2013 was a year that apocalypses (lypsi?) turned out in bunches. You could not go to your local theater or movie store without seeing the end of civilization screaming at you in one flavor or another. Generally, I like those kinds of films, but with that many, some are destined to be stinkers. It is just a matter of numbers. Sometimes, though, you need to monitor the reviews just to make sure a good one doesn't slip below the radar. Case in point, This Is The End.
The premise, let's cram Seth Rogen, James Franco, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel in a posh Hollywood pad. Let's throw a bunch of other mostly young familiar Hollywood faces in with them and then drop the Biblical apocalypse on there. Rapture of righteous souls and the beginning of various blights upon the Earth and let them deal in their own ways, letting their personalities go to town.
The trailers made it look a bit indulgent and annoyingly inside baseball, like you were looking at a party that you weren't quite invited to...except for this one...
But even then, as clever as that was, it still appeared more gimmick than anything else. But then, I saw this film pop up on more than one "greatest film of 2012" list, alongside The World's End, a fellow apocalyptic epic and one of my favorites for the year. So...with that kind of recommendation, stumbling upon it locally, I picked up the Blu Ray, and I'm glad I did. Yes, it is Hollywood insidery, but in a way that it is making fun of itself. It is clear that these guys even read their own press and used it as a mine to produce nuggets to make fun of themselves. They even took shots at Hollywood culture and it's perception. This was not a vanity piece AT ALL, and that was both a relief and refreshing.
It was also a pretty good take on the Biblical style apocalypse. The way the Rapture was done was actually pretty striking and unlike, say, Rapture-palooza, it actually was a bit thoughtful about it's subject as well as using it as a full on METAL stage set.
Good flick.
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