Slightly Different From The Original, But Primarily The Same

Final Destination 2begins with a well-orchestrated multicar pileup on a freeway--a horrifying accident that turns out to be a premonition, as seen by a young woman (A.J. Cook) who saves herself and several other people by blocking a freeway on-ramp. Thus, as in the firstFinal Destination, a prescient vision disrupts the destined plans of death, and death goes to extreme lengths to correct matters. What makesFinal Destination 2entertaining is that the characters can only survive by learning to recognize the signs of impending doom--and the signs are basically the cinematic foreshadowing that moviemakers use to invoke suspense. This, combined with some elaborately complicated and gruesome deaths, fosters a ghoulish humor that's more entertaining than the smirky self-referentiality ofScream.Final Destination 2doesn't aspire to be a great movie, but trash has its pleasures. Also featuring Ali Larter as the only survivor of the first movie.--Bret Fetzer

Cast: Tony Todd, David Purvis, David Paetkau, Terrence "T.C." Carson, Aaron Douglas, Benita Ha, Darcy Laurie, Eric Keenleyside, James N. Kirk, Jill Krop, Marke Driesschen, Ali Larter, Marrett Green, Andrew Airlie, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, Jonathan Cherry, Keegan Connor Tracy, Sarah Carter, Lynda Boyd, Justina Machado, Veena Sood, Fred Henderson, Rheta Hutton, Christina Jastrzembska, Odessa Munroe, Mark Lukyn, Klodyne Rodney, John R. Taylor, Cam Cronin, Alison Matthews, Eileen Pedde, Don Bell, Sarah Hattingh, Jenny Lang, Lorne Stewart, Shaun Sipos, Noel Fisher, Enid-Raye Adams, Chilton Crane, Alf Humphreys

Director: David R. Ellis

Genre: Horror

Release Date: January 31, 2003

MPAA Rating: R

Screen Writer: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber, Jeffrey Reddick

DVD Release Date: July 22, 2003

Runtime: 90 minutes

Studio: New Line Cinema