Final Destination (2000)

March 17, 2000 (US) • Horror • 98m

Overview

After a teenager has a terrifying vision of him and his friends dying in a plane crash, he prevents the accident only to have Death hunt them down, one by one.

Director

James Wong, Jeffrey Reddick, Glen Morgan, Jeffrey Reddick

Top Billed

Devon Sawa

Keywords

airport time travel omen premonition airplane accident airplane crash corpse death macabre near-death experience desperate cheating death supernatural horror cliché deaths

Where to watch

Free / Included

HBO Max Amazon Channel

Rent

Buy

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Collection

Final Destination Collection

Final Destination 3

Final Destination 2

Final Destination

The Final Destination

Final Destination 5

Final Destination Bloodlines

Final Destination 7

Reviews

John Chard

⭐ 9/10

July 20, 2015

I'll see you soon!

Before taking off for Paris, Alex Browning has a vision that the plane is going to explode. Pannicking he gets off the plane and in the mêlée a teacher and a group of his class mates are forced off the flight, the plane goes on to explode in mid air, killing everyone on board. But pretty soon after the disaster strange accidents start to befall those who got off the plane, it seems that death is out to get them.

With the … read the rest.

Wuchak

⭐ 6/10

October 30, 2018

***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 group of people escape a great tragedy due to a premonition of one of them and the rest of the movie involves the Grim Reaper systematically slaying those 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-

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Andre Gonzales

⭐ 10/10

May 16, 2023

Love this movie. A person has visions of a disaster or people dieing. All his visions come true. This one is my favorite out of the series.

RalphRahal

⭐ 8/10

March 13, 2025

Final Destination kicks off with an eerie premise that immediately sets the tone for what’s to come. The plot follows a group of characters who narrowly escape a disaster, only to realize that fate doesn’t like being cheated. Instead of diving deep into the mystery of why things are happening, the movie focuses more on tension and the creative ways death finds its victims. While the concept is solid, the execution sometimes feels a bit surface-le… read the rest.

r96sk

⭐ 9/10

March 18, 2025

<em>'Final Destination'</em> is top entertainment! I've been meaning to watch this franchise for ages - happy to get started. The only thing I know coming in is there's some sort of scene with a car driving behind a (presumably unsafely loaded) lorry? Presumably that's in a sequel.

This is the first time I've watched Devon Sawa at this age of his, I know from watching TV's <em>'Chucky'</em> that people always mention this film(s?) when talking… read the rest.

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

May 10, 2025

Maybe because God had decided that the poor people of Paris didn’t need forty American students visiting them, he sent the young “Alex” (Devon Sawa) a premonition that all on that plane was not going to go smoothly. Just as it is about to take off from New York he decides to get off the thing and takes a few colleagues and one of his teachers with him! Next thing, well the river is being trawled and everyone is confused. Is he some sort of terror… read the rest.