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"End
of Days"
Starring: Arnold Schwartzenegger, Kevin Pollak,
Gabriel Byrne, Rod Steiger, Robin Tunney
2 hours, 3 minutes
Rated R
1999
A Peter Hyams Film
Universal and Beacon Pictures
Written by Andrew W. Marlowe
[APRIL
28, 2000] I love
apocalyptic films. Let
me define apocalyptic for you:
the main feature is that it deals with the "end
times." There are two wholly American genres of apocalyptic films.
The first is the portrayal of the end times after a
full-scale global nuclear war (à la "Roadwarrior" and
"Terminator"). The
second is the quasi-Christian portrayal of the coming of the
anti-Christ and the destruction/salvation of mankind.
"End of Days" falls into this latter category.
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One
of the most fascinating things about apocalyptic films is that
they are usually very campy (they don't really take themselves
seriously). Take
"End of Days" for instance.
One of the opening scenes shows the extensively cluttered,
unlivably dirty apartment of the movie's main character and action
hero, Jericho (Arnold Schwartzenegger).
He has fallen down in a drunken stupor on the floor,
apparently sleeping it off after a long, meaningless drinking
spree (evidenced by the many bottles strewn about).
His partner, Chicago (Kevin Pollak), comes to visit and
revive him. Now, what
serious movie would name its main characters "Jericho"
and "Chicago"? Chicago
helps Jericho get up (it feels silly just putting those two names
together in a sentence). Jericho takes a bottle of pink Pepto-Bismol, pours it into a
blender, puts in what appears to be milk, a piece of pizza,
something off the floor and some other stuff, blends it, and
drinks it for breakfast. Voila,
apocalyptic humor!
"End
of Days" portrays the periodic release of Satan every
thousand years from his chained existence in the dungeon as
interpreted from the Bible in Revelation 20:7. Gabriel Byrne aptly plays the dark role of
"The Man," chosen by the beast to bring about
death, destruction and even reproduction, with a young woman,
chosen by prophecy, named Christine (Robin Tunney). This campy film even recruited Rod Steiger to play Father
Kovak, a Roman Catholic priest who helps Jericho save and protect
Christine.
There
are plenty of eye-popping special effects in this action movie.
Arnold hangs on a tether from a helicopter, is shot while
wearing a Kevlar vest, is thrown about a bit, is bloodied time
after time, and ... (Well, I can't tell you.
It would give away the ending).
Church pews pop and dance in the air, bullets fly, windows
burst, buildings explode, fire consumes and dead people come back
to life. They didn't
leave anything out.
(To
top of second column)
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But
let me warn you. This is
a very dark film (the story, not the lighting)!
It deals with people dying for no apparent reason.
It deals with sex without love, existence without hope and
people with no reason for living.
This movie portrays life as meaningless and dull until Satan
comes to town. There is a
great deal of talk in very vulgar terms in this film about the
reproductive goal of The Man. Language
is a problem you won't be able to surmount, and there is a great deal
of meaningless yet humorously portrayed bloody violence (if you can
imagine such a thing). In the end, even Jericho ....
(Well, I can't tell you that either.
It would give away the ending).
Perhaps
one of the saddest things about "End of Days" is that aging
action-movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger plays such a dark role as a
drunkard who is living a completely self-destructive life. I thought Arnold should have let this script pass him by.
Kevin Spacey could have played the part (my attempt at being
campy).
Although
I love apocalyptic films, I did not like how dark "End of
Days" is. It is not
on my recommended list, nor does it earn a place on my
"forget-it" list. I
give it 3 stars (out of 5).
[midge]
Perhaps
you saw this movie, loved it and think I'm all wet. Drop an email to midge@lincolndailynews.com
and try to change
my mind.
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