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Parents' Guide to

End of Days

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Tired dud of an over-the top violent action movie.

Movie R 1999 121 minutes
End of Days Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

Castellanos
Castellanos Adult
June 21, 2009
age 13+

Sort-of fun, don't expect much from it

End of Days is one of those "bad" movies that you'd watch with your friends, laugh at, and enjoy the violence (since there's really nothing else that you can enjoy in this movie). You don't watch it if you're expecting 1) deep character development, 2) complex plot twist, 3) a plot, and 4) oscar-worthy performances. It's fun to watch when you're in the mood for 'that' type of movie. The dialog and acting are 'relatively' good, and the plot isn't so bad that it'll ruin the movie. Overall, End of Days is an okay movie that you'd only watch to see some mindless-violence (which is fun every once and awhile). I'd recommend End of Days to anybody whose looking for 'that' type of movie. As for iffy content, there is a lot of bloody violence, including (get ready for a long list) a man hung from the ceiling with scalpels stuck into him, a man burned alive, a man shattering into pieces, a mother and daughter shot and killed off-screen, people stabbed with crosses, a humans tongue in a jar, a man committing suicide by leaping into a sword (portrayed as a heroic act), bloody and brutal fights and shootouts, and some big explosions. There is also a threesome with the devil, a mother and a daughter (bare breasts are exposed) and a handful of f**ks, s**ts, and goddamns.
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What's the Story?

Once again Arnold Schwarzenegger has to save the world from destruction in this action movie. As the millennium draws near, so does the devil's one opportunity to bring about the apocalypse by impregnating a woman at 11:00 P.M., Dec. 31, 1999. The devil (Gabriel Byrne) arrives in New York City, and when a woman claims to have seen Mephistopheles, former cop turned bodyguard Jericho Cane (Schwarzenegger) must protect her from becoming mother to the devil incarnate.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (3 ):

END OF DAYS is tired and tiring dud of an action film with a thin premise. Upon learning of the devil's plans, Schwarzenegger asks helpfully, "Is that Eastern Standard Time?" And luckily it is, so we can juxtapose the race to save humanity with the countdown at Times Square. The damsel in distress is named Christine, just in case we need a reminder that this is all deeply meaningful. And the good guys are straight out of a scriptwriting software package -- a disaffected former cop accompanied, of course, by a wisecracking sidekick.

Kids will want to see this movie because Arnold Schwarzenegger gets to fight the devil and lots of things get blown up. But parents should know that it is in the upper ranges of the R rating, with some gross-out violence, a sexual threesome featuring a mother and daughter, and suicide portrayed as an heroic act.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about some of the issues raised in this movie, including the theme of faith against force. They can also talk about whether it is right to sacrifice one innocent life to save millions, and the question of free will (one character sells his soul to the devil to stay alive and then struggles to do what he knows is right).

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