Cheap End of Days (DVD) (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne, Robin Tunney) (Peter Hyams) Price

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Customer Reviews of End of Days

Admittedly, the plot is not particularly original and draws heavily from both the Bible's Book of Revelation and the milennial hysteria surrounding the advent of the year 2000. Loosed from hell at the end of the thousand years, Satan (Gabriel Byrne)runs amok in New York in search of a young woman literally born to be his bride, the beautiful but naive Christine York (Robin Tunney). After a bizarre assassination attempt by a rogue Catholic priest, troubled security man Jericho Cane slowly unlocks the mystery of the Devil's plan to claim York, impregnate her with the Antichrist, and bring about the mythical "End of Days." Breakneck action ensues, as Jericho pulls out all the stops to keep Satan from getting his hands on York, leading up to a moving, powerful climax.

As an action flick, "End of Days" definitely delivers. The stunts and FX are fun and exciting, and there's never a dull moment as Cane and York breathlessly try out outrun and outfight their diabolic pursuer. The atmosphere and set design is predominately dark and claustrophobic, drawing the viewer into the private duel between Good and Evil that goes unnoticed by the New Year celebrators all around the combatants. The soundtrack is appropriately eerie and somber and definitely sets an evocative mood.

The acting, despite what many reviewers state, is quite good. Byrne is a brutal but darkly charismatic Devil, and Tunny is exceptionally attractive and charming as the former's destined mate. Schwarzenegger himself plays a rather more human and vulnerable character than his normal action role. Jericho is as tough and resourceful as any other Schwarzenegger hero, but is far more fragile mentally and emotionally and on the edge of a total psychological implosion. Schwarzenegger captures Jericho's soul perfectly, and makes the haunted, disturbed Jericho's trek from despair and hopelessness to newfound faith more than believable. I fear many who pan Schwarzenegger's performance in this flick are merely blinded by their own stereotypical view of what an "Arnold" film should be and so can't bring themselves to appreciate this acting job for what it is. Two scenes, an early one where Jericho is on the brink of suicide and the aforementioned final showdown, are particularly strong.

But I won't deny "End of Days" has some real weaknesses. Most of these stem from the rather unfortunate script, which is not only rather derivative but often terribly illogical. Also, this is another movie where the Catholic Church is portrayed as the only Christian Church in the know, but the scenes inside the Vatican are probably the least convincing and authoritative in the whole film. If the Pope and his advisors know what's coming, why don't they do more about it? The film does have a tendency to oversimplify and gloss over important details that might get in the way of the story.

Still, this is a much better film than I had been led to believe, a movie that works as both runaway action flick and a study of human faith in the face of awesome adversity. Perhaps Schwarenegger's best performance to date, "End of Days" is definitely a film I recommend either to those who have yet to take a look at it, or even to those who have seen it before--if you hated it the first time, it's worth a second look. Maybe this time you'll appreciate it for the stellar depiction of Good Vs. Evil that it is.

Yet another big dumb action movie.
Poor Arnold. He's trying to make more of himself as an actor, but if "End of Days" is any case, he's not succeeding.

Arnold is Jericho Cane (check those initials,) a suicidal cop who finds himself embroiled in a plot to save the world-- and a young woman-- from the clutches of Satan (a ridiculously indestructible Gabriel Byrne.) Peter Hyams, whose "The Relic" was a fun no-brainer, here seems to be straining for the grim-n-gritty style of films like "Se7en."

Byrne, as a suave Satan who gets all the chicks, occasionally musters up some creepy charisma. His temptation of Arnold is a regrettably brief high point, acting-wise. As for the Austrian Oak, he doesn't have much to work with besides his usual grunts, grimaces and guns. Robin Tunney takes off her shirt for no apparent reason, and solid supporting actors like Kevin Pollack and C.C.H. Pounder are wasted. And why does the pope come off seeming like Don Vito Corleone?

It's much better than "Batman and Robin," and slightly better than the cliche-fest "Eraser." "End of Days" does offer the novelty of watching Arnold get solidly whupped by a pudgy middle-aged woman. But as Schwarzenegger movies go, you're better off just watching T2 again. Better luck next time, big guy.

Satan gets blowed up real good
Comparing the Exorcist to this movie is like comparing Laurence Olivier's Hamlet to Godzilla versus Mechagodzilla. Interesting that so many people applauded Gabriel Byrne's portrayal of Satan. How would they know? Perhaps this movie appeals to satanists. One particularily disturbing scene has Satan apparently urinating on the streets of New York. This would explain a lot if you've ever been there. Two stars for some mildly amusing special effects