Leofwine_draca
END OF THE WORLD is your usual bog-standard SyFy Channel disaster movie that perhaps feels even more generic than all the others put together. It's directed by the prolific Steven R. Monroe and written by Jason Bourque, who also directed his fair share of other numerous similar low-budget disaster movies.The one thing END OF THE WORLD does differently is to self-reference other movies in the genre, sometimes from the same studio and sometimes better-known efforts. Brad Dourif plays the crazy old-timer who might just have the knowledge to tackle what's going on, and there's a rather ingenious clip from ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST utilised at one point, which was rather neatly done.Otherwise it's business as usual, with a bunch of stock characters, failing actors, and unfunny humour. The CGI effects of the solar flare attacks are as non-impressive as ever, and the various disaster scenes lack the kind of oomph you'd expect. It turns out that the END OF THE WORLD finishes with a fizzle rather than a bang.
SnoopyStyle
Owen Stokes (Greg Grunberg) owns a video store. Suddenly, the world is bombarded by balls of electromagnetic energy. The boys are prepared for every movie apocalypse contingent. Owen's girlfriend Selena arrives with douche Max. Owen and his employee Steve Palmer go to get Steve's mother. The group tries to find Dr. Walter Brown (Brad Dourif) who is locked up in a mental institution. He just might be the only one who can save the world.It starts with a functional idea. The special effects are mostly low budget sci-fi TV level. Most of the humor don't work. The jokes are mostly half-hearted movie references. It's Armageddon with no budget and not as funny. It's functional for the first half but it wears out its welcome. It would work better if the movie kept it small but it insists on going full Armageddon.
Neil Welch
The secret to preventing the end of the world lies in the hands of sci-fi film fans, due to their extensive knowledge of similar scenarios from all the movies they have watched.The Sy Fy channel has a very consistent history of producing in-house movies about cataclysms, monsters, or both, which share a number of characteristics. These are: the camera is usually on a tripod and in focus, and the actors are enthusiastic: these are the positives. On the negative side, the story lines are usually as dumb as a row of fence posts, the acting is poor, the effects are laughable, and the script is lamentable.Many of the usual characteristics apply here, but there are two big differences. One, the acting is not bad and, two, the script is actually pretty good (and the story, while dumb, is pleasingly so).This is actually an enjoyable offering with an entertaining and intelligent script - well done!
brandon-441
First you have to set what to expect, this is a SyFy channel made for TV movie with some great actors (Eureka, Heros) and a decent script. I was expecting a bad B movie, but watched it in HD with surround and was very impressed. The actors are not bad, the writing and story is fairly decent providing some comedy, action, and OK effects. As a Sci-Fi fan and even the SyFy made for TV movies I found this better than average. If you want a good ride, some silly comedy and a basic script you will get a B movie with better effects and acting. I wish the director had made it flow a little more and give some more dramatization to it, but it's what it is, straightforward end of the world movie. It's worth a watch if you're not wanting a big budget film and enjoy a Sci-Fi / Comedy.
AD
