This Is the End (Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, 2013) Review

Back into the swing of current films with This Is the End (..."hold your breath and count to ten"...sorry). For those unaware, this is an American end of the world comedy which would be fine if there wasn't a British end of the world comedy at the end of this month (time will tell which is better) and since I can't come up with a better introduction, let's just move on with this (what? Were you expecting formal reviews? You've definitely come to the wrong place).

Jay Baruchel (no point putting the cast since they're playing themselves) arrives at LA in order to hang out with his best friend, Seth Rogen. After a night of hanging out, Seth decides to drag Jay to James Franco's house warming party. They meet with old friends such as Craig Robinson and Jonah Hill however things get worse when a hole going straight to Hell opens up and kills a majority of the celebrity guests leaving Jay, Seth, James, Jonah and Craig left to survive the end of the world (and Eddie McBride is in there too...).

It's so nice to see something fresh (sure it's not 100% original since it's based on Jay and Seth's short) film but I think lots of people will be in agreement that I love the different, over the top interpretations of these celebrities from James Franco's egotistical attitude to Jonah Hill being the nicest guy ever. I also love how it's such a 'meta' film with many film references (yes, I spotted the poster for Milk when they were in Franco's basement) and naturally, this is a very funny film but what did you expect from the minds behind Superbad? Although that does mean that it relies a bit on gross-out humour however the film does know when to stop the humour (one scenes is actually very suspenseful).

Like I just said...it relies a bit on gross-out humour. That should never be an option (I really hate it). I also feel that the third act was a little bit ridiculous as I enjoyed the set up it began with by having them holed up in Franco's house. It's the reason I love Dawn of the Dead because it has focus. Some could also argue that it may be a little predictable because of the context and setting (end of the world...guess what happens) but I personally didn't have that problem.

This Is the End is only for those who like comedy films with the likes of Jonah Hill and Seth Rogen. Others do stand out among them though (Craig Robinson is my personal favourite) but this is definetly not for everyone. I will say that it is funny and surprisingly gripping at times. It's not a perfect film but it's good enough to say that it was worth a watch. Next time, we continue on with 2013 films! YEAH!

Verdict:
7/10
A funny film that has focus and knows when to be humourous with some great film references. It does have a few problems stemming from the last third and is definitely not a film for everybody.