End of the World (2013)

So bad that I wish a solar flare would destroy the planet now.

I got this movie in a "Action Box" complete with two other "Action" movies. I didn't expect much as the box was pretty cheap and the description is so cheesy (they name some of the greatest action movies on the box. I almost expected them to write "but those movies have nothing to do with THIS movie box" afterwards...), I just expected some "so bad, it's good" movies.But actually, "End of the World" does have it's moments and it is a very enjoyable movie.A few apocalypse movie freaks are there when "it" happens: The world is about to end. This time, it's because the heliosphere is somehow colliding inwards and "bubbles" of electrostatic fields (or something like that) are raining down on earth, causing confusion and chaos. So what can they do? Use their knowledge of all those movies and save the earth. They even have a storage room full of prepacked survival kits for about every occasion (conviniently labeled) and a shelf full of SPAM.They set off to find a Doctor Walter Brown (his friends call him "Doc"), an expert on the field of apocalyptic catastrophes. Only problem is, he's been held in a mental asylum, so they have to get him out of there.Doc Brown (yes, the movie nerds find this name amazing, too) directs them to his bunker, where he can do something about the catastrophe, but sadly he's killed before he can tell them what they have to do.But the nerds decide to fight on, motivating themselves with various movie quotes. The solution they come up with is simple: Nuking a remote (VERY remote) mining shaft, so the debris will fly high up into the air, creating some kind of shield to fend off the heliospheric disaster.The actors do a good job of making their characters believable and likable. The special effects could have been better, though. We see the heliosphere-thingies raining down on the earth and they explode on contact, but they don't do any damage at all? Surely the explosion must have some kind of impact?But overall, this is a very enjoyable movie. If you see it cheap anywhere, give it a shot.Btw: The German title "The new prophecy of the Maya" doesn't have ANYTHING to do with the movie at all. The word "Maya" isn't even mentioned once in the entire film, so don't let yourself get put off by that stupid title. Oh, and the statue of liberty on the cover? Yeah, isn't in the movie as well.

First you have to set what to expect, this is a SyFy channel made for TV movie with some great actors (Eureka, Heros) and a decent script. I was expecting a bad B movie, but watched it in HD with surround and was very impressed. The actors are not bad, the writing and story is fairly decent providing some comedy, action, and OK effects. As a Sci-Fi fan and even the SyFy made for TV movies I found this better than average. If you want a good ride, some silly comedy and a basic script you will get a B movie with better effects and acting. I wish the director had made it flow a little more and give some more dramatization to it, but it's what it is, straightforward end of the world movie. It's worth a watch if you're not wanting a big budget film and enjoy a Sci-Fi / Comedy.

Pretty average for a sci-fi channel movie, though the humor level is a little higher, and the presence of Brad Dourif, Neil Grayston (Fargo from "Eureka") and Greg Grunberg (from "Heroes", who rises far above the material) makes it much more watchable. The earth is being bombarded by plasma balls, which fry people and stuff, but that's only the beginning. A far greater threat will destroy the earth unless our intrepid geeky movie line-quoting video store clerks can save the day (oddly, the most unbelievable part of the movie is that there's still an open video store in existence). The special effects are not bad, and the acting, apart from a few really noticeable Canadian accents, isn't bad either.