Summary
Those who can’t get enough of Arnold Schwarzenegger but need him at his grittiest will find a lot to love about the 1999 cult classicEnd Of Days. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Schwarzenegger had proved that he could be much more than the stoic, muscle-bound villain thanks to someshockingly delightful and meta roles in campier movieslike 1988’sTwins, 1990’sKindergarten Cop, and certainly 1996’sJingle All The Way.
Schwarzenegger needed to bounce back from the much-disdainedBatman & Robinin 1997, and, to some, he did so withEnd Of Days. This grungy film mixes action and horror together to tell a thrilling cat-and-mouse story, with Schwarzenegger at odds with one of the greatest evils mankind could ever know.
RELATED:Arnold Schwarzenegger Stars In This Underrated Horror Movie
What Is End Of Days About?
At the core of the film,the action-horror duoEnd Of Daysis about Satan attempting to trigger the end of the world through the impregnation of a woman, Christine York, who will give birth to the antichrist, and the man, Jericho Cane, who stands in his way despite the immense odds. The whole plot kicks off in 1979 when a comet signaling the end of days is seen by Vatican priests. The Pope himself sends men to protect the woman who was believed to be the one potentially destined to have Satna’s baby, though this is despite protestations that the woman should simply be killed instead to protect all of humanity.
Satan arrives on earth and takes control of a banker, though a priest soon tries to kill the banker, as he knows that Satan is truly the one in control. Unfortunately,ex-detective turned private security,Jericho Cane and his partner Chicago unwittingly detain the priest, something that leads them down a twisted religious rabbit hole. Jericho isn’t thrilled about any part of the religious situation he finds himself in as he had turned his back on God after the death of both his wife and daughter.
After investigation of the priest Aquinas’ apartment, and after finding him brutally killed, Jericho and Chicago track down Christine York and save her from a group ofcrazed religious devotees, though Satan soon arrives and seemingly takes out Chicago. Knowing things have gotten out of hand, Jericho and Christine eventually learn that Satan is on their tale in order to impregnate Christine, thus beginning the end of days. After leaving Christine in the hands of a good-intentioned priest, Jericho makes the decision to return just in time to save her once again, although this time, Satan arrives to claim Christine.
After being betrayed by the returned Chicago, who is now working for Satan and with his satanists, Jericho is forced to take the fight to Satan in order to save Christine and stop what will eventually be the end of the world. After some prompting, Chicagoturns back to the side of good and betrays Satan, something that results in his ultimate death. Jericho saves Christine and flees Satan, hoping the pair can find someplace safe to wait things out in order to avoid the end of days, but nothing is ever that simple…
What Is End Of Days’s Rotten Tomatoes Score?
End Of Daysmay have some people intrigued, but it is important to point out that the film is really for hardcore Schwarzenegger fans as the reception of the film was anything but great. On Rotten Tomatoes, critics have given the filman incredibly rotten ratingof 11%, with general audiences scoring it slightly higher at 32%. The criticisms of the film are quite varied, even from those who claim they genuinely love the film, though many of the criticisms are fair.
Fans of Schwarzenegger might be a bit disappointed by a relatively flat performance, and that’s compounded by a script that failed to play on any of his strengths as an actor. The plot is a bit ridiculous for somewhen compared to his other 90s films, but at the same time, just as many people love the over-the-top story and view the film as one that the average viewer can just turn their brain off and enjoy. Some bloat within the film has led some to label the film boring, though many do additionally praise the action scenes and set pieces throughout.
How Does End Of Days End?
After a night of violent battling that sees Christine captured, Jericho betrayed, and Satan constantly in pursuit, Jericho manages to take the fight to Satan and rescue Christine. Trying to get away on a train, Satan refuses to lose his chance to trigger the end of days and gives chase, though the body he’s been using is damaged beyond use by Jericho, forcing Satan to turn toalternate means of accomplishing his goal. Jericho and Christine fittingly seek shelter inside a church, but after asking God for the strength to continue his fight, Satan arrives. Rather than trying to kill Jericho, Satan takes control of his body and turns his attention to Christine.
With little time left for Satan’s plans to come to fruition, he attempts to force himself on Christine, though Jericho isn’t fully gone for good. With nothing to lose in his sad life, Jericho makes a brutal decision that few would be capable of making to make sure the world doesn’t end. He musters up all the willpower he can to fight off the control of Satan for long enough tosacrifice himself by throwing himself onto a sword, making sure that no harm would be able to come to Christine. It was a desperate gamble, but it was one that would end up paying off, as even though Jericho would die, he was able to stop Satan as the date rolled over to the year 2000.
Now out of time, Satan was forced back to hell, the end of days thwarted. Jericho died on the sword, but he received a bit of a bittersweet ending as despite dying, he was able to see his dead wife and daughter again. With her horrific situation finally coming to an end, all Christine can do is say goodbye to the man who put everything else aside to keep her safe from the devil himself.
