Good concept, poorly executed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

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.

Another 'end of the world as we know it' movie with a very predictable outcome. Sure enough, but still these movies are so campy and cheesy that they are actually fun to watch, and thumbs up to SyFy Channel for keep spewing them out.The story in "End of the World" is about, well, the end of the world. A strange outer space phenomena takes place and showers the Earth with blasts of forces of energy that are lethal to both electrical devices and living beings alike. A group of young people who have devoted their lives to the disaster movie genre, who works, owns and hangs around a local video store devoted to these types of movies, figure out a solution to save the Earth and race against time to save our beloved planet.And that is the storyline for you right there. Doesn't get more simple than that. In fact, it doesn't get any more generic and stereotypical for these SyFy Channel disaster movies either. Have you seen one of their movies, then you have essentially seen all. But still, we come back for more because they are so campy and cheesy."End of the World" wasn't particularly enjoyable or extraordinary in any way, because there was nothing new to the genre at all here. This was essentially just a re-molding of previously made movies about the very same topic. The only worth mentionable thing was the references to other SyFy movies, Sci-Fi movies and disaster movies in general that was thrown carelessly about all throughout the movie.Were there plot holes? Indeed there were. And they are so obvious and painstakingly just grabbing the movie by the ankles and weighing it down. But hey, aren't these plot holes an expected thing from this particular type of movies from SyFy Channel?As for the acting in the movie. Well, people were doing fair enough jobs, but truth be told, then they hadn't much of a script to work with, so it wasn't particularly impressive. Nor was it overly convincing, as you never for one second bought into that the entire world was in any overwhelming danger from outer space.So, is "End of the World" worth watching? Well, if you are a hardcore fan of SyFy Channel productions and the disaster movie genre in general, then yes. Otherwise, no, hardly so.

What can I say about this outstanding piece of cinema history? For the longest time, I have been one of science fictions greatest fans. I have liked to say to my friends that I have seen every great science fiction movie of the last 50 years.In the course of my movie enjoyment, I have seen many 'End-of-the-World' films of varying strengths, but I would have to say (and be happy to go on record as saying) that this film is the most perfect science fiction movie of all time! The performances by the cast are outstanding. With Greg in the lead in an incredibly convincing role as a disaster freak, Owen, with a gorgeous GF, Selena (aka Caroline), who doesn't believe his hooey about the end of the world, and Neil as his outstanding co-lead (?) as Steve, this film is the absolute expression of everything I have ever wanted...a disaster movie made by disaster movie freaks ABOUT disaster movie freaks surviving in a real life disaster!!! I cannot rate this movie highly enough beyond saying "I am going to Armageddon in Melbourne this October and if ANY of the cast wanted to come, I would happily pay the $500AU to have the highest access possible just so I could meet them and share my joy of this movie." 10/10 (Easily) (PS: The inclusion of Brad as Walter Brown and nearly ALL of his references to other films was a special treat! One in particular made me face palm when I realized!)

Until End of the World, The Lost Future held that distinction, so there was proof that SyFy could make a good movie. Unfortunately, those good movies are too few, there are a handful of tolerable if not great ones but most of them are just awful to bottom of the barrel. End of the World is not one of the best movies I've ever seen, but I wasn't expecting that. I was hoping that once in a while SyFy would make something that was entertaining instead of being ineptly done in all areas. And I got that. The production values are so much more polished than what we usually see. I have seen one too many of their movies that look as though they were edited on bacon slicers completed with half-finished special effects. That was not the case with End of the World. The scenery fits with the tone of the movie very well and it is competently shot and directed. And of the special effects of any SyFy movie, End of the World's are by far and large the best. Watching the gore is like watching something like Spartacus, and for me it was not excessively used or too in-your-face. And this is one of those rare occurrences where we actually see a real explosion, mostly it is a cheaply rendered computer effect with SyFy, but not here and it is thrilling.The scoring isn't much of a problem either, it doesn't come across as sluggish or generic. End of the World is one of the better written SyFy films too, whether it said anything telling or new or not doesn't matter when you're having fun rather than rolling your eyes in contempt. Instead of cheesy and awkward, the script was witty with some refreshing inside humour, and delivered strongly. Whereas many SyFy movies had the script as a major weak point, here it was what made End of the World fun to watch. The story admittedly is standard and one that we have seen the basic concept before, there are moments that are unbelievable(like with a video store still existing after all that had happened) and admittedly it did feel at times that it was more an excuse to string its many homages together. But for once it didn't feel predictable, it was zippily paced, didn't take itself too seriously despite the seriousness of the situation and the references/homages to movies- by admission having varying degrees of subtlety- and to Grunberg's Heroes character made for a standard concept made fresh. Subtlety may not have always been a strong suit, but I could not deny that these references were cleverly used and moved the story forward on the most part instead of bogging the film down.End of the World's characters are not much different from the usual ones we see in a SyFy movie as we do see many of the SyFy disaster movie clichés. The difference is that there is an attempt to make them likable and we do care for their situation. The drama resonates with you without being cloying, there is some decent suspense amid the referencing and the scientific elements are thrilling(I never did worry too much about whether the science was poorly researched or not, there have been far more blatant instances around). End of the World is almost certainly the best acted SyFy movie, which is saying a lot. Not just that the performances are great, but they do make the dialogue believable at least and there is definite chemistry between them. Brad Dourif's screen time is not large, but he makes the most of it and is very enjoyable to watch. Caroline Cave is also good and sympathetic without feeling like a bookend and not much else. Neil Grayston was a pleasure to see on screen again, and he is very endearing and actually looks as though he cares about the situation his character is in. But Greg Grunberg does the best work here, one of few actors in a SyFy that blends comedy and drama perfectly and with a magnetic presence to boot.All in all, a surprisingly good movie and the best SyFy film- The Lost Future will have to contend with a close second as of now- by a mile. 8/10 Bethany Cox