The Couch Critic
The Couch Critic is your laid-back guide to movies and TV shows that deserve your attention—or maybe don’t. Nathan dives deep into storytelling, character development, and cinematic style with a sharp eye and a wry sense of humor. Whether it’s a blockbuster hit, a hidden gem, or a cult classic, Nathan’s relatable approach ensures every episode feels like a cozy chat with a friend who just happens to love film. Perfect for casual watchers and cinephiles alike, The Couch Critic brings thoughtful critique without the fluff. Grab your favorite snack, settle in, and let Nathan guide you through the world of screen entertainment.
The Couch Critic
From Rollercoasters to Racetracks: Ranking the Final Destination Films
Death always has a plan. With a sixth installment of the Final Destination franchise on the horizon after a 14-year absence, it's the perfect time to revisit the series that made us afraid of everyday activities from flying to roller coasters.
Join me as I rank all five existing Final Destination films from best to worst. Surprisingly, the original doesn't claim the top spot - that honor goes to Final Destination 3, with its unforgettable roller coaster sequence and solid performances from Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The iconic first film comes second, establishing the blueprint that would define the franchise: cheat death once, and it will hunt you down with methodical precision.
The most recent entry, Final Destination 5 from 2011, earns third place with its clever prequel twist that connects beautifully to where it all began. Meanwhile, Final Destination 2 falls to fourth position despite giving us the anxiety-inducing log truck scene that still makes drivers nervous on highways. At the bottom sits 2009's "The Final Destination," a cynical cash-grab that wasted its budget on gimmicky 3D effects while forgetting to include decent writing, acting, or the franchise's signature presence: Tony Todd.
What makes this reexamination particularly poignant is Tony Todd's legacy within the series. His creepy coroner character defined these films with cryptic warnings about death's design, and the upcoming sequel will feature his final posthumous performance. His absence from the worst film in the franchise speaks volumes about his importance to its success.
Have you seen these movies? Which death sequence still gives you nightmares? Text us using the link in our show notes and share your own ranking of these deadly premonition films. And don't forget to tune in next Saturday for my review of the newest chapter, Final Destination: Bloodlines.
The weekend's here. It's time to unwind. Grab your snacks, leave the week behind. Blockbusters classics, they're all on the way. Let's kick it off with Cinema Saturdays.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome to a brand new Cinema Saturday episode. I'm your host, nathan of the Couch Critic, and on today's episode I am going on a final destination journey in the Final Destination franchise, mentally preparing myself for the sixth installment in this franchise. It's been a while since they've had a Final Destination movie. I believe it's been like 14 years since the last one. So sure, why not, let's rehash these films. So I will be talking about these movies in the order in which I enjoyed them. So the first movie I'm going to be talking about is my number one pick out of the first five, and that is Final Destination 3. That's right, it's not the first one. Final Destination 3 is my top pick. The main reason is because I remember seeing this trailer, and the big thing that really got me to go see this one was the very first thing that happens in this movie, which is the rollercoaster mayhem that ensues at the beginning of this movie. This whole franchise does a really good job at making you afraid of going to different places. So the first one made everyone afraid of flying on airplanes. The second one made everyone afraid of driving behind big log trucks. The third one makes you afraid of going on roller coasters. I also think that the acting in the third one was pretty decent. The storyline even though majority of these movies don't really have a straight storyline is basically just how does everyone die in the movie? But this one does a really good job at tying in the first and second movies into this series.
Speaker 2:This movie stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, ryan Merriman and Chris Lemcha, and it also includes Tony Todd. That's like a big staple of these movies, except the worst one, which I'll get to later. Tony Todd shows up in each movie as the coroner, or sometimes he's just as the voice, and I think in this and the third one I think he's just like a voice at the carnival. He doesn't really show up, you don't see him, but his presence is still felt, and so I think the third one is my favorite no-transcript. Biggest dislikes of almost all the movies is that the acting is a bit cheesy at times. And this is basically the early 2000s, the earliest you can get 2000. And yeah, the acting shows doesn't age well when it comes to CGI and visuals. And again, the acting. But this movie stars Devin Sawa, ali Larder, car Smith, ali Larder, car Smith, and again, the first appearance of Tony Todd as the coroner who basically knows all things about how death works. So, after getting a premonition about a plane crash on his high school trip, alex, a student, saves a few of his classmates. However, their situation gets complicated when death starts chasing them. So, again, this movie started it all in 2000.
Speaker 2:Final Destination, my pick number three. This is where kind of spoiler territory if you haven't seen these movies comes into play. Pick number three is Final Destination V. This is the most recent in the franchise In 2011,.
Speaker 2:Death returns to claim the lucky survivors of a deadly bridge collapse in this fifth frightening installment in the series. This movie stars Nicolas D'Agosto, emma Bell, arlene Escarpata and, of course, tony Todd. And here is the big spoiler alert right here. This movie is actually a prequel and I really feel like this movie could have ended the series right here. They ended it really well by doing a prequel and I really feel like this movie could have ended the series right here. They ended it really well by doing a prequel and basically admitting that, no matter what you do, death is going to come for you, and I think they did it in a really unique way. Like at the end of the movie, they think they've cheated everything and they introduced a kind of a creepy, morbid concept in the fact that if you kill someone, you kind of take their place and take their life. So you kill someone and you basically get to live the years that they would have lived, and I thought that was an interesting concept. I thought it was an interesting way to take things and even in this movie the acting really wasn't that bad. Again, these movies do not have the best acting in them all the way through, but I felt for these characters and I didn't remember that this was a prequel, so I didn't know how it was going to end, I didn't know what was going to happen, and so I thought it was really, really cool. And one thing about these movies is, as the movies progressed, it just became about how people died. What I appreciated about the fifth one is that they took it kind of back to the original and they actually did have a storyline and they did make it compelling, actually did have a storyline and they did make it compelling. And again, at the end of the day it ended with the fact that even if you got someone else's life, you still die when that person would have died. Your days are numbered, no matter what. So I thought the fifth one would have been a really cool way to end the franchise, but of course, with the sixth one coming out, they chose not to do that. So that is the number three pick. Coming in number four is Final Destination 2.
Speaker 2:When I was thinking about this list I was kind of hesitant, because everyone knows this one, because, again, the log truck and that's what everyone uses to kind of sell these movies, and so I was like I don't know. But then I came back to two things about this movie that I did not like. But before I can do that, I'm going to say the synopsis real quick. And who starred in this movie? Death is stalking, kimberly corman and multiple survivors of a deadly highway accident. This movie stars AJ Cook, allie Larder and if that name sounds familiar that's because she is from the original one. She comes back for this one. Unfortunately, spoiler she dies. And then they give Tony Todd a nod because again, he's been in almost every single one except my top pick for least favorite. So before I can get to that, I'm going to say why this one comes so low on my list.
Speaker 2:The acting in this is like atrocious. There is not one good actor in this movie. Everyone is over the top, everyone is just. It's just not good. Writing is, yeah, it's not good, even Even though Tony Todd is pretty creepy. Tony Todd is creepy in everything he does and I think he does a really good job. Rip. May he rest in peace.
Speaker 2:The sixth Final Destination is actually, I think, his last screen appearance before his death, so that's another reason to go see it, kind of homage to him because of all he did in films. So anyway, final Destination 2, the acting isn't that great and the girl who has like the premonitions and stuff and like the warnings, she almost is always wrong first and that kind of gets annoying after a fact, like she thinks she knows what's going to happen and then it ends up being wrong. So I I found that kind of annoying. So that's why final destination is so low on the list, but at least it's better than the fifth and final pick. That is 2009's the final destination, and I remember this movie because it was promoted as being in 3D. This is around the time that I think in 2010,.
Speaker 2:Saul did a 3D movie as well and it was also really bad and also really you could tell that they spent, you know, all of their budget on doing the 3D effect, because the CGI is terrible, the acting is atrocious, the writing is bad, there's no real tie. They don't really mention much about the previous Final Destination movies, and the big one, the big kicker, is that Tony Todd, his voice, and he himself are nowhere near this movie. They say it was because of scheduling conflicts, but that's what they usually say when the actor just doesn't want to do it. So this movie was just bad. I call it Sharknado clone, and it's not Sharknado. Like oh my gosh, it's so bad, it's good. No, this movie is atrocious. Like oh my gosh, it's so bad, it's good. No, this movie is atrocious.
Speaker 2:A horrifying premonition saves a young man and his friends from death during a racetrack accident, but terrible fates await them nonetheless. This movie stars Nick Zano, krista Allen and Andrew Fischella. This movie is just bad. That's really all I can say about this movie. It's a waste of time, the deaths are stupid. It's just really, really bad. So that is my best to worst pick of the Final Destination franchise.
Speaker 2:I am cautiously optimistic about the sixth one coming out. Optimistic about the sixth one coming out. Uh, I don't know. Again, one of the only reasons I'll go see it is because tony todd is such a big name when it comes to horror movies and I remember him on an episode of smallville and I remember when he came to fayetteville comic-con and everyone was talking about oh he's candy man, oh he's in this, oh he's in that Con. And everyone was talking about oh, he's Candyman, oh he's in this, oh he's in that. I'm like no one is talking about the fact that he was in an episode of Smallville and I'm kicking myself that I didn't meet him and bring that up because again now he sadly passed away.
Speaker 2:So that is the Final Destination franchise. If you've watched any of those movies, send us a text, hit that, send us a text link in our show notes. Let us know what would you pick for your top five Final Destination movies. And if you haven't seen them, it's okay, they aren't really much to talk about. So that is this episode of Cinema Saturday. Like I said, next Saturday I will be talking about Final Destination Bloodlines, and on this Tuesday coming up, katie and I or maybe just myself will be talking about Santa Claus, the Movie on the Couch Critic, where every movie gets its close up.
Speaker 1:Popcorn's popping. It's time to stay. No-transcript.
