Pretty Good

Boring

Admirable film.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's career path changed in the 90's. He began branching out into comedies as the era of macho action faded. His success in that endeavor is a matter of opinion (I think Jingle All the Way was the best comedy he did). But in his filmography of the time is a stand-out, an action/horror movie that was less Predator and more Exorcist. End of Days was the End of Days for Arnie's acting career for about a decade as he focused more on politics and the movie itself was so critically panned that you can see why Arnold may have disappeared from Hollywood for a while. Perhaps he saw that his time was up and he should move on to trying new things. After all, one of the reasons we love Arnold so much is that he will try anything and isn't afraid to fail.And End of Days is a testament to that, I mishmash of genres and ideas that for all intents and purposes shouldn't work. There's a bit of The Exorcist mixed with Y2K conspiracies with a touch of The Mummy's brand of action/horror. There's a bizarre dynamic of typical cop films, Vatican drama, and over-the-top action. Arnold plays a sympathetic character,albeit a two dimensional one, who also happens to be a bad ass killing machine with little care for property damage or manslaughter charges. It's a film that is constantly morphing into something else, providing what turns out to be a good popcorn flick despite all the flaws.Arnold plays Jericho, the typical washed up cop whose family was killed by robbers. During a routine job he is pulled into a world of demons and holy men, a war between good and evil to prevent the end of days. Satan walks the Earth to have a child with a young woman and herald in the apocalypse on Y2K. The Vatican wants to kill the girl to prevent this, Jericho decides he wants to defeat Satan and save her. Thus he faces off with Satanists, members of the Vatican, and eventually takes on Satan himself.The movie is grungy and ugly in a way that compliments the plot. It reminded me a lot of the horror/action comic books of the time. The direction is pretty standard and to tell the truth, the majority of the film is pretty run-of-the-mill. The action is nonstop but none of it is original. The acting is typically pretty bad, though Arnie gives a decent performance by his standards and Gabriel Byrne is a ham as Satan. The only really bad performance was Robin Tunney as Christine, the woman meant to have the devil's child. She was a God-awful choice for a female co-star and even if Arnie isn't giving his charismatic best, he looks positively stellar beside Tunney.What I liked about the movie pretty much comes down to subject matter. I'm a sucker for this kind of religious horror film, especially if done in a more urban fantasy type way. I liked all the ideas presented even if they weren't cohesive enough to make the movie anything less than awkward. But as the definition of a "turn off your brain" film, it works.Another thing I want to point out is that the ending doesn't cop-out. With an ending like the one in the film most movies would go for some sort of ham-fisted plot device to present a happy ending. But instead, End of Days sticks to what happens and feels so much more refreshing for it.End of Days isn't a memorable movie, it arguably isn't even good. But it's a ton of fun and propelled by some silly performances and a script that moves at a breakneck pace. It's formulaic and does nothing new, it's not even scary to tell the truth. But there's a lot of entertainment to be found in it and even if Jericho is two-dimensional, it's nice to see an Arnold Schwarzenegger character with a modicum of backstory, emotion, and motivation.

I liked this film.it's sort of in a similar vein as the original The Omen(1976)and it has a fair amount of thrilling scenes.there's lots of action.the acting is good all around. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars ,with Robin Tunney and Kevin Pollock.Gabriel Byrne who also starred in Stigmata the same year,is in this film as well.the rest of the supporting cast is also very good.for me,this supernatural thriller is exactly that.it's very thrilling and dark,although there are some amusing bits to to release the tension.if you like this movie,i would recommend the original Omen(1976)and the remake (2006 for me,End of Days is a 7/10

After the relative quiet patch of the mid '90s, Arnie is finally back on form in this apocalyptic thriller. Aside from all the comedies he made (which I'm frankly not interested in and have no wish to see), the three recent films he has made have been rather disappointing: TRUE LIES and ERASER had fine action and special effects, but both films were shallow and not serious enough. And the less said about BATMAN AND ROBIN the better. Still, END OF DAYS is a wonderfully fun film in which the horror and action genres are skilfully combined by veteran Peter Hyams (OUTLAND).Sure, the critics might have hated it, but they hate all of Arnie's films anyway and never give him any scope for success. I expected a lot from this film and I got it: fine acting, good special effects, exciting action sequences, and there was even more besides, as the film raises some interesting questions on the likes of God and the Devil. Thankfully these ideas never get in the way of the frenetic action, and the second half of this film becomes a cat and mouse thriller, one of my very favourite types of film.Having been away for over two years due to his heart operation, Arnie is finally back on our screens and shows us once again how he has matured as an actor. From simply being an expressionless muscle-bound hulk in stuff like THE TERMINATOR, he gradually developed a likable persona, who delivered some trademark quips and one-liners, and now finally he accepts his most challenging role to date: a complex, downtrodden character, on the verge of suicide and grieving the death of his wife and child. Yes folks, Arnie cries. Aside from his well-drawn character, Arnie also shows us that he is still more than capable of carrying the action scenes, too old? No way.The actor is well supported by comic sidekick Kevin Pollack, who is not bad in a relief role, and also Gabriel Byrne as Satan himself. Byrne injects just the right amount of charisma, impish charm and evil into his character, so Satan is a memorable guy in this film. Robin Tunney (THE CRAFT) is thankfully given little screen time as the film's heroine, so she comes off well, as a girl who both knows what's going on and yet refuses to accept it. There is a totally gratuitous nude scene of her character though, so be warned. Further down in the cast is exploitation favourite Udo Kier, one again playing a bad guy and meeting a sticky end, Rod Steiger who makes a believable and amusing priest, and Miriam Margoyles, who surprisingly beats up Arnie's character in one scene before being thrown through a coffee table.Aside from the many horror elements (a stigmata victim, a man who is nailed to a ceiling, Latin writings which foretell of death and destruction) there is a plentiful helping of gore, as many Satanist thugs are dispatched by Arnie's character, Satan burns, rips out the heart of, and kills people who stand in his way. The special effects are mainly of the pyrotechnic variety, although we do get a few sequences of Satan regenerating himself after being harmed. Stan Winston's CGI winged demon at the end of the film is impressive too, especially as it is only shown briefly which makes more impact on the viewer.The action sequences are well staged and very exciting, from a huge fight in a house where Tunney is besieged by homicidal Vatican priests, to the climatic fight on a train which culminates in a huge explosion. The best moment comes when Arnie fends off a huge gang of street thugs, breaking and hitting them until he finally succumbs. Yes, Arnie does take a huge beating in this film, he even needs stitches and comes across much more vulnerable than the typical action persona he plays, immune to bullets and other weapons. END OF DAYS is a great (if generic) slice of entertainment, and should be shown to Arnie fans, horror movie buffs and action aficionados alike.

Released at the end of November, 1999, "End of Days" is about the devil (Gabriel Byrne) coming to earth to impregnate a chosen female (Robin Tunney) during the last hour of the second millennium to bring about the end of the world. The hope of humanity falls on an atheist ex-cop, Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzeneggar), and his partner (Kevin Pollak). Rod Steiger is also on hand as a no-nonsense Catholic priest."End of Days" is a comic book action flick with horror/fantasy elements. It's not meant to be an accurate depiction of biblical eschatology. As such, it's useless to pick it apart on these grounds; just go with it and enjoy the ride. That said, there are some real-life subtexts and accurate biblical aspects. For instance, disillusionment due to the unjust death of a loved one (or any number of other tragedies) happens all the time.The movie is R-rated not just for the violence and cussing, but because the filmmakers try to convey the devil's filthy lawlessness, like a threesome with a mother & daughter in a brief dream sequence (which may be "reality," but it's hard to tell). Byrne has fun with the role of Satan.As a holiday action blockbuster with Schwarzenegger "End of Days" delivers the requisite thrills where there's a massive explosion about every 12 minutes. These types of movies only work if the story and the characters pull you into their world and the film accomplishes this just enough. It's no where near as good as the first two Terminator flicks, but it's close to being on par with the third one. Of course, "End of Days" is its own animal due to the dark, religious subject matter. On that note, the palette the filmmakers use is fittingly dark. The entire film takes place at night, mostly in the urban labyrinths of New York City with additional sequences in Gothic churches, shadowy subterranean rooms and eerie woods.The film runs 121 minutes and was shot in New York City and the Los Angeles area.GRADE: B