End Of Days Review
By Christopher Null
If you know the basic plot of End of Days ("Satan visits New York in search of a bride") the question you'll be asking isn't, "Is this a bad movie?" Rather, it will probably be, "How bad can it be?"
Pretty bad. But for camp value, you aren't going to find a better bang for the buck than End of Days. Imagine audiences rolling in the aisles, talking back to the screen, cracking jokes: You aren't far from reality.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose last bad movie was Batman & Robin, really tries to show off his recent acting lessons as a deeply troubled security guard (inexplicably hired to guard the invulnerable devil himself). Sidekick Pollak serves up the comic relief, and Robin Tunney is proving herself to be a solid Designated Emotionally Scarred Damsel in Distress in all manner of films, working here as the bride-to-be of good old Lucifer.
Gabriel Byrne makes as bad (and by that, I mean good -- I think) Satan as you're likely to see on film, but it's the groaner of a story line that will really grab you. To wit: Arnold's ex-cop does some offhanded detective work that would put Sherlock Holmes to shame. His hunches are so uncanny... it's almost like... he's working from a script! The religious backstory, featuring Rod Steiger as a Catholic priest, is so hokey you'll get dizzy from rolling your eyes. The Y2K stuff is predictable and, of course, played to the hilt.
I'm not predicting any Oscars, but I have to say this is one bad movie that's at least worth one of its two hours on comedic value alone. Just remember to say your prayers, kids.
You have no idea...
Facts and Figures
Year: 1999
Run time: 121 mins
In Theaters: Wednesday 24th November 1999
Box Office Worldwide: $209.3M
Budget: $83M
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Production compaines: Universal Pictures Corporation, Beacon Communications
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 2.5 / 5
Rotten Tomatoes: 11%
Fresh: 11 Rotten: 88
IMDB: 5.7 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Peter Hyams
Producer: Armyan Bernstein, Bill Borden
Screenwriter: Andrew W. Marlowe
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger as Jericho Cane, Gabriel Byrne as Satan, Robin Tunney as Christine York, Udo Kier as Head Priest, Rod Steiger as Father Kovak, Kevin Pollak as Bobby Chicago, C. C. H. Pounder as Detective Margie Francis, Miriam Margolyes as Mabel
Also starring: Kevin Pollack, Renee Olstead, Matt Gallini, Linda Pine, Armyan Bernstein, Bill Borden