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We learn two things watching 'Final Destination 2': Death thinks he is rather funny (or is at least somewhat whimsical in nature), and he's a horrible shot. The second installment of the likely-to-be-continued franchise has a group of teenagers avoiding death by way of horrible freeway accident, as opposed to the plane crash of the first movie. Other than that, we've got the same game. A girl has a premonition of the accident, and saves a merry crew from death. Or, Death. Death, not to be snubbed, begins 'stalking' them. This transpires by way of any number of silly almost-accidents that relate to things people, allegedly, can fear. Having one's hand stuck in the garbage disposal, going to the dentist, even airbags. ***

I'd hate to give the impression that I liked 'Final Destination 2', but I have to admit that I rather enjoyed watching it. It was entertaining (to some degree), and it was rather interesting. Here is a movie that is not only not scary (by any definition I can fathom), it actually teaches you not to be scared of it as time goes on. The movie attacks the destined-to-die characters with a deluge of things that could kill them, but anything you have any chance to be nervous about isn't going to happen. Instead, everyone is killed quickly and by something you did see coming. As with the semi-famous 'bus death' in the first movie, everyone in this movie is killed suddenly, giving the audience no chance to be scared of what is coming. That is, with one exception. Before long, you can't be scared of all those allegedly nerve-rousing events displayed before you, because you have been given a guarantee that they won't come to fruition. ***

Apart from the fact that it has this somewhat interesting 'anti-horror' approach, it also moves along rather briskly, not letting you tire of it too quickly, and it seems not to take itself it very seriously. It is mainly filled with silly gags, undeveloped characters, and dialogue only a mother could love, but it's also okay with that. It's just a bit of fun, and that it never pretends to think there is any 'goodness' to be found in it makes it slightly pardonable that there isn't. ***

The movie makes clear that it considers itself to be in the 'splatter' genre, a lot of people die, are in some sense chased, and they die gruesomely. Given that it makes no bones about what it is, it's actually pretty good. I couldn't say that I was scared by it, though I'm led to understand no small number of people have been, but it certainly wasn't too difficult to sit through. It's stupid, yes, as is the entire genre, but it's a somewhat elevated sort of stupid. ***

In the end, 'Final Destination 2' made me think of the quote we all know and love, "Death is easy. Comedy is hard." It fits this movie somehow, and though it wasn't exactly funny, it was at least somewhat fun.

'Final Destination 2' has a good, if not perfect transfer. The visual detail is quite clear, and the sound is strong and crisp. There is the occasional fuzziness and halo, but it isn't very noticeable. There isn't actually a lot of depth to either field, and it isn't necessary in a movie like this. ***

Part of the movie's gimmick is that it all takes place 'in broad daylight', so it doesn't suffer from the problems with dark and shadow so common to horror transfers. What darkness there is does have some fuzziness to it, but it's rare. Several scenes are outdoors, and here the colors are rich and quite natural. There are, however, many scenes (inside the hospital for example) indoors where the palette seems a bit drained. Overall, it has a strong look to it, perhaps owing to the fact that there is so much F/X trickery going on that the thing had been through the digital ringer from the beginnig. ***

The sound is a straight-forward affair in 'Final Destination 2', and the transfer certainly delivers a clear range with hardly a noticeable flaw. This is not a movie of much ambient abilities, but the DVD cannot be faulted. As with many of these "Infinifilm" titles, every possible attention has been paid to creating an impressive transfer, even if in this case not so much attention was paid to that being transferred from.

The extras here run the gamut from fairly interesting, to utterly ridiculous. Which is to say, there's something for everyone. ***

'Cheating Death: Beyond and Back' is an 18-minute 'documentary' on near-death experiences which has no direct or indirect connection the movie. It's a potentially interesting, if rather shallow, summary of near-death information, which unfortunately loses all hope of being taken seriously by a person credited as - P.M.H. Atwater, LH.D. - Researcher/Author. A woman less credible, and full of more zeal, the world has never known. What is at times a fairly objective portrayal of the near-death phenomenon is rendered all but outright laughable. ***

'The Terror Game' gives us an approximately twenty-minute account of a 'research' project which used 'Final Destination 2' to measure how scared people get during movies using an EEG machine. Three subjects watch the film while strapped to all manner of electrodes, and we get to see their reactions along with the expert's explanations of readings. Differences in reactions lend some interest to the 'research', not to mention the fact that what is arguably the world's least scary movie is used for the project. ***

'Choose Your Fate' gives the viewer the opportunity to choose one of three cards on the screen. Your choice is shown to you, giving you an account of bizarre ways you've 'died', or wholly uninteresting ways you've 'lived'. Possible entertainment value of this feature is slightly trumped by a 'Magic 8 Ball'. ***

'Bits & Pieces - Bringing Death to Life' is an odd combination feature. The first ten minutes of the feature offers a history of the 'splatter' genre, and moreover the general theory behind same, going all the way back to the Grand Guignol in Paris. Herschell Gordon Lewis of '63s 'Bloodfeast' fame is on board and delivering his ideas. Oddly, Drew McWeeney of 'Ain't It Cool News' has an active role. The next twenty minutes becomes a standard 'Behind-the-Scenes' montage for the film. For those interested in the movie, it's a pretty good feature, detailing many of the special effects. ***

There are five deleted/alternate scenes, but they don't really add much to the experience, and were good choices to cut. True fans will love to have them, but the movie itself gains little from them. ***

The music videos on the disc, by two bands I've never heard of and scarce think I'll hear of again, are resoundingly low in production value. They are, unlike most music videos found on DVDs, not burdened with long stretches of 'film-over', but are instead made with what you might call 'Final Destination' overtones. The first band, The Sounds, with their song "Seven Days a Week", boggle the mind with their lost-in-the-80s, 'Bizarro Blondie' sound, and the video is one small push past being home-video. The second band, The Blank Theory, with their song "Middle of Nowhere", are surprisingly impressive, though their video fares no better in itself. They are perhaps overly influenced by Nine Inch Nails, but it's a pretty good song. ***

The true 'feature' on the DVD, of course, is the "Infinifilm" play mode. The movie is viewed in its entirety, and every few minutes an option menu appears, "Pop-Up Video"style, giving the viewer the option to view screen tests, how specific scenes were created, and all manner of other trivial feasts.

The commentary track is an exercise in futility, and it should come as no surprise. 'Final Destination 2' is not a wholly bad movie, and is even entertaining in its way, but it shouldn't be any great surprise that there isn't a lot of room for delving into the minds of the creators. Even remotely interesting commentary is sparse, the mainstay of the effort being of the caliber we might expect from several fairly screwy guys who managed to get their more-than-fairly screwy movie made... twice! Well, because that's what we have. You certainly aren't going to get any insight into the making of a good movie, after all, it's pretty clear they don't know. Nevertheless, there is the occasional humor to be found. ***

Director David Ellis provides the lion's share of what can pass for interesting commentary. Seemingly not entirely comfortable (the more so as time wanes) with being involved in the commentary track, Ellis manages to at least provide some details and background. The closest we get to what we might expect from a commentary is along the lines of detail on how the scenes were put together, and this is naturally where we hear from Ellis. Producer Craig Perry, and screenwriters Eric Bress and J. Mackey Gruber are also along the commentary ride, but do not provide much help. The screenwriters especially, when you can manage enough interest in what is being said to bother with who is who, provide very little by way of insight, as might well be expected.