End of Days 4K 1999 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Her birth had been feared for centuries. Since the beginning of the era, in their lonely cells, hermits had been copying the words of a terrible prophecy. In the depths of time, the stars foretold a terrible fate for the infant: she must become the bride of the Devil himself. And at the end of the millennium Satan will rise from hell to enter into a terrible union with the unfortunate one. If this happens, the kingdom of evil will come on earth and mankind will be plunged into darkness forever. The terrible prophecy, which they were afraid to believe, came true. The prince of darkness has broken out of his imprisonment in search of his bride. Time turned back, counting down the moments to the fateful finale. But the soothsayers did not take into account one thing - the one who dared to stand in the way of the all-powerful Lucifer to single-handedly stop the Apocalypse....

Review 4K Movie

Critics, and indeed many viewers, tore this film to shreds. They said Schwarzenegger messed up, Byrne wasn't up to the task, the script was stupid, and that the film was simply unwatchable. Well, here are my impressions of the film, point by point.

Genre. Many have tried to label this film a thriller, or even a mystery; the film's description (at the top of the page) lists almost half of all the film genres I know. But that doesn't change the essence of the film: what you have here is a pure action movie! Everything else just complements yet another film adaptation of the biggest showdown in history—the battle between Good and Evil. Why everyone decided to find something other than an action movie in this film (and, of course, didn't find it) is a mystery. “If I have to choose between faith and my 9mm, I'll choose the gun” — this is probably a quote from a horror movie, or, God forbid, a fantasy. And it's not a bad action movie. Schwarzenegger flies over the city suspended from a helicopter, shooting in all directions with a grenade launcher, and so on. What else do you need?!

The script. It's really dumb. And it's not about the end of the world stories (did you come to the cinema to study history?). The whole problem is in the ending. It started off beautifully—broken windows, swept-away benches—but ended quickly. The plot itself isn't that bad, but the self-sacrifice is portrayed too simplistically. This isn't the only flaw in the script, but it's the only one that bothered me personally.

The actors. Schwarzenegger played his part well. There's been a lot of criticism—he didn't reflect what was happening, he played his part badly... But he shot from the heart. And the fact that the change of ideals—from guns to God—isn't shown is a flaw in the script. There's only one episode there - such a transition cannot be shown in one scene. In my opinion, he plays exactly the same in all action movies. As for the rest: stubble suits him, he looks great, the costume is also chosen well (I was devastated by Gorodetsky's outfits in our Dozor movies - pitiful and shabby...). Gabriel Byrne is certainly not Al Pacino. But The End of the World is not The Devil's Advocate (the latter film is truly a mystical thriller). The character is unique, and this devil is also an option. He looks great, dressed, again, stylishly. For an action movie, it's just right, but only for an action movie. The character of Satan's bride in this film means absolutely nothing—her job is to be saved by Schwarzenegger, and she did that. Well, everyone else is just there for decoration.

The staging. Everything is filmed not too quickly, but not too slowly either—just right. Although with a budget of $100 million, they could have had more fun with it. I'm glad there's no sniveling or boring moralizing—everything is just right.

So what's the verdict? An excellent action movie in the best traditions of the genre. And with the best representative of the genre. It's very interesting to watch, and you always want to see how the Terminator will deal with the next villain. I don't recommend listening to the critics; it's better to see it for yourself. And there's a lot to see.