I'm happy to see Arnold Schwarzenegger back after heart surgery. Unfortunately, this one doesn't quite cut it.

The time is the last week of 1999, the place is New York City. Jericho Cane (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an alcoholic ex-cop, who is just about to blow his brains out when the pic opens. He is saved by the bell--actually a knock on the door--from his sidekick, Chicago (Kevin Pollak). The two of them are with a private security firm, and the mission today is to protect The Man (Gabriel Byrne).

Earlier, though, The Man's body was taken over by Satan, who must find a certain young lady, and get her pregnant between 11:00 PM and midnight of December 31st, to unleash a reign of terror upon the Earth. What a way to start the new millennium!!

The basis for the plot is Revelation 20:7...

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison.

That the last thousand years have been less than idyllic, implying that Satan has NOT been locked up, is just one of many glaring plot holes.

The next is that Jericho succeeds in foiling an assassination attempt on The Man, and chases down the shooter, who turns out to be an elderly priest, named Thomas Aquinas (Derrick O'Connor). There seems to be no sense in trying to kill The Man, because as later scenes will show, he is bullet-proof. Moreover, even if this body is destroyed, Satan will just inhabit another, as he does toward the end of the movie.

As it is, Aquinas is a member of a rogue band of priests whose real mission is to find the girl, Christine York (Robin Tunney), and simply kill her (after giving her Last Rites). This in itself would foil Satan's mission. Of course, so would knocking her up!! Even Satan can't get a pregnant girl pregnant.

There ARE some real theological issues here. As the Pope (Mark Margolis) and Father Kovak (Rod Steiger) remind us, it is no good fighting evil with evil. We must use faith, which is the conclusion that Cane comes to at the very end. Thus, murder or rape wouldn't be Kosher, but maybe if we could get Christine to volunteer...

As the plot continues to play out, Christine's stepmother, Mabel (Miriam Margolyes), one of Satan's many helpers, is getting ready to deliver her to the boss, but Jericho arrives to save the day. Naturally, he loses Christine soon enough.

A dozen or so special effects later, Cane tracks the Satanists down to an underground temple. Using much firepower, he frightens away all the mortals, and escapes with Christine via subway train. He brings her into a church and does final battle with Satan.

The good guys win, but Jericho is terminated.

Here's a short list of films that End of Days ripped off:

Rocky (1976)---Horrible breakfast drink
Rosemary's Baby (1968)---Having the Devil's baby
Lethal Weapon (1987)---A cop attempts suicide to start the film
Se7en (1995), The Silence of the Lambs (1991)---Lurid death scenes
The Devil's Advocate (1997)---Cool, hip NYC Satan
The Warriors (1979)---Subway system terror
The Exorcist (1973)---Theology and priests out front
The Omen (1976)---A new devilish offspring
Eraser (1996)---Arnold saving a damsel in distress against ridiculous odds, and various escape scenes
True Lies (1994)---Ahnold holding someone with one hand at a great height
Speed (1994)---Subway crashes
Mimic (1997)---Shenanigans underneath the big city
Angel Heart (1987)---The Devil lets things play out slowly while he smirks
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, 1978)---Your body taken over
The Entity (1981)---Your body taken over by a REAL bad force
Seventh Sign (1988)---Apocalyptic fun and games

One last thought. A good movie could have been made here, but I guess nobody cared. These days, why should they?