"This is the End" Review

Rating: 8/10 (2 July 2013)

"This is the End" is a highly original meta-comedy that puts well known actors into an apocalyptic world. It's self-referential and the actors essentially play an exaggerated version of themselves. The film is filled with strong creative writing with a lot of laughs. The themes are about being a good person and sacrificing yourself for something greater. The punches keep rolling, only slowing down in a few spots. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's direction is pretty good. They handle spectacle and slow moments very well. I really enjoy how this film manages to throw curve balls once in a while and have the audience on their toes as the movie gets bigger.
The actors play an exaggerated version of themselves. Jay Baruchel is the main character and fights for his friendship with Seth Rogen over James Franco and has a rivalry between Jonah Hill, who is the funniest amongst the whole crew. The cast has great chemistry together as they play off each other very well and you can get a pretty good vibe that these guys are actually friends in real life. They're all jerks and have to deal with judgment day as they attempt to survive and become better human beings. There are some great cameos from other actors in the film. The best would have to be Emma Watson as she plays a version of herself that we aren't really used to. The only person that I didn't like is Danny McBride. He's annoying and aside from his introduction isn't all too funny. The cast as a whole is pretty strong and work well together to bring us the laughs.
Overall "This is the End" is an excellent and highly original comedy. It's extremely funny and smart filled with slapstick, situational, and self-referential humor. The laughs keep coming and only slows down a few times in the beginning and some parts in the middle. The special effects are handled well and the soundtrack supports the film very well. The actors have a fun time playing tabloid versions of themselves and play off each other very effectively. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's script is top-notch and they greatly handle the ever growing scale of the film. I give it 4/5, original and great premise accompanied by a committed cast and laugh out loud humor.