Mini Reviews (July 2013)

This Is the End (July 2/13)

This Is the End details the chaos that ensues after several Hollywood actors are forced to fend for their lives in the wake of an apocalyptic event, with the movie following James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson as they attempt to put aside their differences and battle a wide variety of outside forces. There's little doubt that This Is the End fares best in its early scenes, as the movie boasts an irresistibly affable feel that's reflected, for the most part, in Rogen and Baruchel's palpable chemistry together - with the pair's freewheeling banter perpetuating the movie's compulsively watchable vibe. It's only as the aforementioned apocalyptic event transpires that This Is the End begins to lose its grip on the viewer, as filmmakers Rogen and Evan Goldberg offer up a claustrophobic midsection set almost entirely within Franco's estate that's rife with padded-out, hopelessly unfunny improvised material - with the meandering atmosphere compounded by an emphasis on the characters' various arguments (which, naturally, couldn't possibly be less interesting). The progressively tedious vibe renders the novelty of the premise and charisma of the performers moot, and it's ultimately clear that This Is the End could (and should) have topped out at a brisk 80 or 90 minutes (including credits). And while the film does improve in its climactic stretch - the closing sequence is almost worth the price of admission in itself - there is, finally, far too little here that wholeheartedly works and it's obvious that Rogen and Goldberg should've passed their screenplay onto a more experienced filmmaker.