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Final Destination 2
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===Critical response=== [[File:Route 23 Pile-up.jpg|thumb|right|The fictional pile-up along Route 23 was called the "greatest car crash scene in movie history" and was nominated with a [[MTV Movie Award for Best Action Sequence]] in 2003.<ref name="Nominated" /><ref name="Pomposello">{{cite web |last=Break Media |first=Screen Junkies |title=10 Best Car Crash Scenes |url=http://www.screenjunkies.com/movies/genres-movies/action/10-best-car-crash-scenes/ |access-date=May 24, 2012}}</ref>]] Review aggregator website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 52% of 112 critics gave the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 5 out of 10. The site's critics consensus reads: "This sequel is little more than an excuse to stage elaborate, gory scenes of characters getting killed off."<ref name="tomatoes">{{cite web |title=''Final Destination 2'' |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/final_destination_2/ |access-date=March 7, 2025}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web |title=Critic Reviews for ''Final Destination 2'' |website=[[Metacritic]] |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/final-destination-2/critic-reviews |access-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref> In 2010, Nick Hyman of ''Metacritic'' included ''Final Destination 2'' in the website's editorial ''15 Movies the Critics Got Wrong'', denoting that "the elaborate suspense/action set pieces from the first two films are more impressive than most".<ref name="Hyman">{{cite web |date=June 14, 2010 |first=Nick |last=Hyman |website=[[Metacritic]] |title=15 Movies the Critics Got Wrong |url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/15-movies-the-critics-got-wrong |access-date=May 21, 2012 |archive-date=March 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324180636/http://www.metacritic.com/feature/15-movies-the-critics-got-wrong |url-status=dead }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of B+ on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title=CinemaScore |work=[[CinemaScore]].com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= December 20, 2018}}</ref> Negative evaluations condemned the film's plot, acting, and screenplay. [[Roger Ebert]] of ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' wrote that "perhaps movies are like history, and repeat themselves, first as tragedy, then as farce".<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web |date=January 31, 2003 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=''Final Destination 2'' movie review (2003) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/final-destination-2-2003 |website=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref> [[James Berardinelli]] of ''ReelViews'' stressed that "the movie mandates complete gullibility and vacuous attention in order to work on any level".<ref name="Berardinelli">{{cite news |first=James |last=Berardinelli |author-link=James Berardinelli |title=Reelviews Movie Reviews |url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/f/final_destination2.html |access-date=May 21, 2020 |work=ReelViews |date=January 29, 2003}}</ref> Claudia Puig of ''[[USA Today]]'' complained that "there is an audience for a movie in which innocent people suffer hideous accidental deaths is troubling enough, but a group of creative people chose to direct their energies on this repulsive spectacle [which] simply provokes disgust".<ref name="Puig">{{cite news |last=Puig |first=Claudia |title=USATODAY.com - Slice-and-dice ''Destination 2'' should die a terrible death |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-01-30-final_x.htm |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=[[USA Today]] |date=January 30, 2003}}</ref> Justine Elias of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' asserted that "this risible thriller is merely a sadistic series of misread premonitions and vile murders".<ref name="Elias">{{cite news |last=Elias |first=Justine |title=Film - Page 1 - Movies - New York - Village Voice |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-01-28/film/film/1/ |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=The Village Voice |date=January 28, 2003}}</ref> David Grove of ''[[Film Threat]]'' stated that "[he] wasn't much scared by anything in ''Final Destination 2'' which is silly and illogical".<ref name="Grove">{{cite web |last=Grove |first=David |title=Film Threat - ''Final Destination 2'' |work=Film Threat |date=February 5, 2003 |url=https://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/4214/ |access-date=March 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219125915/http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/4214/ |archive-date=February 19, 2014}}</ref> Jeff Vice of ''[[Deseret News]]'' censured to "not even get into the awful script or the numbingly awful performances",<ref name="Vice">{{cite news |last=Vice |first=Jeff |title=''Final Destination 2'': Deseret News |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700003152/Final-Destination-2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109092407/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700003152/Final-Destination-2.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 9, 2016 |access-date=May 22, 2012 |work=Deseret News |date=January 31, 2003}}</ref> while Bruce Fretts of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' stated "everything else about the film is also deadly".<ref name="Fretts">{{cite magazine |last=Fretts |first=Bruce |title=''Final Destination 2'' Review |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417706,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523193345/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417706,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 23, 2007 |access-date=May 22, 2012 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=February 7, 2003}}</ref> Some critics praised the film's comedic theme. [[A. O. Scott]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' imparted "it's not as cheekily knowing as the ''[[Scream (film series)|Scream movies]]'' or as trashily [[Grand Guignol]] as the ''[[The Evil Dead (franchise)|Evil Dead franchise]]'', but like those pictures it recognizes the close relationship between fright and laughter, and dispenses both with a free, unpretentious hand".<ref name="Scott">{{cite news |first=A.O. |last=Scott |author-link=A.O. Scott |title=FILM REVIEW; A Refrigerator Magnet And Other Agents of Death - Page 2 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/movies/film-review-a-refrigerator-magnet-and-other-agents-of-death.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 31, 2003}}</ref> [[C. W. Nevius]] of ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' conveyed its "funnier than the original".<ref name="Nevius">{{cite news |last=Nevius |first=C. W. |author-link=C. W. Nevius |title=More laughs, gore in ''Destination 2'' |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/31/DD96410.DTL&type=movies |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=January 31, 2003}}</ref> [[Maitland McDonagh]] of ''[[TV Guide]]'' pronounced "if this is your idea of fun, step right up".<ref name="McDonagh">{{cite news |last=McDonagh |first=Maitland |author-link=Maitland McDonagh |title=''Final Destination 2'' Review |url=http://movies.tvguide.com/final-destination-2/review/136399 |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=[[TV Guide]] |date=January 31, 2003 |archive-date=April 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404043205/http://movies.tvguide.com/final-destination-2/review/136399 |url-status=dead }}</ref> William Arnold of ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'' found it as "a series of Grand Guignol skits played for mean-spirited laughs".<ref name="Arnold">{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=William |title=''Final Destination'' wasn't final enough |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/movies/article/Final-Destination-wasn-t-final-enough-1106396.php |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=January 30, 2003}}</ref> Marc Savlov of ''[[Austin Chronicle]]'' admired how "it is surprisingly good fun for the current crop of horror films, reasonably well-plotted and full of jaw-dropping, white-knuckle scares. That said, it's most definitely not for the squeamish nor the easily offended."<ref name="Savlov">{{cite news |last=Savlov |first=Marc |title=''Final Destination 2'' - Film Calendar - The Austin Chronicle |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/calendar/film/2003-02-07/143260/ |access-date=May 22, 2012 |work=Austin Chronicle |date=February 7, 2003}}</ref> Nev Pierce of ''[[BBC]]'' saw that "it's simple, but effective",<ref name="Pierce">{{cite news |last=Pierce |first=Nev |title=BBC - Films - review - ''Final Destination 2'' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2003/01/29/final_destination_2_2003_review.shtml |access-date=May 22, 2012 |work=BBC |date=February 5, 2003}}</ref> whereas Sheila Norman-Culp of ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'' proclaimed that "what ''Final Destination'' did for the fear of flying, ''Final Destination 2'' does for the fear of driving".<ref name="Culp">{{cite news |last=Norman-Culp |first=Sheila |title=Atlanta Movie Theaters/ Movies in Atlanta |url=http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/shared/movies/reviews/F/finaldestination2.html |access-date=May 21, 2012 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=January 30, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907185645/http://www.accessatlanta.com/movies/content/shared/movies/reviews/F/finaldestination2.html |archive-date=September 7, 2008}}</ref> Amongst the cast ensemble, Carson, Cherry, Cook, Landes, Larter, and Todd were prominent amidst the analysis for their performances as Eugene, Rory, Kimberly, Thomas, Clear, and Bludworth respectively. Koehler of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' said that "Carson as skeptical Eugene energizes what had been a rote conception on the page"; "Cherry offered some dry comic balance"; Larter was "casted little light"; Todd was squandered by his "single, distinctly flat scene"; and "the generally awful thesping, led by Cook, whose blurry grasp of emotions betrays Ellis' apparent disinterest in his actors".<ref name="Koehler" /> Grove of ''[[Film Threat]]'' panned Cook, uttering that "she's no great actress, but she's a real looker" and teased that "since when did a horror movie suffer from having two dumb blondes as leads", the other actress being Larter, who "spends the whole movie looking miserable with her frigid acting".<ref name="Grove" /> Dustin Putman of ''TheMovieBoy.com'' commented how "Cook is serviceable as the premonition-fueled Kimberly, but doesn't evoke enough emotion in the scenes following the brutal deaths of her close friends."<ref name="Putman">{{cite web |last=Putman |first=Dustin |title=Dustin Putman's Review - ''Final Destination 2'' [2003] |work=TheMovieBoy.com |date=February 2, 2003 |url=http://www.dustinputman.com/reviews/f/03_finaldest2.htm |access-date=May 5, 2011}}</ref> Robin Clifford of ''Reeling Reviews'' stated that "Cook was strident as the catalyst that sparks events with her premonitions of disaster and her fervent desire to cheat the Reaper" whereas Larter was "giving the smart-ass edge her character needs",<ref name="Clifford">{{cite web |last=Clifford |first=Robin |title=''Final Destination 2'' |work=Reeling Reviews |date=January 26, 2003 |url=http://www.reelingreviews.com/finaldestination2.htm |access-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> while Brett Gallman of ''Oh, The Horror!'' claimed that Larter "is again the bright spot", along with Cook and Landes who were "serviceable as leads" and Todd "whose purpose has still yet to be revealed in the franchise".<ref name="Gallman">{{cite web |last=Gallman |first=Brett |title=Horror Reviews - ''Final Destination 2'' (2003) |work=Oh, The Horror! |date=August 16, 2003 |url=http://www.oh-the-horror.com/page.php?id=537 |access-date=March 27, 2012}}</ref> In January 2022, Stephen Rosenberg of [[MovieWeb]] ranked the franchise's films from worst to best. Rosenberg highlighted ''Final Destination 2'' as the best installment of the franchise, citing the opening sequence as, "memorable in the entire horror genre, let alone the franchise" and praised Todd's performance.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Stephen |title=Here's Every Final Destination Movie, Ranked |url=https://movieweb.com/final-destination-movies-ranked/ |access-date=February 20, 2022 |agency=[[MovieWeb]] |date=January 22, 2022}}</ref>
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