The Final Destination 3-D (2009/New Line – Warner Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B/B- Sound: B/B- Extras: C- Film: C-
With the
Torture Porn cycle too slowly for our own good in decline, the only way to do
another one, especially in an ongoing franchise, is with a new gimmick. The latest wave of 3-D ‘inspired’ New Line to
make a fourth in the dreadful Final
Destination series and the result is The Final Destination 3-D (2009), actually the fourth in the
unnecessary series that helped kill New Line to begin with. Note that the third film in 2006 seems to
have been planned as a 3-D film, but that seems to have been abandoned at the
last minutes.
This
time, yet another teenager can sense something is wrong (he is about to read
the script?) and people start to die in the most brutal and gore-filled ways
possible. Though not as hateful and mean
as the last worthless entry, all the effects are done digitally and the feature
is shot that way. The result is that the
intended horror backfires and this becomes a tired spoof of itself. Now it is out on Blu-ray and DVD, both with
2-D and 3-D options with a pair of 3-D glasses and the Blu-ray has a bonus
DVD. The effects can be amusing, but not
always effective or consistent. You can
also see the budget limits on the digital work.
No, this
is not anything great, but 3-D fans will want to see it no matter what. However, it has almost zero rewatchability
and is nothing you have not seen before.
Maybe this will be the end of this series, but it should be.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in High Definition video and
has some motion blur and other image limits in 2-D, but in 3-D, this plays back
in interesting if inconsistent ways. The
HD Blu-ray version is more effective than the anamorphically enhanced DVD versions
due to its better definition, but the DVD can still deliver most of the effects
well. The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA)
lossless 5.1 mix not great and can be overdone and phony with its sound mix,
but it is richer than the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on the DVD versions. Extras include BD Live interactive functions,
2 Alternate endings, 2 making-of featurettes and look at the Nightmare On Elm Street remake
exclusively on the Blu-ray, while both offer Additional Scenes.
- Nicholas Sheffo