" easely one of the worst films of the year . .
" with the millenium just around the corner , hollywood is playing with our insecurities concerning the biggest event of this century .
this time it is arnold schwartzenegger against the powers of evil .
the result is somewhat predictable .
i did n't have high hopes about arnold 's " much anticipated " return to the big screen .
schwarzenegger fans will probably be pleased , action lovers wo n't be bored , and the catholic league will be angry .
everyone else will see ' end of days ' for what it is : a deliciously bad motion picture .
think of it as hollywood 's own y2k bug .
did you know that if you turn the three diabolical numbers 666 you 'll get 999 , as in 1999 ?
yes , you better believe it . .
satan is here on earth , working on his latest project -- the end of days .
this time it is gabriel burne who gets the privilege to play lucifer and , although not al pacino , he is fun to behold .
he coolly strolls through manhattan in the borrowed body of an investment banker , wreaking , as they say , havoc .
the way it works is he smirks and something explodes .
before the stroke of the new millennium he 's got to find and impregnate a certain woman in order to climb out from under a heavenly curse as spelled out in the book of revelations .
only schwarzenegger 's cop attached to an anti - terrorist unit can stop him .
films like this has one serious weakness -- logic .
no matter how you twist the " plot " , you 'll find it incredibly stupid
( even for a schwartzenegger movie ! ) .
the incredible fact is that such directors never learn .
after thousands of headless productions , this theme has become one big clich ? .
here the devil looks more like a sex addicted maniac that has just got out of a mental institution .
he is walking around n .
y .
, blowing everything up and killing everyone that gets in a 5 meter radius .
all he wants is the girl , that is somehow special .
but schwartzenegger is more clever than he looks
, he has hidden her in a church , where satan dare not enter .
so the evil one is forced to seduce the good cop in order to get the valuable information : " you can have your wife and daughter back . .
i can give you happiness that you can only dream of . .
just give me the address . .
" indeed with a script like that , you could make a wonderful parody , but unfortunately the director is taking this subject very seriously , attempting to create a provoking an dramatic thriller .
and for you who have awaited arnold swartzenegger 's comeback , will not be very satisfied .
we 've not seen him in a while .
that 's because he did n't have a worthy opponent .
he has battled nuclear terrorists on earth and power mad conspirators on mars .
he has taken on alien predators in the darkest reaches of the jungle and morphing cyberkillers that seemingly nothing can stop .
so , after all those fights , what 's left for arnold schwarzenegger ?
how about satan ?
in my opinion , he has never quite overcome his first role as the deadly robot in cameron 's " terminator " .
and that is schwartzenegger 's strength -- muscles and no emotions .
here he tries to achieve an artistic level , moving towards the oscar .
this is called " an adult turn
" if successful and " a flop " if unsuccessful . make a wild guess !
his character has lost his wife and daughter and has serious drinking problems .
this requires at least some acting skills .
regrettably , the only thing convincing about old arnold is his muscles .
the rest of the cast are struggling with their so called characters .
the movie is otherwise technically impressive , with a solid cinematography and fine lighting .
but the movie does n't serve neither as a serious thriller ( because of its stupidity ) nor as comic entertainment ( because of its serious tone ) .
the only real comic relief in this film is when swartzenegger tries to cry .
the action sequences are all recycled and the effects are everything but spectacular .
so
i really have a hard time recommending this film to somebody . unless you are a die - hard schwartzenegger fan , stay away .
as for schwarzenegger , he 'll be back .
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