Goodbye World Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Goodbye World Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 25, 2015

Goodbye World doesn't concern itself with imagery of the end of the world where death and destruction or the human toll on a grand scale serve as the centerpieces of a vessel for mild commentary and heavy entertainment value. Instead, Director Denis Hennelly's (Bold Native) film focuses on a small band of acquaintances, all of whom share some form of connected past, that is brought together not by disaster but by chance that they'd be with one another when the world collapses around them. They're in a seemingly comfortable mountain hideaway where the end of times doesn't necessarily bother them, doesn't directly effect them, at least not until the end of the world catches up with them, drifting from the cities and up into the last remnants of civilization where dependency isn't a daily necessity, where intimacy offers a unique perspective on the goings-on so far yet drawing ever so near. Sadly, the film suffers from uneven pacing and an oftentimes wayward narrative that emphasizes the mundane over the meatier details of survival in the end times. The film seemingly hopes to secure a firm grasp on humanity's response to crisis in relative isolation but really only hits those notes when it gets into the muck, not as it glides through with frequently unyielding nonchalance.

A big pink teddy: the key to end times survival.

James (Adrian Grenier), his wife Lily (Kerry Bishé), and their daughter Hannah (Mckenna Grace) have relocated to the mountains of Northern California to escape the coming collapse. They're hosting Lily's old boyfriend Nick (Ben McKenzie) and his Libertarian wife Becky (Caroline Dhavernas) for the weekend. They arrive just as the collapse hits; cell phones the world over are receiving a two-word message: "goodbye world." it seems to be setting off some sort of cyber terrorism that's bringing down the modern digital infrastructure. When word of the collapse spreads, James, Lily, Hannah, Nick, and Becky are joined by several of their friends and acquaintances, including a recently jailed activist named Benji (Mark Webber) and his new plaything Ariel (Remy Nozik), a disgraced political aide named Laura (Gaby Hoffmann), and a suicidal tech expert named Leve (Scott Mescudi). They piece together the reality of what's happening well beyond their own isolation but it doesn't take long for a different kind of challenge to arise and threaten their lives and the thorough preparations James has made just for this day.

The film tries to strike a middle road balance between some of the more popular approaches to end-times fiction. It's less dramatic and action-packed than a Roland Emmerich movie. It's nowhere near as bleak as The Road. It's more accessible than James Wesley, Rawles' survival-manual-in-narrative-form Patriots. It's probably closest to William R. Forstchen's One Second After, though certainly Goodbye World works on a much more intimate scale (and would probably work much better as a novel rather than a movie forced to cram both its lengthy characterization and sputtering attempts at both social commentary and end-times survival into a 100 minute film) and, even as it efforts to the contrary, only manages to peek into the realities of how a close, but in many ways disparate, group of people cope with -- not necessarily survive -- their new situation. Likewise, the film only peeks at the consequences of cyber terror, the fragile state of the modern technological infrastructure, and the demand for and dependency on it. The film only ever scratches the surface, cobbling together a coherent narrative but failing to explore with the richness and thoroughness the story demands.

The film's strength, then, is also its weakness. It's a nice change of pace to witness the end of the world (or, perhaps better said, the collapse of modern civilization) almost as a background event, experienced most immediately by the power dropping out, gas pumps no longer pumping, Internet service failing, and other minor bits that offer clues to what's happening but not a direct, life-and-death confrontation with the horrors of a collapsing civilization. That makes for a unique perspective, and even when it hits home -- literally, when the group must choose to continue living under established law or give in to intimidation -- it feels more personal, immediate, and dangerous. But that leaves the movie with a lot of time on its hands, time it spends following largely frivolous character pursuits that add some dramatic tension but not of the sort that better defines the larger, broader contextual narrative on which the film is based. Much of it feels like throwaway filler -- a lengthy scene featuring several girls in a hot tub discussing the finer points of male genitalia -- and some of it like seemingly off-the-cuff scenes that are in fact clandestinely metaphorical, particularly the daily routine in which the characters count down the time until a bubble bursts. When the film is on, it's quite good. Deeper political discussions, the characters' conflicts in resource utilization, and other meaty chunks of the movie serve it well, but it's too bogged down in needless ancillary pieces that slow it down and frequently yank the audience out of the movie. And if those pieces are meant to be more, then the film fails, anyway, by not tying it all together with a more tightly knit structure.

Goodbye World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Goodbye World's 1080p transfer is never striking, but it's a healthy, nicely defined presentation. The HD video source photography leaves it looking glossy and flat but not necessarily to the detriment of fine detail. Facial close-ups reveal complex, but not always intricate, definition. Clothing lines, particularly the heavier military fatigues, show crisp definition and stitching. Grasses, woods, and general natural bits are likewise well defined, save for some softer, muddier edges that creep in on occasion. Colors are nicely bold and saturated, though the image does favor a mildly bright general appearance. Black levels and skin tones don't raise any major alarms, though light-to-moderate noise does intrude throughout. This is a fairly routine HD image, a good all-around performer that appears held back more by midlevel photographic gear than any real fault of the Blu-ray transfer process.

Goodbye World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Goodbye World's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack isn't particularly noteworthy, but it gets the job done with little in the way of wayward sound elements. Music isn't bold or naturally effortless and invigorating but it plays with a nice baseline clarity with some added weight at the bottom and a front-heavy posture. Hip-Hop beats near film's start are suitably heavy and aggressive. Little bits of chaos are nicely defined and placed but are few and far between. Light natural ambience fills up the stage on several occasions with a pleasing, natural balance and immersion. Dialogue, which is the film's centerpiece audio element, plays with a nicely natural and well defined presence through the center speaker.

Goodbye World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Goodbye World contains a commentary and a film festival Q&A.

• Audio Commentary: Co-Writer/Director Denis Hennelly, Co-Writer/Producer Sarah Adina Smith, and Producers Mary Pat Bentel and Matthew G. Zamias offer a fairly breezy track in which they discuss the importance of a film's open, shooting locations, the writing process, their thoughts on what a sequel might depict, plot details, and more.
• World Premiere Q&A at the Los Angeles Film Festival (1080i, 7:26): Los Angeles Film Festival Associate Programer Drea Clark hosts Director Denis Hennelly for a brief pre-screening intro. Both he and the cast answer a few questions after the screening.

Goodbye World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Goodbye World has all the makings of a superior story. It would work better in book format where it has more room to breathe, more time to explore, more space to better define its politics, its insights into survival, the seemingly trivial character bits that don't appear to matter in the movie but, given more attention, could probably be worked into something more substantial. As it is, Goodbye World is like a low budget, quick-fix tease of a movie that lays the foundation for something better but stops building when the shell is complete. Phase 4's Blu-ray release of Goodbye World features good video and audio. Supplements are limited to a brief Q&A and a commentary. Skip it and read the aforementioned One Second After instead.