OK, first film review on the blog = 'This Is The End'.
Official Australian release date: 18/7/13. Viewed: 13/7/13.
Directors: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg.
Actors: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy.
Rating: MA15+.
Pretty fun - and how could it not be with such an amazing cast!? The only problem is I had such high expectations and it just didn't quite meet them.
It's a pretty simple premise: a group of friends (who just happen to be the new Hollywood comedy masterminds that can be found in Superbad, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder, Fanboys, Zack & Miri Make A Porno, etc.) go to a party when the Rapture/Apocalypse/End of Days arrives and they have to use their survival skills to overcome the fact that they're all playing exaggerated versions of themselves, so they're constantly having dumb arguments! Heaps of cameos at the start - Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, Michael Cera, Emily Watson, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Rihanna - so it's fun to play 'spot the comedian/celebrity'.
Plenty of
laugh-out-loud moments throughout, but lots of stupidity at times, as they try to take it too far. It ends up going too long - 1 hour 50 min - and overstays its welcome a little bit.
I found it ironic that Jay is essentially the main star, even
though he's the least well known of the actors! I did enjoy all the little nods to Freaks & Geeks and Franco-Rogen's relationship... The special effects are good, but it's not actually as
horrific/gruesome as it could be - 'Shaun of the Dead' did it much better. Oh, and the ending was pretty annoying too...
Overall: good, but not great - still better than most comedies out there!
Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.
