Movie Review: This Is the End

This Is The End has been getting rave reviews early. Critics are calling it the funniest movie of the summer and the best movie that has came out so far this year, among other things. Does this film deserve these acclaims? Well, yes and no. Currently it holds an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score around 7.7/10, and I expect it to stay right around that score. While I understand people that love this movie, I can equally understand why people may think this is one of the dumbest movies that has ever been put to screen.

Some plot points: Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen are the two main characters of this film. The story is told mostly through Jay while visiting Seth in Los Angeles. They get invited to James Franco's party, where they meet the rest of the main cast Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, and obviously Franco.

The party is by far the best and funniest part of the film. There are cameos galore. Kevin Hart, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rihanna, Emma Watson, and Michael Cera among a ton of other cameos all are at Franco's party. This is one of the problems I have with this movie-it peaks too early. Michael Cera was the best part of this entire movie, hands down. There hasn't been a person who has seen this movie that disagrees with me. He was hilarious. There was a moment of brilliance that I wish lasted 10 minutes longer than it did. For a brief 30 seconds or so, the Superbad cast (Cera, Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) are all drunk talking to each other. This part was hilarious, and it definitely will get people excited seeing these three back together on camera. But as you've seen from the trailers, Cera gets killed off before the movie even starts. One of the problems I had with this movie was that it never really was as funny as the first 25 minutes or so.

One of my only other problems, was that it took way too long to get the plot moving. The party was fun, but even once the apocalypse starts, it feels like it takes forever for the movie to get to where it's going. The good thing is that there are plenty of jokes to get you through it. There are a ton of jokes, and a ton of jokes that hit. It's the typical jokes that come along with Rogen and Evan Goldberg's writing: dick jokes, weed jokes, and sex jokes. If you are a fan of their comedies like Pineapple Express and Superbad, then you will love this movie.

There were plenty of pop-culture references and most of the jokes are poking fun at the real lives of these actors. There was a scene where they spoof one of their past movies. It didn't fit in at all with the plot or anything, and certainly was in there to please the fans, but was one of the more enjoyable parts of the film.

Jonah Hill is hilarious as always, and Craig Robinson is doing the typical Craig Robinson role he's always doing. My big worry was Danny McBride. McBride can really bother me sometimes, and I've been hard on him in the past. However, the way they handle his character and his plot is so perfect. He almost embraces the fact that he knows a lot of people find him annoying, and it works so well. One last mention is the Emma Watson cameo. I wish she was in the movie longer because who doesn't love more Hermione. Watching Hermione scream the line "I'm not FUCKING around!" almost makes the entire movie. I thought the route that they took her character was hilarious, and they definitely didn't waste any of the screen time she had.

Once the plot eventually got to where it was going, I really enjoyed it. The problem is that it's an hour and 50 minute movie that feels like 2 hours and 20 minutes. That's never good. But if you love this type of comedy, then a movie that feels longer certainly isn't a bad thing. It starts to get less comical and more into action and survival for the last 10 minutes or so simply because they have to wrap the movie up, but they come back at you with another stomach-punch cameo at the end. I won't spoil it, but there are two more cameos that are both near the very end that people don't know about, that are just as hilarious as Cera's and Watson's cameos.

Overall, I had fun with this movie. That's what summer is all about, and often times people forget that summer movies are just supposed to be fun. It certainly was weird, and there are some disgusting jokes in there, but I liked it. I had fun with it and I laughed a lot, which is what comedies are supposed to do. This Is The End gets a 3.9/5. 

This Is The End will come out in theaters on June 12th. Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Starring Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, and Danny McBride. Rated R. Run Time 119 minutes. 

You can follow Will Harmon at @willharmon8 on Twitter.