End of Days (1999)

Taking aside the whole nonsense of the story, it's a pretty watchable film film, but too Hyams (explosions, shooting, savage deaths and so on). Arnie will be good until he learns to spell "r" without the accent and until he stops "being back". Good cast, some good jokes and a dark atmosphere. And Arnie gets to be half beaten by a mid-aged lady. Also, we've finally found out where does all the oil coming from (no, not from the ground). However, Mr. Devil remains unexplained. Is it Mr. Beelzebub (CEO) himself or just an appointed high ranking manager from Hell? They also have hierarchy, you know. So, anyway: in my opinion this is one of Arnie's "not so good" movies, but you may watch it. Inquisition approved.

Continuing my plan to watch ever movie in Arnold Schwarzenegger's filmography in order, I come to his last movie of the 1990's End Of Days.Plot In A Paragraph: At the end of the century, Satan visits New York in search of of woman to bare his child. It's up to an ex-cop (Arnie) to stop him.It's well known in Hollywood, You are only as good as your last movie. Arnie's last movie killed a lucrative franchise and sent several careers into decline. It had been over two years since Batman & Robin hit theatres, that is a long time for a workaholic like Arnie. Considerably darker than your average Arnie action flick, but it's also more absurd at times. Kevin Pollack offers solid support, but Gabriel Byrne gives a slightly subdued performance. I remember a few things about the production of the movie, the original director quit, after his ridiculous on set demands were released, an alternate 'resurrection' ending failing with text audiences, and reading a review at the time of its release saying "Why Schwarzenegger would want to get himself involved in something as insane and nasty as this, in his comeback movie is beyond me" In his autobiography Total Recall, Arnie talks about how after his heart surgery, studio's were not returning his calls, and movies he had lined up, suddenly got put on hold (With Wings As Angels, Minority Report, Noble Father, SWAT, Crossbow and Pathfinder) or worse, cancelled (Fox backed away from T3 and Warner put the brakes on I Am Legend by slashing Ridley Scott's budget from $100 million to $80 million) and when he finally got cast in this movie, he turned up for his first day of shooting, to find studio executives and insurance people there watching his every move. The 90's ended with a whimper, rather than a bang for The Oak, as End Of Days wasn't the hit Arnie was hoping for, ending the year the 33rd highest grossing movie, with a domestic gross of $66 million.

The church has searched for Christine York (Robin Tunney) since her birth but the forces of evil have controlled her from the start. It's December 28th, 1999, Satan takes possession of Gabriel Byrne's body in NYC. Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a tired ex-cop drunk haunted by the deaths of his wife and daughter. He is part of a security team hired to protect a wall street scum that turns out to be Satan. As he and Bobby Chicago (Kevin Pollak) investigate an attempt on Satan by a priest, it's closing in on the new millennium and they follow the leads to Christine.Director Peter Hyams is trying to bring a dark apocalyptic drama with some gritty hard-boiled style. I think he has potential to be something good. There is a definite 'Se7en' vibe to this movie. But then he's also trying for ridiculous over the top action. I wish he forgets about this being a Schwarzeneggar movie, and concentrate on making this dark.I do have a minor problem. I'd probably keep Jericho as a cop. It would be more logical for him and his partner to keep investigating if they are cops. If they are the security, why would Satan be walking around by himself? And it would solve the problem of Jericho having to work for Satan.The bigger problem is Arnold going up against Satan. The idea of the ticking clock is obviously hokey to begin with. Then the question becomes how would Arnold defeat Satan. The mismatch seems overwhelming. And it isn't particularly clever how the movie resolved the problem. The climatic scene on the altar is just awkward.

The end of the 90s saw the human race suffering from a collective case of pre-millennium jitters, people convinced that the dawning of the year 2000 would be the beginning of the end. Some thought that technology would fail us, plunging humanity back into the dark-ages; others predicted cataclysmic natural disasters; overzealous religious types either looked forward to The Rapture or feared the oncoming of The Antichrist.Biblical horror/action hybrid End of Days uses this last idea as the basis for its plot: Arnie Schwarzenegger stars as suicidal ex-cop Jericho Cane, who finds a new lease of life when he is pitted against none other than the devil himself (Gabriel Byrne), who is in New York searching for the woman with whom he will spawn a son. Robin Tunney plays the unfortunate young lady destined to bear the devil's offspring unless Jericho can keep her safe till midnight, New Year's Eve.The hackneyed plot for this theological tosh feels almost as old as the 'good book' itself, clichéd and predictable throughout, right down to the trite 'cat scare', the Satanic aides, and the tragic central character having lost his faith due to the tragic murder of his wife and child. Arnie is as wooden as ever (not great when his character demands an emotional tour de force), Gabriel Byrne does a poor impression of Pacino from The Devil's Advocate, and Robin Tunney is forgettable. However, despite the over-familiarity of the material and the shocking acting, End of Days actually proves to be quite a bit of fun…Hyams is an unexceptional but dependable director and he once again delivers a slick Hollywood product, ensuring more than enough overblown action and gratuitous violence to please the average Arnie fan. Memorable moments include Arnie chasing a gunman suspended from a helicopter, the star being beaten up by Margolyes of all people, the Devil punching a man right through the chest, and a spectacular train crash. The film also dares to do the unthinkable by offing Arnie at the very end, but only after he's pumped the devil full of high explosives and sent him back to Hell with his tail between his legs!Such silliness isn't going to win any awards (not even Razzies, although it was nominated for several), but it's an enjoyable enough way to kill some time.