Prepare for the apocalypse like you have never seen it in This is the End

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2013)

For years Seth Rogen has been entertaining audiences with his average guy persona, love of weed and unique laugh. It has become a pretty standard assumption that when most of his films come out there is a good chance that some familiar faces are coming along for the ride. As of late he has been veering away from the stoner comedies and establishing himself in some more mainstream roles showcasing more range. Now he is stepping behind the camera as well along with long time writing partner Evan Goldberg for their latest film This Is The End, but will it deliver as good as the trailer promises?
This Is The End follows famous friends Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson that are trapped in Franco's house during a party when the coming apocalypse rains down on the world. The story here is pretty simple and one that could have easily crashed and burned quickly, but thanks to the well written script, great chemistry, and overall fun this ended up being one of the funniest comedies to come along in some time. Goldberg and Rogen have taken two difficult concepts and meshed them together to create on those films that is not only a lot of fun, but seems to get even funnier with each viewing. When actors play themselves they tend to want to take the moment to show the world who they really are, but here they amped things up to create over embellished version of themselves and never take themselves seriously with some going so far out of left field of what fans are used to seeing that they steal the show. The real scene stealer comes from Michael Cera who isn't in the film all that long, but is a laugh riot with his out of character performance. Every one of these guys does a great job and has such awesome chemistry that at times you almost forget you are watching a movie that is until the end of the world begins. This is two kinds of films rolled into one brilliant raunchy ride. The first half is just a bunch of celebrities hanging, but with a subtle focus on the friendship between Rogen and Baruchel. This in turn leads to the issues between them and the others in Rogen's life. This aspect of the story continues throughout the film but is made more subtle as the apocalypse begins which in turn cranks the fun up. There are a lot of visual effects here and for a film of this kind you wouldn't expect all that much, but clearly they went all in and created some really cool visuals that just help the movie that much more. Rogen always has great music in his films and this film is no different, but more so as the music is so out of left field at times, but placed so perfectly that it takes it to another level.
Rogen and Goldberg have already established themselves as writers in Hollywood, but here they have stepped it up and showed their abilities as directors as well and delivered a piece of comedic genius. The trailers show a lot of cameos, but there are still plenty of surprises that you won't see coming and will leave you wanting more. It's not every day you can say a comedy has to be seen on the big screen, but there are some aspects that scream for it and they deliver. Some of these guys humor is an acquired taste but there is no doubt that this film delivers on every level making it the funniest film of this year and one that is sure to live long past the apocalypse.