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College student Kimberly Corman (A. J. Cook) sets off on the road for Daytona Beach with her friends when she has a premonition of a multicar pileup on the freeway before exiting the on-ramp. Kimberly blocks the on-ramp with her car and tries to tell police officer Thomas Burke (Michael Landes) of the pileup but it happens anyway but not before Burke pulls her out of the way of a speeding car carrier that kills her friends. While other survivors of the pileup are dubious of Kimberly's premonition, Burke is more inclined to believe her as he was involved in the cleanup of Flight 180 one-year prior which experienced similar circumstances. As survivors of the pileup begin dying off, Kimberly seeks help of the voluntarily institutionalized Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) who has isolated herself from anything and everything since the death of Alex Browning. But Kimberly has visions that could lead to them escaping death's plan.

Following the success of the first Final Destination, then New Line Cinema President Toby Emmerich approached Jeffrey Reddick to commission a sequel which Reddick agreed to do. Reddick stated his intent with this entry was to "expand the mythology" in order to avoid telling the same story over again. Previous film's director and writers James Wong and Glen Morgan were unavailable as they were busy with their respective projects of Jet Li's The One and the Willard remake respectively. The film instead was helmed by David R. Ellis whose prior directing credit was Homeward Bound II in 1996 and had more frequently worked as a second unit director and stunt coordinator with writers Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber coming on board as co-writers. Upon release, the movie had a respectable opening weekend of $16 million at number 2 opening behind The Recruit and eventually made back $90 million worldwide against its $26 million budget, a slight step down from the original's $110 million haul but still profitable. Critical reception while still mixed was somewhat improved from the first one with some like Roger Ebert who gave the original three stars only gave one and a half to the sequel. While Final Destination is fairly similar to the first movie in terms of setup with a formula pretty settled at this point, it is well made and delivers and what you expect and it does continue on from the first film.

Unlike the first film whose cast of teen archetypes were very much molded by the late 90s framework of post-Screamsploitation that defined a number of horror films in terms of marketing and writing, the characters in Final Destination 2 are slightly more likable and less grating than they were in the first film, even ones who are supposed to be kind of abrasive have some redeeming moments. A. J. Cook is no surprise here a solid lead especially for anyone who's seen her work on Criminal Minds, and I also enjoyed Michael Landes as Burke and Ali Larter's reprise of the character Clear Rivers. Tony Todd also returns as the Mortician (credited as Mr. Bludworth) and much like the first film his creepy commanding presence is welcome and is probably the closest thing we have to the personification of an antagonist. The story is still pretty thin as it is mostly a lose chain of accidental deaths that follow some kind of path, but it does try to add new elements to avoid falling into a repeat such as the characters seeking a way to beat Death's plan by way of "new life" and while it's not 100% successful at avoiding sequel pitfalls it works well enough and the fact that the film has a relatively closed ending (albeit one with a very mean spirited joke) makes Final Destination 2 feel more like the closing half of a two parter rather than something overtly cynical as you've seen with some sequels.

If you liked Final Destination, odds are you'll probably like Final Destination 2. It doesn't stretch too far from what was established and there is some sense of "deja view" as is the case with most sequels, but there are attempts at doing things differently from how they were done the last time and the ending that eschews sequel baiting was rather refreshing so take that for what it's worth.

Final Destination 2 is creepy, enjoyable and importantly, better than the original. This movie had the iconic wood log truck scene and the way deaths happened, you may get frightened and think what if this happens in reality.

The direction and acting was better than the original. Like original, you will be busy enjoying the thrill and drama and will give you mixed feeling of horror, drama and thrill.

Overall, will recommend everyone to give it a try.

Kimberly Corman has a terrifying vision that a highway pile up will claim her life and that of her friends. Blocking the entrance with her car, Kimberly watches in horror as the crash unfolds, thus saving her life and that of the people in the queue behind her. But the grim reaper is not impressed and he's coming to claim the deaths of all those who should have died in the crash.

For a sequel to truly work well it has to come up with something fresh, otherwise why do a sequel eh? Well the makers of Final Destination 2 choose to use the basic same formula of the hugely enjoyable first film, only adding more black humour into the crazy death design broth. Opening with a quite horrific highway pile up, FD 2 then takes us on a journey that sees an assortment of folk offed in various and gruesome ways. The story remains the same as the first film, even though writers Bress and Gruber think they are being intricate by weaving this plot into the original story, but ultimately it's just a devilishly nonsense fun picture. Ali Larter returns for a second helping, and she in turn is joined by a bunch of no mark actors waiting for death, which is perfectly fine for the genre discerning fan.

This is a riot, and as long as you don't look too deep into it (why would you really?) you may just find yourself having a real good time. 7/10

Love these movies. But I'm pretty sure they gave me anxiety for the rest of my life lol positive actually.

EVERYTHING'S A SIGN THAT DEATH IS NEAR

I had no idea reviews had to be so many characters. I'll keep typing trying to think of stuff.

I definitely freak out every time I see an 18-wheeler on the interstate carrying tree logs.

Also, every time I'm driving and "highway to hell" by AC/DC comes on the radio, I immediately think of this movie and also consider pulling over. The signs really are everywhere if you look for them. Thank you writers for the trauma and extra anxiety in my adult life. I love you.

As sequels tend to usually turn out, luckily "Final Destination 2" from 2003 didn't follow suit. Director David R. Ellis delivered a sequel to the 2000 movie "Final Destination" that was almost as enjoyable as the original predecessor, so that was quite an accomplishment.

Writers J. Mackye Gruber, Eric Bress and Jeffrey Reddick put together a rather enjoyable and entertaining script and storyline, which was quite a good continuation in the spirit of the 2000 "Final Destination" movie, and at the same time managed to tie the first movie in with this sequel in a very good way. So thumbs up to the writers for that accomplishment.

Something that always impress med in "Final Destination 2" is the impressive highway scene, it totally blows me away every time I sit down and watch the movie. It is like watching a well-orchestrated symphony of destruction and mayhem. Plus the way it is filmed and the effects really bring the scene to life (pardon the pun) in a very cool way.

The cast ensemble in "Final Destination 2" is good, and it was nice to see Ali Larter and Tony Todd return to the screen to reprise their roles from the previous movie. And "Final Destination 2" brings to the franchise a bunch of great actors and actresses as well, which certainly helped to add to the overall enjoyment of the movie.

Visually quite good, "Final Destination 2" delivers the destruction and mayhem to the audience in a very believable and realistic manner.

My rating of director David R. Ellis's 2003 movie "Final Destination 2" lands on a seven out of ten stars.

I remember when I saw the first Final Destination movie at the cinema, and I really enjoyed it, it was something fresh new original and exciting, and when I heard that they were making a 2nd one, well at first I was a bit sceptical, but when I saw the trailers, I was excited.

Well the plot to this one, not all that different from the previous movie, only instead of an aeroplane, this time we get a traffic accident and the central character Kimberley (AJ Cook) has a vision much like Devon Sawa did in the first one. Only with a slight difference, this time the deaths work backwards.

Sequels are often associated with disappointment, as many often only manage to be pale imitations of their predecessors. The second Final Destination is anything but, as it's bigger, slicker, and altogether more fun than the original. Overall this one has a different tone to the first one, this one's more blood and a lot more gore, which is always a bonus in my eyes, another aspect is that the deaths are way over the top, which is awesome and something that was missing from the first movie.

The performances again doesn't fail to deliver, with yet again another group of interesting characters, AJ Cook is this time the main character and she hits all the right notes, she's resourceful and likable. Michael Landes plays it cool and low key but also comes across as likable and has great chemistry with AJ Cook. Ali Larter I enjoyed her in the first movie and I was glad they brought her back she gave a very credible performance and Jonathan Cherry plays the comic relief drug addict really well and came off as very natural.

All in all a brilliant follow up and companion to the first movie and them both even each other out really well.

You know that feeling you get when you're watching America's Funniest Home Videos and the oblivious son hits his hapless father in the crotch with an aluminum bat? It gets a quick reaction, like, ooh, I feel your pain man. FINAL DESTINATION 2 is a 90 minute or so string of those painful shots, as each character one by one meets an unfortunate death by household appliance. Bodies are slammed by trucks, heads are impaled, and limbs fly through the air. When one of the characters dies when her car's airbag explodes out of nowhere, I blurted "Yeah! Wow, did they do that??? Yeah, they DID do that. Right on!" Although the film has a very serious atmosphere about it, what with the creepy score and people sincerely freaking out and everything, it still retains a campy humor about it buried beneath its high-budget exterior. Many movies would shy away from smashing up plastic ketchup-filled dummies, opting instead to avoid the gore. Not FINAL DESTINATION 2! This movie is an honest approach to movie-making, hearkening back to the day when you got together with friends and said, "Okay, in this scene we cut to the dummy falling off the building, it's run over by a Mack truck, and it splatters chunks of blood all over that Oldsmobile over there." As for the premise behind FINAL DESTINATION 2, how do I put it into words? A.J. Cook has premonitions that people died in a nasty pileup on the highway. Thing is, this never happened. And ... she continues to have premonitions that those same people will die in due time. Those people eventually die. Did I get that right? The universal law of nature is that, well, Death sometimes misses its mark and has to fix its mistakes (which usually involves electrical equipment getting wet and other freak accidents of home improvement). If this all sounds convoluted, watch the movie. You'll see what I mean. The premise of FINAL DESTINATION 2, as much potential as it might have, doesn't make much sense and is pretty hokey, but if you medicate your inquisitive mind with heavy sedatives, you'll be able to look past the flimsy premise and enjoy the movie. I'm definitely looking forward to a Final Destination 3.

Final Destination 2 is the best film in the whole franchise in my opinion,i was lucky enough to see this at the cinema back in 2003!!!

This gory as hell sequel is so much fun,it's smart & thrilling & exciting so much more than the first film. Yes i liked the first film it was great but part 2 is even better.

FD2 packs more ferocious,spooky atmosphere into an exciting rollercoaster ride that is pure Horror-thriller entertainment with dark humour & awesome creative kills.

Ali Larter gives a strong performance once again as survivor of death, Clear Rivers, from the first flick & the new bunch of death deserters are well casted characters that very cleverly are each connected by the impact of the deaths of all the characters from the first film. Final Destination 2 is a super smart sequel the truly ups the thrills & fear factor. This is one of those films i keep comic back to for shear fun entertainment even after all these years.

This film also has the best & most terrifying scene in the franchise,the pile-up car crash on the motorway.

That sequence is terrifying & probably the most iconic & memorable scene in the entire franchise.

Final Destination 2 is basically just good gory-fun,a good night's entertainment especially if your a Horror genre fan like myself!!!

Yes i have Nostalgia for it but i also saw the first film way back on video & then was excited for the sequel.

Just sit back with a nice hot cup of Coffee one evening & stick on Final Destination 2. It's a real Gem from an otherwise messy franchise, it's a great supernatural thriller flick & one of the best franchise sequels ever.

Tony Todd is a Horror genre gem.

Great popcorn movie fun.

I was apprehensive when I didn't Devon Sawa in the credits or this movie, but then again, this film didn't really need him. This wasn't a sequel in the purest sense, but the film makers created methods to link all of the new characters to the old ones, creating a flow which wasn't too jarring. Unfortunately, the dialogue was the only real stinker in this film. The pretentiousness, the obviousness and the downright hokiness that came out of the mouths of the characters really detracted from the tension, turning their performances into a bunch of acting class rejects. But I digress. The only thing people are looking for is how Death will get the new set of escape artists. The sheer surprise and execution of the executions made me jump and crawl. In such a desensitized world we live in, being able to jump out of my seat means this film is a winner.

This was almost like a flashback to a few weeks ago when the exact same thing happened for real on Interstate 4. It wasn't a log truck, but fog and a controlled burn that caused an 80-car pileup and much burning of trucks and bodies. I could not help but think of that when I saw the incredible accident scene in this film. It could have been used as news footage.

This is probably only the second film in which I have seen A.J. Cook (JJ from "Criminal Minds") and Ali Larter ("Heroes"), but they did a credible job in a film where the story was far more important than the individual characters, none of whom rose to any significance. In fact. most were probably former WB stars. The only one I remember with any interest was Odessa Munroe.

But the story and the special effects and the gore and, certainly, the suspense, made this film worth watching and peaked my interest in the prequel and the sequel, although not having seen the first one does not take anything away from this one.

Check it out.

As good a sequel as the filmmakers could have made, "Final Destination 2" still delivered the goods the original did.

Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) and her friends go on a road trip, but Kimberly has a vision of a big pile-up involving not only her and her friends, but a lot of other people. She manages to save some of them after blocking the entrance to the freeway, but soon after the survivors start to die.

Although not as scary as the original, it's still a lot of fun. Also, it makes you think about death itself. The ways the survivors die are still clever, but are a lot bloodier than the original's. If you don't have a strong stomach, then beware. There is also a revelation about the survivors which is clever as well.

If you liked the first one, you should have no problem liking this one.

Lots of these movies were made in a row, about a death curse from which no escape is possible and this premise is incredibly silly, but once you accept that, this is still a really fun watch.

I do honestly think this sequel is one of the best in the series. It has got a high fun factor with lots of ingenious and funny ways of getting "accidentally" killed.

It's almost camp, but it is executed in such an enjoyable Hollywood over the top fashion that is undeniably charming and witty to watch.

Any bad? Nope. The actors are unknown to me but good enough. The way it is written is completely silly but good enough to entertain me for 90 minutes. I would settle for less...

Final Destination 2 is a very entertaining sequel and while the story is weaker then the first, the deaths are better. Kimberly (A.J. Cook) is a normal teen who is taking a road trip to Daytona with her 3 friends. She has a vision of a horrific traffic accident and so she blocks some of the cars from entering the highway. Sure enough they vision comes true and they have all just escaped death. Kim visits Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), the only survivor of Flight 180 who is convinced to help out the survivors of Route 23. Alex, who died between films, had been hit in the head with a falling brick. Kim, Clear and other strangers that are left must try to stick together and cheat Death again. The plot may sound stupid but its actually not all that bad. The story may not make sense at some scenes and the story is filled with holes. Its hard though to write a good story for something like this and I think they gave a good effort. The first film was very good and a lot of fun to watch. The sequel is even more fun to watch, even if it does get silly at times. Its better to watch the original before watching this so it would be easier to follow the story. Most horror films today are to silly to take serious and that's why you shouldn't really approach this one expecting an Oscar quality film. The acting was decent with the best being Ali Larter. She and Tony Todd are the only stars returning from the original film. A.J. Cook plays Kimberly and she does an okay job. The rest of the cast are mostly unknowns and aren't worth mentioning. David R. Ellis directs and he does really good job. He also directed the fast paced and exciting Cellular. The film is very gory and also very fun. Final Destination 2 was very creative when it came to killing off the characters. A couple of the death scenes do go over the top though the film delivers the goods for the most part. The film is only 90 minutes long so it's a quick film to watch. The movie also never gets boring as its always entertaining. I wouldn't say the film is to scary but there are some moments that may leave with fear. In the end, this is a very good sequel, that's better then the original and worth checking out. I just hope Final Destination 3 is just as good or even better then this film. Rating 7.8/10, check this film out as its very entertaining.

If you loved the original Final Destination, then you will almost certainly enjoy the sequel, a virtual carbon-copy of the first film, except that everything is bigger and much, much bloodier.

This time around, a group of travellers narrowly avoid being involved in a spectacular freeway pile-up thanks to an eerie premonition experienced by driver Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) as she waits on the on-ramp. Feeling cheated once again, Death alters his grand design to try and claim the lives of those who escaped his clutches. As the survivors of the accident begin to die in the order witnessed in her vision, Kimberley realises what is happening, and tracks down the sole survivor of flight 180, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), for help.

Despite working with material that rarely explores new territory, director David R. Ellis directs with gusto: his freeway pile-up is an absolutely jaw-dropping piece of cinema—a brutal, bloody and disturbing set-piece—and the subsequent death scenes are masterfully orchestrated pieces of mayhem that tease the audience with several possible bloody conclusions, before delivering their always impressive pay-off (gory fatalities are caused by a falling ladder, a sheet of glass, a faulty elevator, an air-bag, a flying wire fence, and a barbecue!!!).

In amongst the graphic bloodletting, Ellis also finds time to throw in some very nice visual touches (such as the tree shadows which resemble clutching skeletal hands) and lots of delightfully dark humour (gotta love that final shot!). A thoroughly entertaining piece of OTT popcorn horror, Final Destination 2 gets a very respectable 7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

In this case, more of the same, is not a bad thing. Basically the movie its plot is just the same as in "Final Destination", only with different characters and settings this time. I however feel that the Final Destination franchise is one of the few horror-movie franchises that can have multiple sequels, without loosing any of its power or originality. The concept of the movie can be used over and over again; a person has a vision of an upcoming accident which will lead to the death of several people. Thanks to that vision the person prevents himself/herself and others from dying. They cheat death but the death eventually catches up with them again, as every person that should had died during the accident, dies one by one.

"Final Destination" had a plane crash, "Final Destination 2" has a highway pileup. Sounds smaller and less impressive but it really isn't. The car crashes are massive and awesomely choreographed and filmed. It truly honestly is one of the very best and certainly most spectacular car crashes out of cinema history. You have to see it to believe it.

It's one of the things in the movie that makes it obvious that this time they had a far bigger budget to spend, compared to the first movie. Not only the beginning is more spectacular, also the deaths later on in the movie are better constructed and especially better looking and more graphic. The story and concept of the movie might not be original anymore but the death certainly are. It makes "Final Destination 2" a wonderful sequel that still can be original and surprising, even when you've already seen the first movie.

The movie however makes a crucial mistake. Basically the movie has a fresh story with new characters and settings but yet it feels the need to constantly refer to the events in the first movie and even bring back a character from the first movie. A quick reference to the events in the first movie would have sufficed but instead the movie heavily relies on the events of the first movie. It makes the movie a bit hard and less understandable to watch for persons who haven't seen the first movie. Basically every Final Destination movie should be a movie on its own, with new characters and settings every time. I haven't seen part 3 yet but I hope they haven't made the same mistake there.

But really, who cares about the story in a movie like this. Basically all that makes this movie good and original are the deaths that are featured in it. They are extremely graphic and quite brilliantly put together. You just never know what is going to happen, which helps to make the sequences tense as well as scary. It doesn't really matter that the characters aren't really interesting and the story is quite unlikely and far fetched at certain moments.

An highly recommendable horror sequel but perhaps only if you've also seen the first movie.

7/10

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This really surprised me. Initially when I first saw it I thought there was no way they'd be able to do a sequel. This one in my opinion is the best of the bunch. It all starts off with the most insane scene ever. A giant accident on the highway that's let's the audience know all the different ways you can die. Like the first someone has a vision but this time around it's a young woman who ends up stopping traffic and saves a group of strangers who of course begin to die in the spectacularly gruesome ways. The death setpieces are ridiculously impressive a combination of practical and digital effects. My favorite has to be the glass kill but all of them are remarkable and hella shocking. The movie unlike the original doesn't take itself seriously and neither should you but it also impressively lays out a complex twist that brings it all together. A superior film to the first with solid performances all around.

Budget: $26M Box Office: $90.4M

8.5/10

This sequel of successful original by James Wong deals about beautiful girl(A.J.Cook)has a vision of car crash and aware which by avoiding it, she and others(Michael Lastres, Lynda Boyd, James Kirk,Sarah Carter,Jonathan Cherry, Kevin Connor, among them) around her have saved but soon begin dying in bizarre accidents. Being the sole character repeating from Ali Larter who now finds herself locked into sanatorium.

This sequel displays suspense, tension, thrills, and creepy death. The chief excitement lies in seeing what new and astonishing victim can be dreamt by the believable FX technicians. Movie exist for only aim of murdering its protagonists and all around in terrifying realistic detail . Death seem to dispatch new weird killing every few minutes of movie, throughout car crashing, beheading, blowing up, glass crushing, fire, etc. It's frightening entertaining though predictable but we have seen the original with similar and interesting premise. Although its predictability is redeemed in part by the charismatic acting of protagonists and all around. The motion picture is well directed by David R Ellis. He has a long career as stunts coordinator, assistant director and finally filmmaker, directing Box office success such as ¨Cellular and Snakes on plane¨. Followed by a second sequel.

Many horror movie fans were pleasantly surprised by the discovery in 2000 of "Finale Destination". Its author, James Wong who cut his teeth on the X-Files saga (I'm not a fan at all of this series) had made a killing with this classy B movie which encompassed teenage, slasher, fantastic and horror movie in the same package. The viewer remembered of the invisible but omnipresence of death which was adamant about her plans and desperately tried to kill one after the other, this bunch of students led by Alex who tried to thwart her plans. It paid off well since this mix met the public's approval. So, in the wake of this little triumph, the nearly inevitable follow-up was De Rigueur.

At first sight, "Final Destination 2" seems to have the essential elements to have thumbs up from the audience. First, the multiple crash is impressively filmed. The director David R. Ellis who was a stunt-man and partly responsible for some action sequences in "the Matrix Reloaded" (2003) could show his expertise to film this vertiginous sequence. But his certain talent for directing can also be felt here and there throughout Kimberly's efforts to subvert death's plans. Then, there's a palpable, taut scenario. Many horror flicks today rely on special effects as the backbone of the film. Okay, there are rather flashy special effects here but used only when necessary. The moments during which death tries to take away the unfortunate victims are set with clockwork precision and announced with foreboding signs. Macabre humor is also more than acceptable but as the film is much more gore than the first chapter, it is not really for the faint-hearted. So, it's an enticing menu and one figures that one wouldn't want to shelve "Final Destination 2" in the messy department of useless sequels.

But if one takes a closer look, one realizes that Ellis' film is merely a photocopy of its first edition. The strengths of the film also constitute its weaknesses. Weaknesses because the qualities which contributed in cementing the first installment in its place of winner are rehashed here without novelties. The starting point and its development are identical as the thrust of the first film: to try at all costs to outsmart death's sinister intentions which isn't prepared to accept this and that's all. The surprise effect is absent and in short, you take the same old people with adequate replacements. So, the pile-up superseded the plane crash. Then, it seems that the authors tried to justify the making of this second chapter by linking the present story to a connection with the story of the first flick (check the sequence in the middle of the film when the ill-fated ones talk about the bunch of students in the first film). But in spite of these attempts and new tricks displayed by the scenarists to try to give the story substance, it's a run-on-the-mill fantastic film.

If you really enjoyed the first opus, then this may be your cup of tea. If you liked it without hailing it as a miracle, you can pass by. What's the point of watching the same story again with minor changes? And the end leaves the door open for a third episode which opened early this year. Is it any good?

FINAL DESTINATION 2 (2003) *** Ali Larter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, Terrence ‘T.C.' Carson, Keegan Connor Tracy, Lynda Boyd, Sarah Carter, Jonathan Cherry, James N. Kirk, Justina Machado, David Paetkau, Tony Todd. On par with its predecessor this sequel to the smash horror hit continues a year later with Larter as the sole survivor who aids another group of doomed fate testers when Cook stops their predestined traffic accident (and boy is it a doozy; one for the film vault in its violently affective execution) leading Death to stalk them one by one in a variety of grisly misfortunes along the way. Faster paced and inventively designed ‘accidents' (thanks to screenwriters Jeffrey Reddick, Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber) make for a breathless entertainment one should be ashamed to admit yet enjoy none-the-less with its thrills and shocks aplenty. (Dir: David R. Ellis)