FilmSnobReviews

Title: How It Ends
Rating: MA
Director: David M. Rosenthal
Starring: Theo James, Forest Whitaker, Nancy Sorel
Runtime: 1 hr 53 min
What It Is: Bad a** soon-to-be baby daddy, Will Younger (Theo James) sets out with his girlfriend’s disapproving, ex-military father (Forest Whitaker) to find her somewhere in Seattle as the world is ending.

What We Think: What would you do if your pregnant girlfriend was on the other side of the United States and the only person able to get you there is her father who hates you? It has been a while since an end of the world film that doesn’t involve zombies. With the story spanning over only a couple of days, we watch as there is no time for empathy and how each character must quickly disavow morals, putting their livelihood first. This film is simple and to the point. And so far it hasn’t gotten the best reviews. There isn’t much saving that goes on in this film, in fact, it’s more of a story about what one might face on the road if the world were to end. It’s developed but could definitely use some more developing. In fact, throughout the film, there is only one conflict where the characters’ actions lead to a resolution. And then there is Forest Whitaker. He has always been a phenomenal actor and he doesn’t fall short in this film. Though it is a little weird how he shares the same fate as one of his most recent characters in another film. The film also manages to include some Native American characters and whether their lives on a reservation better prepare them to take on the apocalypse.

Our Grade: C+, It’s worth a watch. It’s a film full of uneventful events and even though the end of the world is a fictitious scenario, they don’t go overboard with the characters’ actions. There is definitely a sense of wanting more when the film ends but put aside wanting to see how two people beat the apocalypse and instead watch it in the frame of “the first few days”.