END OF DAYS R
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne and Robin Tunney
Eric says: ****** 2/3 (6.66) -just kidding, 4 1/2
I was thinking that this would either be a complete failure or very creepy. I was wrong. It's actually somewhere in between. Make no mistake, though, this is an Action movie, NOT HORROR.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is Jerico, a disenfranchised security specialist in New York late December 1999. He must stop the devil from impregnating Christine, a chosen twenty year old. She will bear his son, which will signal the End of Days of God's reign. Arnie has to protect the girl and out-wit and out-muscle the world's foremost expert on trickery. Guess who wins.
The action scenes are successful in providing action. Period. Gabriel Byrne is fine as Lucifer, but has nothing to work with.. Robin Tunney's main goal throughout the movie is to be half-dressed. Kevin Pollak is serviceable as the comic relief. I am getting sick of gratutious comic relief.
And then there's Arnold. Poor guy, he'll never be a good actor. The scene where he throws down his gun in the church showed earnest effort but little else. He gave a head nod of affirmation to Jesus on the cross, for goodness sakes. I did feel a bit of real acting when he held the musicbox close, though. Maybe with good directors and more roles, he'll be something other than a one-liner spouting cliche. Maybe.
I was entertained through a fair amount, even though I was hoping to be creeped out. And there were a lot of holes. They can all be summed up by saying that the devil had to lose, so the script made him a loser.
The only true positive was Stan Winston's Big Devil. If you want to see this type of movie, just splice together T-2: Judgement Day and The Devil's Advocate.
David says: ********** (4/10)
There are some movies that stay in your memory for years - men being massacered as they land on the beach of Normandy till the water is thick and read year after year, a good-night kiss that you receive long after the movie is an old DVD... Just a few days after seeing this flick, I know that's not going to happen.
Byrne is a fine actor. He's got that look, that gaze, that smooth talk - but he just ain't evil enough. He lacks that inner explosive energy one would expect from someone going against God. Pacino on the other hand... but that's another movie
I must agree with Eric - I don't go see a Schwartzenager film to for an intelligent plot, good acting, or anything more than a guy with whom I'd like to have a biceps transplant blow up bad things.
Meanwhile, as Arnold asked, "Does it matter if it's Eastern Standard time?" After admitting that the timing is of, it would have played better if these events had to occur before, say, 14 days before Rosh Hahanah (Jewish New Year (Jesus' religion, which too many Christians don't seem to remember)), 1997 (though this year could be used, see note blater) ,figuring that when Christianity was no longer a cult to be fed to lions in Roman Coluseums, Their bad records, are currently thought to be roughly 3 years off. Also figuring the fact that the Julian Calendar, in use untill the late 1500's, when Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian Calendar (which is what we use today) has an error of about 14 days per 2000 years. Don't ask me for time of day, I don't have the tens of millions of dollars budget that a movie gets to do more that a 15 minute job on figuring when that movie should take place...
our review of the preview:
END OF DAYS:
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gabriel Bryne co-star as the good guy and Satan, respectively, in this Armageddon-thoughts-spurred-on-by-the-new-millennium Action/Horror film. The overall mood seems dark and unsettling enough. Let's hope Gabriel didn't make two disappointing horror movies (Stigmata) in a row. The special effects look impressive. Please let this movie actually be good!