Seriously - this is how it ends? Seriously? This Netflix movie has the dumbest, most unfulfilling, most meaningless and even most infuriating ending I think I've ever come across in a movie. It's literally impossible to explain with any degree of satisfaction how it ends, because - well - it really doesn't end. It stops, but it doesn't end. Was the title supposed to be some sort of cute play on how it was actually going to end? Was there thought put into this? Was the non-existent end supposed to - in some way - be intelligent and thought-provoking? Or did absolutely everyone involved in putting this thing together just get collectively bored and say - "OK. What the hell. We're done. Time for a snack." It felt like the latter.
What a letdown. I had actually been enjoying this movie. It was very effectively mysterious. You knew from the start that it was going to be. The opening caption was "Chicago: 5:33 am." Not 5:30 or 6:00, but specifically 5:33. I'm being a bit silly with that, but 5:33 tells you right off - something's happening. And something did happen. After a brief introduction relating a tense visit by Will to his in-laws in Chicago, we get right into it. Will is talking to his wife Sam in Seattle on the phone. And something happens there. There's a sound. She's obviously terrified. The line suddenly goes dead. It's quickly revealed that all contact with the west coast has been lost. Then power goes out - apparently everywhere. There's no communication, no satellites, no GPS. Nothing. The military appears. Panic builds, chaos ensues. And Will and his father in law Tom decide that they're going to have to drive to Seattle to find Sam. And in an increasingly panic-stricken and lawless nation that journey is going to be a challenge.
I was really enjoying the story. And then something happened. I'm not sure what it was but I pin it pretty much to the point when Tom dies. Tom was played by Forest Whitaker. I've always liked Whitaker, although never really thought of him as someone who could carry a movie. But it all fell apart when his character died. I honestly didn't feel that any of the rest of the cast had truly stood out, but this had been mysterious and interesting and even at times exciting, but with the death of Tom it descended to just plain silly. And it kept getting worse. Right up to that ending that wasn't an ending. That ending that explained absolutely nothing. That ending that wasn't intelligent or thought-provoking but that honestly just seemed truly lazy on the part of everyone involved with this.
Seriously - this is how it ends? I'm going to give this a 5/10, only because I had been enjoying this. But the last half hour or so gets about a minus 40.
What a letdown. I had actually been enjoying this movie. It was very effectively mysterious. You knew from the start that it was going to be. The opening caption was "Chicago: 5:33 am." Not 5:30 or 6:00, but specifically 5:33. I'm being a bit silly with that, but 5:33 tells you right off - something's happening. And something did happen. After a brief introduction relating a tense visit by Will to his in-laws in Chicago, we get right into it. Will is talking to his wife Sam in Seattle on the phone. And something happens there. There's a sound. She's obviously terrified. The line suddenly goes dead. It's quickly revealed that all contact with the west coast has been lost. Then power goes out - apparently everywhere. There's no communication, no satellites, no GPS. Nothing. The military appears. Panic builds, chaos ensues. And Will and his father in law Tom decide that they're going to have to drive to Seattle to find Sam. And in an increasingly panic-stricken and lawless nation that journey is going to be a challenge.
I was really enjoying the story. And then something happened. I'm not sure what it was but I pin it pretty much to the point when Tom dies. Tom was played by Forest Whitaker. I've always liked Whitaker, although never really thought of him as someone who could carry a movie. But it all fell apart when his character died. I honestly didn't feel that any of the rest of the cast had truly stood out, but this had been mysterious and interesting and even at times exciting, but with the death of Tom it descended to just plain silly. And it kept getting worse. Right up to that ending that wasn't an ending. That ending that explained absolutely nothing. That ending that wasn't intelligent or thought-provoking but that honestly just seemed truly lazy on the part of everyone involved with this.
Seriously - this is how it ends? I'm going to give this a 5/10, only because I had been enjoying this. But the last half hour or so gets about a minus 40.