51 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
51 lines
4.1 KiB
Plaintext
" easely one of the worst films of the year . . "
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with the millenium just around the corner , hollywood is playing with our insecurities concerning the biggest event of this century .
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this time it is arnold schwartzenegger against the powers of evil .
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the result is somewhat predictable .
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i didn't have high hopes about arnold's " much anticipated " return to the big screen .
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schwarzenegger fans will probably be pleased , action lovers won't be bored , and the catholic league will be angry .
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everyone else will see 'end of days' for what it is : a deliciously bad motion picture .
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think of it as hollywood's own y2k bug .
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did you know that if you turn the three diabolical numbers 666 you'll get 999 , as in 1999 ?
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yes , you better believe it . . satan is here on earth , working on his latest project -- the end of days .
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this time it is gabriel burne who gets the privilege to play lucifer and , although not al pacino , he is fun to behold .
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he coolly strolls through manhattan in the borrowed body of an investment banker , wreaking , as they say , havoc .
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the way it works is he smirks and something explodes .
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before the stroke of the new millennium he's got to find and impregnate a certain woman in order to climb out from under a heavenly curse as spelled out in the book of revelations .
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only schwarzenegger's cop attached to an anti-terrorist unit can stop him .
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films like this has one serious weakness -- logic .
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no matter how you twist the " plot " , you'll find it incredibly stupid ( even for a schwartzenegger movie ! ) .
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the incredible fact is that such directors never learn .
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after thousands of headless productions , this theme has become one big clich ? .
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here the devil looks more like a sex addicted maniac that has just got out of a mental institution .
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he is walking around n . y . , blowing everything up and killing everyone that gets in a 5 meter radius .
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all he wants is the girl , that is somehow special .
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but schwartzenegger is more clever than he looks , he has hidden her in a church , where satan dare not enter .
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so the evil one is forced to seduce the good cop in order to get the valuable information : " you can have your wife and daughter back . . i
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can give you happiness that you can only dream of . . just
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give me the address . . "
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indeed with a script like that , you could make a wonderful parody , but unfortunately the director is taking this subject very seriously , attempting to create a provoking an dramatic thriller .
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and for you who have awaited arnold swartzenegger's comeback , will not be very satisfied .
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we've not seen him in a while .
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that's because he didn't have a worthy opponent .
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he has battled nuclear terrorists on earth and power mad conspirators on mars .
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he has taken on alien predators in the darkest reaches of the jungle and morphing cyberkillers that seemingly nothing can stop .
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so , after all those fights , what's left for arnold schwarzenegger ?
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how about satan ?
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in my opinion , he has never quite overcome his first role as the deadly robot in cameron's " terminator " .
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and that is schwartzenegger's strength -- muscles and no emotions .
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here he tries to achieve an artistic level , moving towards the oscar .
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this is called " an adult turn " if successful and " a flop " if unsuccessful .
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make a wild guess !
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his character has lost his wife and daughter and has serious drinking problems .
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this requires at least some acting skills .
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regrettably , the only thing convincing about old arnold is his muscles .
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the rest of the cast are struggling with their so called characters .
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the movie is otherwise technically impressive , with a solid cinematography and fine lighting .
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but the movie doesn't serve neither as a serious thriller ( because of its stupidity ) nor as comic entertainment ( because of its serious tone ) .
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the only real comic relief in this film is when swartzenegger tries to cry .
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the action sequences are all recycled and the effects are everything but spectacular .
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so i really have a hard time recommending this film to somebody .
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unless you are a die-hard schwartzenegger fan , stay away .
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as for schwarzenegger , he'll be back .
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