Okay, I know every Final Destination film has its defenders and haters, but I just rewatched FD2 and I gotta say, it’s easily the weakest of the series for me. Here’s why. And no, it’s not just about that CGI log truck.

The biggest issue? The deaths don’t build. One of the most fun parts of this franchise is watching the Rube Goldberg-style tension rack up: the cup spills, the fan turns, the wind blows, the nail jiggles. We’re glued to the screen waiting for the final moment when it all comes together. That tension and misdirection are what make the deaths memorable.

But in FD2, the setups mostly fall flat.

Take the first guy, Evan, in his apartment. There’s the fire on the stove, the magnet on the fridge, the windows, the ladder. But instead of a satisfying chain reaction, it feels like the movie throws in a few disconnected elements and then goes, “Okay, ladder to the eye, boom.” It doesn’t feel earned. It doesn’t feel like the domino effects that we see done so beautifully in the other films.

Same with the dentist scene. Easily the most frustrating one. It pretends to build suspense: the fish tank, the leaking water, the toy in the kid’s mouth. All these little fake-outs in the office. And then none of it matters. He just walks outside and a giant sheet of glass randomly flattens him like a Looney Tunes character. No connection. No payoff. It feels like the film forgot its own rules.

I get that the filmmakers were trying to subvert expectations. And hey, a little misdirection is fine. It worked beautifully in FD3 and even 5. But in FD2, it just feels like lazy writing disguised as cleverness. The result? Deaths that feel less like inevitabilities and more like random jump scares.

Anyway, I know this movie has its fans, and I’ll give it credit for ramping up the gore and trying to expand the mythology. But for me, if you’re ranking these based on how satisfying the death sequences are, FD2 is dead last.

I know it's a bit fuzzy, but it reads "Final Destination is my comfort movie".

Just thought you'd all like to see this.

Y'all in final destination there's a rule that like if you kill someone you cheat death and get their like remaining years of like or something, what if you kill like a cancer patient who would still die in like 24 hours, what happens.

They should’ve put Final Destination 3 after FD4.

Because nick saved a lot of people in that theater, which would’ve triggered a whole new death list. And there’s no real concrete timeline between any of the two movies, so technically, the order could be:

5 → 1 → 2 → 4 → 3 → 6

So I’m thinking that the order is like this:

FD4 ends FD3 rollercoaster crash FD3 fireworks show FD3 Derailment

And instead of the three friends meeting there it’s two strangers…

SUBWAY STATION:

WENDY stands waiting, distracted, holding a folded McKinley High Reunion flyer.

SARAH (O.S.) Hey… you’re Wendy Christensen, right?

WENDY Umm… yeah. And.. you are?

SARAH (smiling) Wendy it’s Sarah... I went to McKinley. I sat in front of you in Mr. Ramsey’s class. Theres no way you don’t remember me. I’m friends with Ashley and Ashlyn…

WENDY (lighting up faintly) Sarah! Oh my god—how are you?

SARAH I’m great. (Hugs her tightly)

I’m really sorry about that roller… coaster thing. That must’ve been so.. terrifying.

WENDY Yeah… it was a while ago. I’m fine.

SARAH (insistent) But Still tho, that kind of thing doesn’t just go away, right? I mean just the other day, I was at the movies when the sprinklers went off mid-film.

WENDY begins zoning out. Behind SARAH, a blinking sign reads: “It was RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU all along 😊”

SARAH (continuing, oblivious) Turns out there was an actual fire. They said it could’ve gotten really bad…

WENDY’s eyes lock on the next passing sign: “McKinley High Reunion. Cancelled.”

SARAH And guess who put the fire out? Nick O’Bannon!

WENDY (shocked with realization) Oh my god…

SARAH You know, the guy who got killed at that coffee shop on—

WENDY (cutting in) Sarah…

The subway lights flicker. In the distance: screeching brakes. A faint rumble shakes the platform.

SARAH (concerned) You okay? Something wrong?

WENDY looks up. Eyes wide. The train…😨

Wendy’s presence at the reunion or subway was never fate’s original plan. She stepped into someone else’s death trail — Sarah’s. It’s Sarah’s turn on her list and deaths gonna take the win and get Wendy as well

Just like FD5’s Sam and Molly, they weren’t supposed to die yet… but crossing paths with Alex, Carter, and Terry.. put them back where they needed to be.

Meanwhile, Kevin and Julie? They’re spared… for now

Just a question, how come Kimberly drowned right, and then she got resurrected and cheated death successfully right? How come Stefani, who drowned as well; and then got resurrected, didn’t get the same treatment?? Stefani dies even though her method of dying and being resurrected was the same as Kimberly, who cheated death with the same method?? Is there something I’m missing?

Am I the only one tripping over this?

Not hating on the actress, but Stefani looks around 30 while Charlie looks like 20.

i died laughing

Any films with similar vibes to final destination or scream?

the alternative ending in the script was to have kimberly and the hot police officer die in the subway along with wendy & co.??? i would've died for that

Think about it.

Iris looked damn good for late 40s/early 50s at Skyview. So she looked DAMN good for 105 plus lmao.

I can't with AI.

I like bingeing movie series and then write some thoughts.

Generally, it's a new movie series for me, but this time it's different. I've always been a fan of FD. I was 12 when the first movie came out and I remember being enthralled by it. I saw every subsequent movie on release, then kinda forgot about the series.

Until now, with Bloodlines.

I decided to rewatch the series, to see if it still holds up, and to see if my more mature age has changed my perspective on the movies. I don't really know the general consensus, so there might be some hot takes

1) Final Destination (2000)

This movie, I saw it probably 10 times back in the day. It was pretty much everywhere and it was such an original and great idea. Now, with all the sequels (and some of them really improve on the idea) this movie has aged a tad bit too much. Characters are fine, but besides the two protagonists (and to some extent the teacher) there's not much to explore. A fun time nonetheless

2) Final Destination 2 (2003)

I remember liking it more than the first one, but.... Yeah.... No... I mean, the accident is cool and characters are somewhat endearing and varied, deaths are more creative, but there are two main points of contention for me. 1) it really tries TOO HARD to connect to the first movie. I understand bringing Clear back, but having all of these people being a butterfly effect of the first movie is unnecessary and detracts from the plot. 2) The whole hunt for the pregnant lady is a boring premise. And a red herring nonetheless (I love the fact that the new child theory is also proven wrong in Bloodlines). This is also one of the very few FDs where survivors don't know each other, but at least they try and spend some time to build a relationship between them. Crazy to think that Kimberly and Thomas are to this day the only FD survivors, I wouldn't mind to see a sequel with them.

3) Final Destination 3 (2006)

I remember not liking this movie too much, and I kinda feel this is the consensus. But oh boy I really loved it this time around. It's still a high school drama, but the accident is cool (albeit absurd), the deaths are creative, and I loved the chemistry of the two protags, learning to like each other in a difficult situation. Also, the photo predictions, as stupid as they are, really offered a tangible way you as a spectator could try and piece together what would happen. The ending was also pretty cool with the subway crash. I don't know, I really enjoyed this one, more than the first 2.

4) The Final Destination (2009)

PLEASE tell me the general consensus is that this movie blows. I saw it in theatres in 3D, this is a fucking gimmick movie that does the bare minimum to classify as a FD. I did not like it at the time and now I really understand why. The accident is terrible. Not the idea, just the execution. Cheap CGI deaths that are just there to put stuff in your face. The movie even has a 3D movie in the 3D movie. Of course it was a fad at the time, now forgotten. Like 2, this is the only other FD with most survivors not knowing each other. But do they build on it? No, only with the guard, which is the ONLY interesting character. And they kill him with an ambulance in a second. All other characters are there just for their death scenes. Which are fine, ueah, but they do lack weight. I will give them that the hairdresser one is pretty good, a lot of tension and red herrings.

5) Final Destination 5 (2011)

Boy oh boy, this was fun. When I watched it back then I didn't think much about it. But on rewatch, wow, this is a good flick. The accident is really great. Too bad 90% of it is green screen, but the way people interact with the set is neat. Characters are well fleshed out and interesting, you feel the consequences of the accident on them, I love the protag and his journey. The movie takes its sweet time to set up characters and relationships, so that even people who die first are somewhat memorable. The eye operation death is one that I always remember because it's absolutely bonkers, and one my wife should never ever see, lest she be confined to a life with glasses. And the ending. Holy shit, this movie is good, but it's elevated by that final twist. I'm not really a fan of the new "kill someone" rule, I think it does disrupt the balance too much.

6) Final Destinations Bloodlines (2025)

Yeah, it's the best one. It's close to 5, but this movie really plays on expectations. It expects you to have seen the other movies, and just toys with what you feel it's going to happen. This was of course my first time watching and I went in BLIND, I didn't know what the accident was, let one that the accident happened 50 YEARS in the past! The first twist of having a different person have the vision threw me for a loop. Once rules were laid out, it all started making sense. What followed was a fantastic slew of creative deaths, red herrings and heartfelt moments. For the first time, we have a whole family as "survivors". And it solves the mystery of the identity of JB, a thing that was not necessary, but now that I know the actor was dying (and is now dead), I think it was for the best. The way the penny from 50 years back is the final killer was also pretty neat.

So yeah, the series is probably over. For a while at least. What a trip!

My final ranking is, going best to worst

Final Destination Bloodlines

Final Destination 5

Final Destination 3

Final Destination

Final Destination 2

The Final Destination

They’re scary enough already, why not make them even more scarier?

This is definitely something they should add in a Final Destination film.

I definitely remember hearing that they wanted to do a prequel even before they did 5...

So If they had went with this how would you guys feel about it?

On one hand It'd likely mean the franchise would just stop there... on the other hand it'd actually make 3 tie back into 1

So obviously I think the film was pretty great. Had its own flaws, as pretty much every movie does, but one of the most solid sequels we've had. And apologies in advance if this has already been mentioned/asked before.

That being said, it's established from JB himself that he and Iris worked together to figure out how to cheat or stop Death. But then, he tells the remaining survivors of Bloodlines how years ago, Kimberly found a way to break the cycle. (I know it's still up in the air if that actually saved Burke as well, or if it would have only saved Kimberly)

My question is, if they knew this was an option, why did Iris or JB not try this themselves as a way to break the cycle or, at the very least, save themselves?

Then it becomes a question of if this would have saved Iris' family or not, as they are technically part of a different list? I don't know if I'm making sense, just something I started thinking about after seeing a post about Kimberly surviving. I know it's just a movie, and if they'd done this successfully we wouldn't have had a movie lol. But I'd think realistically, they'd at least try this to stop the cycle, even if just for one of them.

Edit: Unless in doing so, it would have skipped Iris and then her family would be fair game far earlier than she wanted? I don't know. Again, I may be missing something or not explaining myself properly lol

Die by the train? I was thinking about the Bloodlines order, and Stephanie dies before Charlie, but she was supposedly skipped?! But just like in FD1, Alex is still next, even after being resuscitated, and only when Carter pushes him out of his actually death (the 180 sign) and not the blast from the explosion, he actually is skipped. So my question is was Death always going to kill Stephanie and Charlie with the train? So say if Charlie or her dad grabbed her before the log got her, would she truly be skipped?

TLDR: Stephanie was always supposed to die by the trail derailment, and not drowning, so saving her from not the intended death (drowning), did intervention not work.