Goodbye World (2013) User Reviews

Seems there is an apocalypse, but the blabbering just goes on ..

[peterp-450-298716 · 4/10 · 28 May 2014]

If I ever have to go through an apocalypse during my brief existence here on earth, I hope it's one that takes the form as shown here in "Goodbye World". The apocalypse, which was triggered by a rapidly spreading virus in a text message, looks pretty harmless. A few fragments of a panicking and rebellious population. Actually these are images that we get to see everyday in the media. In the distance you can see a huge cloud of smoke. Then two lost soldiers show up who supposedly want to set up a base camp and there is a commune in the vicinity who claim the right to get some medicines. It's rather the relationships between the key players that are apocalyptic. It looks like this movie is the final year assignment from "The Philosophers" , applied in practice.

"Goodbye World" is actually about a reunion of some 30'ers who grew up together but eventually went their own way over time. James (Adrian Grenier) and Lilly (Kerry Bishe) are two modern hippies who anticipated that such a global catastrophe would happen and have withdrawn themselves, along with their lovely daughter Hannah, somewhere in the mountains and build a kind of eco-house. An ordinary house with enough stock, medicine, horticulture and energy facilities. The day that the text message "Goodbye World" is sent around the world and a global cyber attack begins so all telephone communications, data communications and electricity supplies fail, Nick (Ben McKenzie) and Becky (Caroline Dhavernas) arrive. Nick is a former business associate of James and had a relationship with Lilly in the past. They also welcome the following old friends : Benji, a radical who did some time in prison for arson and in the meantime gives spirited lectures, Ariel (a sort of groupie of Benji) accompanies him, Laura is an associate in politics and apparently had a sex scandal with some senator and Lev is an intellectual computer expert who could well be the cause of this global cyber attack.

Everything starts in a relaxed and friendly way. It looks like an ordinary reunion with quite a bit of drinking during dinner, while raking up old memories. Also, it seems as if they are constantly making use of the home-grown marijuana out of the greenhouse. At times it seems like everyone is looking high after smoking cannabis. After a while tempers start to rise and the mutual conversations become snappy and razor sharp. Everyone is starting to realize that the other changed over time in a certain way and the opinions are no longer synchronized. Eventually we end up in a cacophony of endless drivel and philosophizing about political opinions and personal issues. I found it strange that despite the fact that there is apparently a society falling apart, a motorcycle gang has taken over the local grocery store and charge abnormally high prices, plus two soldiers show up waving their weapons frightfully around and use threatening language, they nevertheless spend their time in a hot tub in the garden and chat about the growth of hair on a testicle. The apocalypse that is going on at that time, suddenly seems a banal and trivial event. I could not get rid of the impression that a cyber attack will not be the cause of our world going down, but rather the terrible navel-gazing and the enlargement of personal issues of some narcissistic individuals will do it.

"Goodbye World" is roughly not more than a boring movie with lots of discussions and a conflict that is more situated in the restricted group than in society itself. There is a grand total of five minutes of action in the whole movie, so little toothpicks for the eyes can be useful and necessary.

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surprisingly adequate

[natcalgary · 6/10 · 13 June 2020]

If you had told me I was going to watch a movie about the end of the world that didn't focus on the downfall of society but instead focused on the drama within the lives of 8 friends I would have said no way. Yet somehow this movie was very enjoyable and kept me entertained for 100 minutes.

The acting was good.. the story was above average and the plight of these friends had a few twists and turns.

6.4

Excruciatingly dull and vapid film that tries to be unique

[Robert_duder · 5/10 · 15 May 2014]

The best thing I can say about Goodbye World is that it is trying to be different and I can't fault a film for that when we have so much of the same thing being regurgitated. As a novel (I'm not sure if this is based on one or not) I think this would be great because over the course of a nice long book it could do a much better job of establishing the characters. In the film you have a group of very unlikable, incredibly shallow, stoner idiots who aren't doing much of anything. They try to weave a mystery about who caused the apocalypse but essentially they're trying to create this coming of age/reunion/Big Chill type vibe with a background set at the end of the world. This might have almost been better without the apocalypse because really it doesn't play a part in the story at all. It doesn't even matter to this group of idiots. Why they chose to put a little girl in the film (who vanishes and is absent from the latter half of the film) is beyond me. Her parents and all their childhood friends are drug using, alcoholic idiots who find no redemption in this disaster. I did some potential in some of the story arcs but they spend so much time building up nothing that by the time the story comes out in the end its too far gone.

I do think the cast is talented but I don't think the script gives them much. Its a big cast but the characters are really awful people and hard to watch. Adrian Grenier is perpetually brooding, angry and slamming things around and never gets to impress leading the cast. Ben McKenzie, who I have always been a fan of, is decent in his role and has a few good scenes but I wanted to see more of the interaction between Grenier and him because I think there could have been a lot of story there. Kerry Bishe is probably the best of the girls but she spends so much time getting high and acting like a 14 year old girl that I begin to understand Grenier's constant anger at the world. Caroline Dhavernas doesn't really get any good moments until nearly the end of the film. Honestly most of the cast doesn't really impress until the last fifteen minutes. In fact the last fifteen minutes of this film are the best. Suddenly we see what this movie should and could have been but instead we have to sit through an hour plus of this group of people sitting around wasting their lives. Gaby Hoffman, Remy Nozik, Mark Webber, and Scott Mescudi are nearly completely wasted in the film and are nothing short of pointless. Hoffman gets her best scene in the end and her character could have been actually a focus of the story.

Essentially there is a good idea here buried under an extremely poor script, poor direction, poor editing and even worse character development. Denis Hennelly proves my point that I always say about a director doing his own screenplay. He has little experience behind the camera and his writing needs a lot of work too. It was really bizarre because up until the last twenty minutes of this film I would have probably given it a 2 or less but then all of it comes together and culminates in some really great, intense and emotional scenes but the apocalypse still has very little purpose to this. This could have made a great TV Series as well but there just simply wasn't enough time and effort put into this to make it worthwhile. It ends up being a total miss and even the last scenes aren't worth forcing yourself through this indie dud. 5/10

Beware! This is not an apocalypse movie.

[ten-thousand-marbles · 2/10 · 14 February 2021]

This has an interesting premise and could have been a good movie. Instead, the writers decided to make it an uptight, hipster, yuppie, thirty-something comedy-drama, complete with snooty attitudes, multiple annoying subplots and a man bun. I just couldn't get invested in their predictable, soap opera turmoil. The end of the world scenario takes up about ten minutes of time. The story line and attempts at cuteness are trite and pretentious. It's more like an uncomfortable high school reunion than an apocalypse. When it finally tries to get interesting and actually incorporate armageddon into the story, it's too little too late and just dumb. At least they have weed.

Full of holes, but enough of a solid foundation to keep it up.

[face-819-933726 · 7/10 · 7 April 2014]

Kind of wrong, but it would be nice if people actually did work that way. For the most part you get a drama about a bunch of old friends from school at some level, and they are all reunited at the one place that they all seem to think of as the safest place when all hell breaks loose. and beyond the fact that all of these friends are able to make it safely to the cabin, there are just a few other little problems. (Somehow one person is able to have amassed enough survival gear to last years in a mountain cabin in America, but some how he would not have any guns, not even one. He stores everything above ground in a rickety old shack that is no where near the house so they need a security system, which is only a simple beeping alert.) However once you get past all of that you do have a decent little drama that has romantic confusion all over the place, but even the "menacing" solders are really just a bit too wine country fresh. I Enjoyed the premise, and I liked the reasoning behind the situation that these people were all now living in, however I only recommend this movie to people who forgive the little things, and just want a drama, that is set a bit differently, and has a nice cast with excellent production value overall, otherwise move along.

Possibly the most contrived, painful-to-view movies I've ever seen

[dwightware4 · 1/10 · 10 August 2014]

Truly terrible. I have no idea how anyone is rating this 9 or 10 stars. The concept is awesome, the acting is good, the production is flawless....but the dialogue is so cliché and predictable and forced and contrived, it's unbearable. Not to mention this is a story about the meltdown of civilization (that's the setting) but there's nothing about the meltdown of civilization in it. Literally. It's just some people hanging out in a cabin in the woods reliving past drama and bullshit. The fact that the world is crumbling outside of their bubble is a total non- factor in the entire film. I rarely wish I hadn't spent my time watching a movie, but this is one of the few. I want my time back.

Where were you when the dragon broke?

[pcrawake · 7/10 · 4 April 2014]

'Goodbye world' the story of our modern world coming to an end. A text message, terrorism, the civilized world in the U.S.A crumbles as a group of college friends unite at the safe and secluded home of James (Adrian Grenier) and Lily (Kerry Bishé).

This is a story about human nature; what types of people we decide to be. Should we be activists, politicians...or maybe all it takes to make this world a better place is if we all try to be better people.

When a strange text message sets off the collapse of the country, James and Lily are expecting Nick (Ben McKenzie) and his wife Becky (Caroline Dhavernas) to visit. Soon enough, the house fills up with old friends.

As the film plays out, the past and emotions of these characters, old friends spill out in the shadow of a broken world.

The plot summary of this film on IMDb actually does it justice. Written by Denis Hennelly (director) and Sarah Adina Smith, it comes off as a thoughtful movie; it is pleasant to watch something that actually has a point and message.

This film made me think quite a bit, and that should be the point of art, to make a person question the world and perhaps even their stone beliefs. Is a little disaster all it will take for people to turn into animals--are people worse than animals?

Now, my instinct is to go into a long critical analysis of the characters representing idealistic stances: how each character echoes a way to live life; but this isn't the time for that junk.

Adrian Grenier, I felt made this movie. I never watched 'Entourage' and was surprised at his acting ability. He never seemed too fake, is another way of putting it. Of course, Gabby Hoffmann (uncle buck ref), is in this movie too, which is the reason I decided to watch it.

It was well directed...but I did feel like the movie sort of stretched believability at points. I wasn't too bothered, but for 1 part that I felt was not needed at all. No Spoilers. It was a relaxing and interesting movie, actually about something.

It's a drama, and not a very enthralling one at that

[exitof99 · 2/10 · 7 August 2014]

I find it hard to score this on a scale of 1 to 10. The production was well done, the cast and crew definitely did their part, and they make up the entirety of my rating. I just feel bad they worked so hard on this lemon.

The premises leads us to believe that there is a catastrophic event in this film. We get some tastes of it for a brief few moments, but ultimately, we are left wondering what real effect has happened. Soon enough, though, it becomes apparent that it is just the backdrop, and a distant one at that.

Safely tucked in a rural area, the characters go to a secluded home and join a few that were already present. They all know one another and share history, which leads to many conflicts. Oddly, this is the actual story, unresolved personal problems within their small circle. Everything else, well, it can be ignored as the characters demonstrate.

While the state of the world is apparently collapsing, these brats brush with renegades and shrug it all off. A cop car is chased by rednecks shooting an automatic rifle, and no cause for alarm. Some bikers take over the local country store, yup, once again, no problem - even though tomatoes are $40 each, and $100 for a box of tampons.

Worse, our characters without concern attempt to buy these items, including $500 worth of tampons, for about 15% of the sale price. So, with a little bartering with the heavily armed bandits, they casually go back to their world ignoring what is happening around them.

Yup, these twits are all so self-absorbed to react to the destruction and mayhem, they take the time to lollygag, smoking pot and getting drunk. On top of this, it is apparent from the start that one of the crew was responsible for the tragedy befalling the world.

The film does try to interface a threat from the outside by a pair of rogue US soldiers. They appear to present an obvious threat, but our friends barely get concerned. They calmly push these guys away and return to the partying and interpersonal drama.

Eventually, the soldiers do play a slightly more threatening role, and without many minutes wasted, it is resolved and the crew returns to kiss and make up with each other.

What really bugs me the most is how unlikable all of the characters were. I did not care about them, and actually wanted to see harm come their way for being so cavalier about the damage they caused and their general disregard for the world outside - heck, even each other!

Worse, there were too many characters, so the attention shifted from one set to another, and barely gave any screen time to the man responsible for destroying the world. I guess it was because he didn't have a significant other along with him to fight with. There truly wasn't a core set of characters, more like 10 cardboard cutouts.

Good stories focus on something remarkable. Ghost Busters used teamwork to fight a new threat from the spirit world, Blade Runner questioned definition of life when concerning androids, and Fifth Element showed us once again that love conquers all and can kick butt while doing it. Ghost Busters didn't revolve around how Annie Potts spent her time arguing with her mother. Blade Runner didn't decide that Deckard's personal life outside of work was paramount. And Fifth Element didn't mesh a savior and a hero together so that we could see them spend time together folding laundry, only to divert for a few minutes to show them save the day.

This film wasted itself by showing how some selfish entitled people can show gross disregard for everything in an uninteresting way. All the while, viewers know there must be something else happening elsewhere far more and deserving of attention, but for get about that.

Lacking Tension

[dansview · 6/10 · 23 August 2014]

I was really excited about this concept, and naively went into it with high hopes. But with this kind of theme, everything hinges on whether the cast and crew create an aura of fear and doom. There wasn't anything even close to that. So I consider this film a failure.

Having said that, like many movies, it had redeeming qualities that kept me in the game 'til the end. I love the idea of high tech yuppies going native in Mendocino. They use their millions made from being movers and shakers in the mainstream world, to then retreat from that same world.

Interestingly, I didn't hear any angry manifestos from our husband and wife protagonists/property owners. While narrating, the man explains that he went to his property because he sensed an apocalypse would come eventually. He didn't say that he hated the world per say, and they weren't living like real hippies. They had a nice home with modern conveniences.

Yeah sure, it rips off The Big Chill, but I forgive them for that. It's what you do with it that matters. I didn't quite understand the politics of the property owners, their former male business partner, or the Gaby Hoffman character. I think some of them were hybrid. We were supposed to see them as Libs., but they were business people and loving parents.

What the film did convey effectively, is that friendship is messy. We don't necessarily give it up just because our friends betray us from time to time. When we make real friends, we become an intimate part of the other person's life. This is so even between exes. If you had a reasonably amicable split, you are still a major part of someone else's life story, and often you can't just disentangle from that.

Some of our characters did learn things about themselves, which is always good in a character-driven relationship picture. Some might say that there were no noble souls in this film, but I think Adrian Grenier's character came close. He didn't cheat on anyone, he tried to do the right thing, and he tried to quarterback the scenario.

***I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the allegorical nature of the "Daily Bubble." Some of the characters lived in a bubble of intellectualism, idealism,and narcissism to a degree. But how long can you do that without something bursting your bubble? Well, each day they would launch a new bubble and see how long it would last. Not even the end of the world was going to prevent them from trying to perpetuate the bubble.

Hipsters confront Armageddon - Big Chill style.

[tigerfish50 · 1/10 · 21 October 2013]

When a computer virus leads to the collapse of civilization, an assortment of 30-something, ex-university pals head for the California hills, where two married friends live in an off-grid, hot-tub utopia with their young daughter. After everybody has arrived at the neo-hippie compound, these former acquaintances are immediately recognizable as reincarnations of the clique who gathered for 'The Big Chill' in 1983. Beginning with an aborted suicide in the opening sequence, 'Goodbye World' plagiarizes or rewrites many of the earlier film's scenes - and the characters even include a doppelganger of Meg Tilly's college-age interloper, who once again critiques her elders for their self-obsession.

It's often said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but unfortunately the producers of this copycat project forgot to clone themselves a screenwriter with Laurence Kasdan's talent. Although they're surrounded by marauding biker gangs, meth-head neighbors, rogue National Guardsmen and the smoke of burning cities, these privileged airheads respond to the crisis by getting high on weed and reviving old disputes. None of the wrangling over sexual jealousy and other grievances has any relevance in their apocalyptic new world - it seems to flare up simply because the writers had learned at film school that drama requires conflict. As the film nears its insipid conclusion, none of it seems to matter overmuch.

A Return to the State of Nature

[nmmoitoso · 8/10 · 5 April 2014]

"Goodbye World" is not an apocalyptic film as one thinks of one. The plot does not center on the destruction of infrastructure, landscapes of desolation, or immediate violence as new groups try to fill the power vacuum. "Goodbye World" is a glimpse of the quick dissolution into the state of nature that occurs in human relationships when society collapses. Common to all works of literature and film that deal with the subject of societal breakdown, established conflicts emerge. These include: the desire to hold onto familiar societal values; the relevance of property ownership without governing bodies; at what point does cooperation impede on the individual's ability to survive; and the possible irrelevance of social contracts (marriage)without government. The film subtly captures the characters not just as victims of impending doom but friends and lovers with established and complicated relationships. These established tensions within the relationships serve as a medium to convey the philosophical quandaries that are inherent in the age old political question: What is man in the state of nature? It should not be expected that the rich characters would set aside relational conflicts as the world ends. Such disaster only exacerbates the problems within their relationships. But the aggravation of old wounds and amplification of competing attitudes just makes the ending all the more sweet. Each character must say "Goodbye World" to their old prejudices and paradigms to walk brightly into the future without "the world as we know it."

Superb Acting in this Drama about a New World

[tecnogaming · 7/10 · 15 May 2014]

I heard a lot of complaints about this movie and I really think people just didn't get it.

The movie start out in an apocalyptic scenario but it soon retreats in what is to be a clash of different personalities in a single house.

The "reunion" is about long lost friends of the past who will be in the exact same place and time for the end of the world due to an unknown Cyb attack.

The main focus on this movie is not about the end of the world or how it came to be, to be frank, the explanations are quite surreal and far-fetched, I'm a network administrator and I can corroborate that idea is just completely implausible, that this stop me from enjoying the movie?, not at all ! The acting and script is the main attraction into this movie, the relationships between friends, the slowly destruction of the moral values and how this people behave, take responsibility, choose their paths and go on with their lives.

The movie is not boring, AT ALL, it moves in a right pace and works, most of all, as a drama.

It has some dark moments but the ending is nearly perfect and fits with each personality at play, it doesn't feel forced at all.

Excellent acting all the way, i must compliment all the actors for this wonderful job.

I really don't understand the bad criticism, yes, i know that this movie is similar to It's a Disaster, what movie isn't similar to another movie these days?, even still, it isn't a fair argument to criticize it.

I could sympathize with all the characters, each with their own weakness and strengths. Even when there are dark moments in this story, the message is really positive all around.

If you want to see a nice drama involving people I am sure you will like this but please, don't see this movie expecting an apocalyptic type scenario with people killing each other, madness and excessive CGI because you will be sorely disappointed.

This is a solid 7 out of 10, i'm sure is not a 5, don't trust IMDb ratings as the sole truth, it isn't.

I WANT TO GET YOU STONED AND FEED YOU PANCAKES

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 1 October 2018]

A "Goodbye World" virus infects all cell phones and the power grid. Some trucks blow up so all vehicles stop delivering food. This is like a a bad ice storm without the ice and sudden anarchy with riots. A group of people gather to a self sufficient community in northern California.with the expected neighbor problems. The group went to college together...sort of.

Two people in the group are hackers...wink, wink, nudge, nudge. The movie centers on personality conflicts plus that end of the world thing.

The drama conflict got boring. The film did make good use of character build up and flaws, but it really needed direction instead of giving us a daily soap opera.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. sex. No nudity

A movie came out about a year ago called It's A Disaster which was about the same idea and I liked that one much better.

[cosmo_tiger · 5/10 · 5 April 2014]

"This is not the apocalypse and even if it is didn't we all say this would be the perfect place to ride it out?" After a group of friends receive a text that just says goodbye world they are confused. After the very real threat of an apocalypse occurs old college friends show up at an "off-the-grid" home to wait it out. Little by little old feelings of love and jealousy start to creep in as they all brace for the end of the world. This is a tough movie to review and explain. Some parts of it are very funny and entertaining while others really slow the movie down. The mood switches from happy comedy to downer drama. Some of it is very predictable and some of it comes out of nowhere. I did like this movie for the most part but there was a movie that came out about a year ago called It's A Disaster which was about the same idea and I liked that one much better. Overall, an OK movie that struggled to find an identity. I give this a B-.

TEOTWAWKI

[Pairic · 7/10 · 10 May 2018]

Goodbye World: It really is The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI). A computer virus: "Goodbye World" brings down the internet, power systems, utilities. Civilisation is a very fragile thing. Its obvious that this cyber attack is coordinated as transport hubs are also bombed.

A group of old college friends gather in Northern California where two of them own a ranch. Even in the local town order has broken down with the Sheriff driven out. Could one of this band of friends have an involvement in the downfall of technical society?

This film is reminiscent of the Daybreak Series by John Barnes with its coordinated taking down of civilisation. Also, one scene in particular brings Larry Niven's Lucifer's Hammer to mind: one of the group is about to commit suicide when suddenly he hears ifs TEOTWAWKI.

Intriguing film. 7/10.

Very silly TEOTWAWKI Big Chill

[whatch-17931 · 3/10 · 7 March 2021]

It's seemingly the end of the world, yet these characters are so mildly disturbed by it, you have to wonder what pharmaceuticals they are on.

It's one of the silliest movies I've ever seen. It's so ridiculous and blasé, it's easy to doubt the world is ending. And the actual cause of the collapse of society is ridiculous.

There's an ostensibly suicidal character that has to be the happiest suicidal character ever.

Enjoyable movie

[cowboycb36 · 7/10 · 13 August 2022]

This movie wasn't what I thought it was. But I did enjoy it. But the idea of the husband/father NOT wanting a gun in his house was ridiculous! How was he suppose to protect his family. He can't. I found him to be weak. Especially with that pony tail.

Goodbye Movie

[johnrbuckley · 3/10 · 9 August 2014]

When the world shuts down, a small group of lifelong friends embark on a journey of pot smoking, drinking, rapping, inner circle fighting, infidelity, jealousy, confusion, and pointless drama. It would be safe to say that James Palmer (Lead Actor) is no Rick Grimes (Walking Dead), not even on his best day.

There is a glimmer of hope when he points out that the protection of the group is his top priority along with supplies but then we see him cave, gives into the soldiers, or really anyone who asks and that hope dwindles to nothing. When he drives half the supplies to the group down the street that we realize just how dire their situation will become. James' "bend over" attitude is at a severe detriment to the group. He underestimates the need for protection of the storage unit and unwillingness to take action will prove fatal to the group. It was great that he stockpiled medicines, food, and water but it isn't any good if the group gives it away.

There is a huge underestimation on how bad the situation is regardless of the several clues provided to the group. Of course, everyone is too busy getting high, getting drunk, messing around, and joking to take anything too seriously which would no doubt lead to serious trauma to the group later down the road. It will be fun and games in the beginning but the seriousness of hunger will eventually drive this group apart.

This event was in the beginning stages, there isn't any reasonable way this group of people would last more than a year and certainly not two years at the most based on their behavior, survival training, and inability to work together. In example, pot makes you hungry so they toke every chance they get. They eat like they have a Safeway down the street and even when they go to the store it's pretty clear that shelves are barren probably everywhere. The amount of "farming" they are doing towards the end will not last them very long especially when they add in the second group from down the hill's needs. Settlers in America learned this the hard way when they ventured West, especially if their crops failed to yield enough to go around.

Hannah's scene with the tricycle only seemed like a nod to Stephen King's The Shining especially when she rolls up to the two soldiers.

One of my favorite parts of the movie was when Laura is reciting people's rights and they all look at her like she's an idiot, one even asks, "I don't even understand what you're talking about…" It's a nod to the fact that most Americans are stupid when it comes to their Bill of Rights and the Constitution where they easily give it away whenever asked or forced. Perhaps if she had followed up with an laymen explanation...

There were moments of acting that shined, but mostly was extremely frustrating to watch given the fact that you expect the group to come together, entrench, and defend but then their liberal attitude towards everything causes them to just give up because that is easiest and non-confrontational.

Lev (Kid Cudi) is a shining star in this film but can't figure out how he'd end up sleeping face down on the roadway then woken up mysteriously to join the group? I'm not sure who wrote that in the script but, bizarre.

The group is clearly not prepared, not thinking things through, tied up in unnecessary drama, unwilling to defend their positions, rations, and energy efficient house, and eventually will find themselves in an extremely poor situation the moment they are attacked by outsiders, face any type of epidemic, or run out of food. As time moves ahead, people that live near and far will become quite desperate and will go to extreme lengths to take what they want, even by violence. Since they are unwilling to defend themselves (as if a climbable gate is an impenetrable wall), then they are a very easy target for people who are desperate to take whatever they have and leave them all for dead. 911 won't be available, no one will rescue them, and they are on their own with no protection except a revolver that is out of bullets. Perhaps the surviving soldier and the two machine guns will provide them some protection but bullets will become a hard commodity to find in a post-apocalyptic era.

These are the people that will most likely die off first round when a bad situation like a shutdown happens. While watching the movie, consider the math of the amount of adults to support vs the amount of rations and food available. If you add in the unknown potential elements of harm that may come the group's way you'll easily see that it's only a matter of time before they kill themselves in a brawl, killed by people down the way in a mutiny, or by people that may happen by. They were almost killed by just two derelict solders, what if there were more than that? Nice to dream of a sweet utopia lifestyle is possible and nothing bad will ever happen because "hey, we're non-violent why shouldn't everyone else be?" Is unrealistic at best and as more desperation sets in their woes will worsen to the point of no return.

Overall, I expected more out of this film than it provided. In some parts, I felt it might be best if I just fast forward, but I endured the full movie. This film could have been much more but it really failed. I don't expect a shot em' up Western by any means, but even basic common sense was void.

A Post-Apocalyptic drama set in a rural part of California, and focused on a small group of close friends with troubled relationships.

[Amari-Sali · 7/10 · 25 June 2014]

It feels very rare to find a post-apocalyptic movie not set in the city, much less not focused on the years since the apocalypse started. Making Goodbye World, at least for my viewing knowledge, sort of rare. But perhaps that main draw, when I read about the synopsis on Wikipedia was the fact it wasn't focused on some hero trying to restart the world, or anything like that, but simply a family looking to survive the madness, while dealing with old friends, without the distraction of technology to really interrupt things.

Characters & Story

On the eve of an electronic blackout, James (Adrian Grenier) and wife Lily (Kerry Bishe) seemed to have planned for a reconciliation with old friend, and former business partner, Nick (Ben McKenzie). Things between them are highly complicated though, especially when Nick's wife Becky (Caroline Dhavernas) shows up and not only is she not remembered by anyone on face value, but causes a lot of drama amongst the more open-minded group she finds herself in.

Things don't end with just those four though. Laura (Gaby Hoffman), a government employee currently dealing with an affair scandal, and Lev (Scott Mescudi), a hacker and tech enthusiast, also find their way to Lily's ranch in northern California, as does Benji (Mark Webber), a former revolutionary turned traveling lecturer, and his student/ girlfriend Ariel (Remy Nozik).

Together this group tries to live together as electrical grids fail and even making a phone call becomes impossible. But, being that human nature is what it is, between fighting over what happened in the past, and outsiders fighting due to what is happening in the present, the casts find themselves constantly being faced with ultimatums. Some of which involve guns pointed toward their heads.

Praise

A weird compliment I must give this movie is that none of it seems too over the top. I mean, granted, I was unsure how Laura and Lev found their way into rural north California, seemingly by just walking, but forgiving that bit you can see that there was more of an interest in portraying people than characters. Whether it was the goofy Lily; the overly serious James; the boy who tried to do everything right, Nick; and so on and so forth.

But perhaps it was the interconnecting relationships, and scrutiny of each other, which made this a fascinating watch. If just because no one relationship, be it platonic or romantic, was perfect. It showed the complexity of human emotions and though not always dealt with, it mirrored how, I believe, even in those circumstances, things might have been handled. And, as I say every now and again, I really think this could make for a TV series worth watching, if just because all the characters are so diverse and interesting.

Criticism

I will admit though, as interesting as the characters are, if you're not into watching people deal with their personal drama this may bore you. For example, the primary tension of the film deals with James screwing over Nick. This issue spills past him getting screwed out of a business deal and also deals with various things in their personal lives, including their mutual relationship with Lily. Which, for me, was only a negative since I watch so many TV programs, and movies, dealing with relationship drama, that I felt their love triangle was just a tad shallow.

Also, I felt the ending was sort of weak and way too optimistic. Be it because I'm a pessimist, or because of how much anarchy they make it seem the world is being ruled under, I just found the ending to be eye roll inducing. Especially the odd relationship which develops between Laura and Lev.

Overall: TV Viewing

I will not say this is one of the best movies I have ever seen, nor is this worth multiple accolades, but even with that said I find this to be a good movie to kill an hour and a half with. For while some of the stories between characters are a bit melodramatic, and the ending seemed to end a little too peacefully, it is hard to deny that I didn't get invested in what could happen to these characters. Especially since there is enough diversity in their personalities to grow attached to the majority of them. Hence why this is being labelled "TV Viewing."

Was an okay movie..

[ajcordio · 4/10 · 6 June 2014]

I had to give this movie a four out of ten stars. It was a good movie, well acting, but the plot and scenes didn't often make sense. The movie starts off right there when an apocalypse is happening. It's not really played out how the characters know each other, but they all end up at this one guys house to survive and out live the apocalypse. This move just has a lot of drama within the house of where they are staying, you start to forget that there's even an apocalypse going on. There is a text saying Goodbye World that is sent to millions of people. But this text doesn't really show anything about how the world is ending.. It's just a text message? It's as if the apocalypse isn't really happening in the movie, and these people are just having a get-together in this mans house. A lot of drama.

Amazing find.

[lmweatherbee · 9/10 · 29 July 2015]

As anyone who enjoys Films / TV Shows / Books (maybe not so much books,) about the dismantling of society as we know it has surely noticed, mainstream media has taken a shift away from telling the story of every day survival, and has instead adopted a soap operaesque, cookie cutter, nitty-gritty narrative of dramatic, back stabbing, "real housewives," type story line for every production.

This film is different.

As this film progresses, the viewer is captivated by characters who go through profound self-realization, acceptance of how their world has and is changing, and (as many post-apocalyptic lack) a glimpse at the struggle to adjust, and thrive in their new world.

No film is perfect, there are some dramatic things going on between the characters, but it doesn't stoop to the level of most, when the characters are upset at one another, it is for good reason. The producers really kept a good balance of true content, character development, and riveting situations.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a strong story, with actors who can back it up.

Not the Run of the Mill Post Apocalytic Movie

[lil_moe · 7 August 2014]

The only reason I write this review is because of the sheer number of other reviews that are either rated 1-2 (worst. Movie. Ever) or 9-10 (never seen a greater movie). So this is an attempt at a non bipolar review. In a nutshell without giving up spoilers, a group of former college friends happen to be all shacked up in a country house when the apocalypse takes place and law and order crumble. Like some other reviews mentioned, this is NOT the typical post- apocalyptic movie. It isn't the Walking Dead nor it is Sandra Oh's Last night. Rather, it tried to be a mixture of mild violence and psychological and changes and a lot of background drama. This isn't necessary a bad mixture. There are dozens of movies that show us the blood and gore in the days after the apocalypse. There aren't even close movies that discuss the emotional side of it. Not in a realistic way, anyway. For every day Joe (that's all of us) if the apocalypse does happen today we won't go running around the streets waving machetes like total maniacs. All this said, I liked the atmosphere of the movie. This is a movie under the genre "this COULD happen". However, halfway through the movie, it started to get cliché and by the last 3rd it was just going through the motions. I'm not sure how the script goes but it seemed to me the script was written for the first half of the movie and after that they just made it up as they went. Characters started behaving out-of- normal-and-post-apocalyptic- character. Coincidences started to happen more and more. And the ending was probably the most unfulfilling ending I've seen in a long time. It had a complete feeling of just throwing things together to wrap up and move on. All in all, it was a good movie and I don't regret my time watching it but I'm extremely disappointed to see something that could have been so much better was wrapped up in a rush. I give it 5/10 for trying and managing to be a movie that's neither an indie nor a Hollywood blockbuster.

Better then I expected it to be

[ghostaliaz · 7/10 · 26 May 2014]

It turned out better then I expected it to be. All the characters were a trip. I really like the hippie type girl because she reminds me of someone from my old neighborhood. All the actor were really good. The only thing is the story is really short & it needed a little more depth, but it was a good movie. For some reason it reminded me of the "The Breakfast Club (1985)" & "Sixteen Candles (1984)" kind of movies & I totally enjoyed it a bunch, the 80's was the best time especially in the movie & music area's, Oh how I miss that time, so this movie was a breath of fresh air, sort of like a throw back to the past for some reason. Anyway go & watch it people. If you have taste, then your going to love it & if you don't like it, no one cares - (Just Joking). :-)

Lame

[quercus1776 · 3/10 · 18 May 2014]

Here you have a bunch of bright educated people trying to deal with the supposed end of the world. What do they do? Nothing to increase their survival odds. Nothing to provide any kind of real security for themselves or the minor child. They sit around, smoke dope, entertain themselves with talent shows and argue. The lamest part was when a couple of thug soldiers come and demand their food/meds. Instead of them at least attempting to defend themselves or planning some course of organized action, the leader of the group goes it alone. He tries to talk to the people being led by the soldiers. He is nearly killed, saved at the last second by a woman who shoots one of the soldiers. Obviously the writers of the show know nothing at all about survival or what people will do in a real situation.

Unbelievably horrible (spoiler)

[newmvesstnk · 1/10 · 13 February 2016]

Unless they were trying to make a comedy. The idiocy of the ideas in this movie has to be seen to be believed. There is a far left spin to everything here. At one point, the girl says she used to catch squirrels in trap, right after the communist boyfriend says we are all scum because we invented traps. Then the girl says sometimes they used to get rabbits and she was the one who had to kill them. I don't know why she didn't have to kill the squirrels. Maybe because they aren't cute enough to make people hate you for inventing traps and killing them.. So she says there IS a hell, I guess because we have to eat and survive. Gee, how terrible. Since almost all animals kill to eat and stay alive, I suppose she believes they all should be exterminated, right? Well, guess what. Some people DO have to use a trap to catch squirrels to eat for food because they need food. These people who made the movie apparently would rather they get food stamps. To you socialists and communists who made this movie, you are hypocrites if you eat meat at all, including fish and chicken. Or bugs. Or what about vegetables. Who says they don't have feelings. And you are KILLING life when you eat vegetation. These movie makers had better just stop eating and polluting. Stinking humans! The movie is so twisted it's disgusting. Crazy Bernie would surely love it.