Revelation: The End of Days

This story of "we're in the final days now" pretty much fails. It isn't a horrible failure, just a failure.

The characters are horribly written. In fact, it looks like there are really only about three characters spread out over dozens of characters. In other words, the same character is written into different parts.

For example, the cop who becomes a convert and the assistant to the bible guru who becomes a convert are exactly the same character. Why even bother writing two characters who are clones?

So, this isn't the least of the problems of the writers. As pointed out,it looks like it was written by someone who glanced over the bible once, maybe read through the modern King James version, and did zero research.

It's quite lame. Not totally lame. Just quite lame. Lets say it's a three legged horse in a stakes race. It's still a horse, and it has more than two legs, but it is a failure.

Looking over it, I rate movies according to the waste or good use of resources. I don't think there were a lot of resources here. Certainly no reason for a big budget.

It really looks like footage was used and put on the production table, and the producers looked over the footage and added a story to what they had. Kind of like how some comic books were once done. An artist would draw the pictures, then a writer would make words for what the artists drew.

Indeed, that's what this looks like. If that's not what it was, then I can only say the writers were flat out pathetic. If it was a story made for the stock footage they had, well, then it's not as bad. But it's still silly.

This absurd fiction piece is unbelievably boring. It is not worth watching, or should I say it is unwatchable. The cinematography is annoying, the editing is erratic, the plot is not engaging, the story is contrived. It begs to believed at every turn. The fact that this attempt at suspense is on the History Channel. This attempt to lure unsuspecting viewer to poor biblical programming demonstrates the desperate alliance between deluded Christian evangelists and Hollywood carpetbaggers. These stories lack substance and foster dangerous conspiracy theories and give validity to barbaric eschatological fantasies.

Revaluation: the end of days is religious propaganda disguised as entertainment. Why bother calling it history when it is obviously fiction and supposedly a prediction of future events by a book that couldn't describe the world around it or one basic scientific reality. Not one! If The History Channel wants to show accurate biblical history, they should return to the previous programs and historians, archaeologists, biologists, chemists, cosmologists, and other purveys of fact, and in fact, history.

I am giving "Revelation: End of Days" an extra star ONLY because I am a big fan of the "found footage" (aka "faux documentary") genre. I loved "Blair Witch" and "Cloverfield", and I think that "September Tapes" is one of the most underrated films of the new millennium. The style of "Revelation" is similar to "ST", but this couldn't be more blatant fundamentalist Christian propaganda if it were being broadcast on CBN, starring Kirk Cameron, and with a special cameo by Pat Robertson. The fact that History Channel produced it is rather odd. I know that they have had several "documentaries" that were very theologically biased to please the devout, but this is beyond even those. It is like Ed Wood cross-dressing as Leni Riefenstahl in a conservative Sunday suit. If that mental image frightens you, then definitely avoid watching this at all costs. :)

The basic premise is familiar. The (Christian) rapture occurs and those left behind attempt to interpret and react. An important event if/when it comes to pass, to be sure. Perhaps I've been desensitized by other disaster movies, but the first part left me disappointed. Surely if a large group of people disappear at one time those left will be more inquisitive? I reluctantly stuck around for part 2 and was glad I did. The storyline was better thought out. The scenarios were imaginatively presented. Not a masterpiece, but not a bad try either. Portraying prophesied events is no easy task. Here's hoping that other storytellers pick this thread up and try again.

Like many other movies and miniseries about this topic, this work is horrifically bad. It was poorly written, acted, and produced. It is almost laughable how awful this thing is. This is worse than some of the bad science fiction movies that I watch for kicks. It sticks to a convoluted interpretation of the Christian apocalypse that opportunists like Kirk Cameron, Jerry B. Jenkins, and Tim LaHaye have used to line their pockets for years, but the overused plot not even the worst aspect of this thing.

The shaky camera style is reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, which fits well with the other poorly executed parts of the miniseries. If you are prone to vertigo, migraines, seizures, or motion sickness, especially if these have been triggered in the past by past movies or television shows, you might want to avoid this for health reasons. If not, just avoid it for quality reasons. It's not entertaining enough to justify wasting so much time on it.