Can you cheat death?

Final Destination was, without a doubt, the best movie I have seen in my entire life. I was glued to my seat from beginning to end. Final Destination is a well-written, captivating story about cheating death, and paying the price for it.

Directed by James Wong, Final Destination stars Devon Sawa as Alex Browning, a french student on his way to France with his class. While waiting for the plane to take off, he has a vision of the plane exploding in mid-air. Scared to death, he rushes off the plane, starting a riot in which several other students and a teacher are kicked off the plane with him. A shy girl named Clear Rivers (played by Ali Larter) also exits the aircraft, after seeing how terrified Alex was by his vision.

The plane really blows up a few minutes later, and the terrified students who left the plane watch in horror from the airport terminal. But it doesn't end there. Those students whose lives were spared do not get to enjoy their newfound life for very long, as death comes back for them one at a time. The only one who can save them is Alex, who finds a pattern to death's unwanted return. He has more visions of how each student will die, and the only way to save them is to step in and delay death, which then moves on to the next victim.

Death comes for each survivor, one by one, until they are all killed off, only Alex and Clear manage to survive to the end of the film. The "accidents" which kill them are somewhat comical, and in my opinion, detract slightly from the overall horror of this movie, but in no way make it any less enjoyable.

One student gets choked to death in his bathtub, and it is ruled a suicide; another steps out in front of a speeding bus; and the teacher gets stabbed, and her house set on fire and burns. The last one to die get's hit by a neon sign after pushing Alex out of the way.

This movie is original in the fact that there really is no arch villain, no evil mastermind. The protagonist here is death, the final conclusion to the game of life. Some parts of the movie are so unbelievably real, that I was almost afraid to get on an airplane again. Whenever I see an airplane now, I always think of this movie and wonder if I should just take a bus. There are not many movies that I could sit down and watch over and over again, but this is one of them.

I would have to say that this film easily tops all other horror films released in recent years, and I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves scary movies. There are some rather gory scenes, and I wouldn't recommend letting children watch this movie as it may give them nightmares. There is no lack of suspense or surprises in this movie, and it will keep you watching until the very last scene. If you only buy one movie in your life, let it be Final Destination -- you will not be disappointed.