death by the line tearing into his neck over the added weight of his herking and jerking body.
To add insult to injury, Tod dies with a pair of scissors – something which could possibly have saved his life – just tantalizingly out of reach from his post in the tub.
Look. While I can appreciate the resourcefulness that went into creating such a showstopping fatality, storytellers wound up painting themselves into a corner that required each and every looming death to up the ante even further as the story continued. There are a few more spectacles along the way, and I won’t even try to elaborate on the level of inanity required to sustain this process in what could’ve been Clear Rivers’ (Ali Larter) swan song suffice it to say that – by this point – the idea pretty much devolved into a near-parody of itself. I’m quite certain that isn’t what anyone involved intended; and yet here we are.
Inevitably, all that really works in here is that central idea – that there’s no escaping Death no matter how hard one tries – and, on that front, Wong manages to achieve something of respectable interest. There’s always an audience for Horror – mainly teenagers, the very same as those depicted in the action herein – and I’ve no doubt they found this whole thing spiffy, nifty, or whatever the kids are calling such schtick these days. It’s clever but inevitably inconsequential.
Also … kudos for the late Tony Todd for showing up in a role that very well may have been Death’s big reveal. His ‘undertaker’ certainly showed uncharacteristic knowledge about life, death, and everything in between; and I suspect his namesake ‘Bludworth’ probably tickled said audiences pink in just the right way.
One of the problems with home video releases which offer up a plethora of extras is that – in small things – viewers learn answers to questions they may’ve had after watching a film; and let me assure you that is most definitely the case with Destination. From what I now know after screening only one behind-the-scenes extra is that producers kinda/sorta forced the director and screenwriter to cut an entire romantic subplot from the film which – had it been included – would have dramatically rectified moments which otherwise appear to have been simply plucked out of the air. Because the powers that be didn’t remove all of the allusions to this extracted relationship, I’m critically left with pointing out that one character – Clear – behaves as if she suffers a Fatal Attraction complex to Alex, always implying she wants something more complex from an otherwise routine teenage friendship. That’s a pretty big miss, if you ask me, and it left me thinking that the young lady was a bit of a developing psycho when nothing further from the truth could’ve been the case.
While some might be willing to dismiss this occurrence as nothing more than a storytelling hiccup, I’m still inclined to stand up on my soapbox and argue otherwise. From what I know, Destination was one of these projects that New Line Cinema heavily test-screened; and the final product was minorly altered based on feedback received from these participants. What viewers wanted was a bit more spectacle here and there – with decidedly less romance – and producers felt inclined to bow to the whims of the consumer. (Mind you, this doesn’t happen often, so there it is.) The efficacy of engaging in such practices will likely always be controversial, especially with those of us who still evaluate films, books, and television shows based on the original visions of the storyteller as opposed to turning fairy tales into modest ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ outings. If you can’t tell, I’m really no fan of it … but – as a capitalist – I can certainly appreciate a company’s desire to maximize the potential for a positive return on their investment whenever possible.
Also … kudos for the late Tony Todd for showing up in a role that very well may have been Death’s big reveal. His ‘undertaker’ certainly showed uncharacteristic knowledge about life, death, and everything in between; and I suspect his namesake ‘Bludworth’ probably tickled said audiences pink in just the right way.
One of the problems with home video releases which offer up a plethora of extras is that – in small things – viewers learn answers to questions they may’ve had after watching a film; and let me assure you that is most definitely the case with Destination. From what I now know after screening only one behind-the-scenes extra is that producers kinda/sorta forced the director and screenwriter to cut an entire romantic subplot from the film which – had it been included – would have dramatically rectified moments which otherwise appear to have been simply plucked out of the air. Because the powers that be didn’t remove all of the allusions to this extracted relationship, I’m critically left with pointing out that one character – Clear – behaves as if she suffers a Fatal Attraction complex to Alex, always implying she wants something more complex from an otherwise routine teenage friendship. That’s a pretty big miss, if you ask me, and it left me thinking that the young lady was a bit of a developing psycho when nothing further from the truth could’ve been the case.
While some might be willing to dismiss this occurrence as nothing more than a storytelling hiccup, I’m still inclined to stand up on my soapbox and argue otherwise. From what I know, Destination was one of these projects that New Line Cinema heavily test-screened; and the final product was minorly altered based on feedback received from these participants. What viewers wanted was a bit more spectacle here and there – with decidedly less romance – and producers felt inclined to bow to the whims of the consumer. (Mind you, this doesn’t happen often, so there it is.) The efficacy of engaging in such practices will likely always be controversial, especially with those of us who still evaluate films, books, and television shows based on the original visions of the storyteller as opposed to turning fairy tales into modest ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ outings. If you can’t tell, I’m really no fan of it … but – as a capitalist – I can certainly appreciate a company’s desire to maximize the potential for a positive return on their investment whenever possible.
Still, it’s risky, and I point out why: what if William Shakespeare had been encouraged to let Romeo and Juliet live simply because that’s what the audience wished? Literature would be without one of the greatest stage tragedies ever told, and what remained might very well have been forgotten in the centuries since. That makes me sad, and it should you, too.
Final Destination (2000) was produced by New Line Cinema, Zide-Perry Productions, British Columbia Film Commission, and Hard Eight Pictures. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at New Line Home Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure you that the provided sights-and-sounds are quite good throughout the picture: most of the effects work appears practical, and I think it all holds up fairly well twenty-five years later despite some minor quirks here and there. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Wowza. This disc is loaded with three commentaries, deleted scenes (worth a look), a few documentaries, the theatrical trailer, the shooting script, and a few other items – an assortment that should keep fans busy for quite some time. Bravo, New Line! Bravo!
Mildly recommended.
Final Destination (2000) – while occasionally clever – never quite soared the way I think Wong and Morgan originally intended – as a somewhat philosophical reflection on Fate – but, instead, turned into the kind of rowdy crowd pleaser that probably had viewers shouting at the screen. There’s nothing wrong with such saccharin entertainment – indeed, such flicks have bolstered many a studios’ coffers – and yet the ending reduces everything its characters went through to a closing gimmick … another Rube Goldberg entry into ‘how can we maintain maximum potential around such a predictable finish?’ It’s a cheap and easy 100-minutes, and there’s never really anything all that wrong with that.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary DVD of Final Destination (2000) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Final Destination (2000) was produced by New Line Cinema, Zide-Perry Productions, British Columbia Film Commission, and Hard Eight Pictures. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at New Line Home Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still assure you that the provided sights-and-sounds are quite good throughout the picture: most of the effects work appears practical, and I think it all holds up fairly well twenty-five years later despite some minor quirks here and there. Lastly, if you’re looking for special features? Wowza. This disc is loaded with three commentaries, deleted scenes (worth a look), a few documentaries, the theatrical trailer, the shooting script, and a few other items – an assortment that should keep fans busy for quite some time. Bravo, New Line! Bravo!
Mildly recommended.
Final Destination (2000) – while occasionally clever – never quite soared the way I think Wong and Morgan originally intended – as a somewhat philosophical reflection on Fate – but, instead, turned into the kind of rowdy crowd pleaser that probably had viewers shouting at the screen. There’s nothing wrong with such saccharin entertainment – indeed, such flicks have bolstered many a studios’ coffers – and yet the ending reduces everything its characters went through to a closing gimmick … another Rube Goldberg entry into ‘how can we maintain maximum potential around such a predictable finish?’ It’s a cheap and easy 100-minutes, and there’s never really anything all that wrong with that.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Warner Archive (via Allied Vaughn) provided me with a complimentary DVD of Final Destination (2000) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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