The film opens with a group of colleagues on a bus headed for a corporate team-building retreat. As they cross a suspension bridge, Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) experiences a premonition of the bridge collapsing, resulting in the gruesome deaths of everyone on board.
Reacting to the vision, Sam manages to convince a few people to leave the bus just before the disaster occurs. Among the survivors are his girlfriend Molly Harper (Emma Bell), his best friend Peter Friedkin (Miles Fisher), and several others.
The climax of the film occurs when the survivors discover that Death is now coming for them in the order they would have died on the bridge. As each person meets a gruesome demise, the survivors realize that they can cheat Death by taking the life of someone else. This leads to a series of morally ambiguous choices as they try to break the chain.
The film incorporates the traditional elements of the “Final Destination” series, including elaborate death sequences and the concept of Death’s design. The characters attempt to outsmart fate, leading to tense and suspenseful scenes.
The movie concludes with a twist, revealing that the events of the film take place before the events of the original “Final Destination” film. The survivors find themselves on Flight 180, linking the timelines of the two movies.
“Final Destination 5” received mixed reviews, with praise for its inventive death sequences and criticism for its formulaic plot. Despite being part of a long-running franchise, the film attempted to inject new elements and surprises into the familiar premise.