Film Review – This is the End
Director: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Screenplay: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Graig Robinson and Danny McBride
Genre: Comedy
Rating: ***
Venue: Ster Kinekor Maerua Mall Cine 4
Rating Score
* – Poor
** – Average
*** – Good
**** – Very Good
***** – Excellent
Before watching This is the End I did not have high hopes for it, but it was a nice surprise, since it makes you think and laugh at the same time. This is the End stars an ensemble cast including Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson and Emma Watson as fictional versions of themselves in the aftermath of a global apocalypse.
The movie starts with Jay Baruchel arriving in Los Angeles and he is then invited to a party by Seth Rogen at James Franco’s house. Baruchel feels like he does not fit in and feels uncomfortable with the whole Hollywood scene. To get away from the uncomfortable atmosphere of the party Baruchel and Rogen go to a convenience store and this is where all the chaos begins. The ground begins to shake and people are carried away by beams of light. When they return to the party they find it undisturbed but the same happens at the party and many celebrities die (including Rihanna and Kevin Hart ). The surviving celebrities fortify themselves in James Franco’s house and wait for help. This movie will not be everybody’s cup of tea because the acting is really pretentious in some scenes especially at the beginning and there is a lot of over-acting which gets very irritating at some point. It also drags on and gets boring at the point where the actors are in the house trying to find out what is actually going on in the outside world. The special effects department could have toned done on the way they portray the devil and his demons. It is way over the top and too far-fetched. However, I love the fact that all the actors play themselves and it seems like they are being themselves the whole time. This makes the audiences relate more to them as real people. It provides an opportunity to viewers to think they have gotten a glimpse of the actors’ personalities and who they really are. This is the End is supposedly a funny and witty movie if you do not catch on fast. But if you do not watch a lot of movies especially previous movies by these actors, you might get confused. With all the chaos and doomsday scenes in this movie at the end it has a positive message to share. Enjoy your life but don’t forget to be kind to others. The ending is nice and light and it gives the audience the hope that everything will be okay at the end if you can just be a decent human being. If you grew up in the 90’s and were crazy about boy bands particularly the Backstreet Boys, there’s a lovely surprise for you at the end of the movie. Don’t go watch this movie with children younger then 16. There is a lot of profanity, sex, violence and drug abuse. And the actors make it seems like it is cool to use bad language, use drugs and be promiscuous. But other than that, go watch the movie and have yourself a good laugh, and do not be afraid to laugh at the mean but funny punchlines.
