Product Description

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one--in increasingly gruesome ways--Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination.

Shot using the same high definition 3-D technology James Cameron developed for Avatar, The Final Destination oozes 3D goodness. It's schlocky, gory, gimmick-ridden 3D goodness, of course, but the Blu-ray edition's MVC-encoded 3D presentation is an out-and-out blast; one that makes the film's 2D transfer seem positively tame. Don't misunderstand: the two share the same underlying qualities, the same slick sheen and the same hyper-polished visuals. But when it's hurtling at your face in all its barbed, razor-sharp glory, the experience itself becomes that much more fun. Before the film's release, producer Craig Perry told Bloody Disgusting, "having something pop out at the audience every four minutes gets boring." And yet something pops out at the audience every four minutes. Personally, I never found it boring, as the series' winks and nods at all-too-willing franchise fans are exactly what allows each successive Final Destination flick to emerge as such an infectious guilty pleasure. Shards of wood jut out of the screen, tires fly through the air, vans rocket down ramps, nails shoot toward their helpless victims, gasoline pours from above, bloody hands reach toward the audience, moviegoers are caught in the fury of an explosion, fire erupts, water gushes, blood splashes... it's heavy-handed 3D to be sure, but each home-theater-invading shock, jolt and projectile is in keeping with the lunacy boiling over on-screen. The three-dimensionality of the various elements is quite convincing too, with minimal ghosting. Explosions and water jets wreak some measure of crosstalk havoc, but the ensuing chaos tends to cloak almost all of the 3D presentation's shortcomings. And while depth isn't always as realistic or absorbing as Perry would go on to suggest in his Bloody Disgusting interview, it's both commendable and fairly consistent. Granted, darker scenes sometimes put a damper on the fun -- a death involving a late-night tow truck mishap doesn't pop much at all -- but the ineffective shots are few and far between.

Vibrant colors, bright arterial sprays, bold splashes of crimson, and gristly heaps of pulpy brain matter make their presence known as well, granting the image and DP Glen MacPherson's genre palette a fair bit of power. In fact, the film's steady stream of blazing primaries and healthy skintones make the dark, gritty confines of most horror films seem positively dull. Satisfying blacks and sizzling contrast only help, lending additional depth and dimensionality to an already effective three-dimensional kill-reel. I'll admit some of the visual effects flail -- the 3D presentation doesn't mask any of the CG's plasticity -- but detail remains impressive throughout. Textures are crisp and refined, edges are exceedingly sharp, and delineation is surprisingly revealing. If anything, a few shots lack polish while several others have been polished so much that the actors take on a glossy, wax-like appearance. It isn't a serious issue, and it certainly doesn't spoil the experience, but it distracts nonetheless. Fortunately, substantial artifacting, aliasing, crush, and unintended source noise are held at bay, and excessive artificial sharpening and ringing, though present at times, aren't a prevailing problem. All things considered, The Final Destination 3D is as impressive as its 2D counterpart, and looks about as good as a sticky genre pic could. Death's minions will be pleased.

A word to the wise: don't try to watch The Final Destination if anyone, anywhere in your house is trying to get some sleep. Grinding escalator gears, roaring racecar engines, collapsing stadiums, gurgling screams, hurling debris, underwater deathtraps, thundering car wash jets... Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is loud and aggressive, going for the sonic jugular every time the opportunity presents itself. Explosions are blessed with hearty LFE support, flames effortlessly roll from channel to channel, and the soundfield is busy and immersive. The rear speakers get a serious workout, attacking whenever chaos erupts on screen. Granted, quieter scenes are terribly front-heavy -- no doubt the result of the film's original sound design -- but they give Death's complex kills and brazen assaults more oomph as a result. Dialogue is perfectly intelligible and well prioritized, effects are clean and stable, and the sticky stuff splashes and slathers convincingly. While the studio's lossless mix certainly won't win any awards for nuance or subtlety, it suits the tone and tenacity of the film, relying on technical prowess when little else seems reliable. Some oh-so-minor normalization issues will give cranky audiophiles brief fits, but the overall track is a meaty, memorable, and satisfying one. Enjoy.

3D Blu-ray DVD Movies Disc - The Final Destination in 3-D Features

Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio

Subtitles

Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc

Package Content

3D Blu-ray DVD Movies Disc(50GB) - 3D Blu-ray DVD Movies Disc - The Final Destination in 3-D x 1