This Is The End

So this movie was to me, more interesting than it was funny. It is an important note that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made this as a short movie six years ago, and this is the big budget reinterpretation of that short.

'This Is The End' is a story where 5 friends (Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, & Craig Robinson) fight to survive when a house warming party is interrupted by Judgement Day. The friends, playing themselves, brave through starvation, survivors, and the forces of Hades.

What I found most interesting, was the fact that all the actors played themselves. You don't see actors playing themselves in completely fantastic and outlandish scenarios in movies too often. The best, prior to this, would have to be Bill Murray's cameo in 'Zombieland'.

The writing/story of this movie was pretty decent. The story progressed pretty smoothly, and the jokes were well timed and spaced. The main story line, between Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen, was actually believeable and, for lack of a better term, 'Bro-mantic'.

Acting, like most comedies, was the most important feature of this movie. The delivery of the lines in this movie were great, and physical comedy is a strong suit for the entire cast.. The main cast have an amazing chemistry on screen, and it's easy to tell they enjoyed making the movie. The beginning of the movie is literally a mountain of cameos of who's who in comedy, and while funny, is also a little overwhelming to the eyes, because it almost makes you want to scan every face to see who might be in the shot, instead of paying attention to what's happening.

The cinematography of this movie was leagues better than I was expecting. The lighting was gorgeous. The backdrop of fires outside the set gave way for some great lighting choices.  Digital effects were, for the most part, used sparingly and in good taste. There were a couple of obvious green screen backdrops that could have been cleaned up a bit.

I know this movie has been in theaters a while, but it is worth going if you have the time. It is a solid comedy, and if you like any of the bodies of work by this group of actors, chances are you are going to enjoy this movie.

Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆