How It Ends
American International Pictures | Release Date: July 20, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 17 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
4
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
IndieWireKate ErblandJan 31, 2021
The pandemic spawned plenty of run-and-gun projects. Many of them chart the circumstances that made them possible, but Wein and Lister-Jones’ winsome spin on a well-trod concept is as fresh and funny as anything inspired by the last few wretched months. Read full review
82
TheWrapSteve PondJan 31, 2021
it’s an endearing Sundance bonbon: quirky but not annoying, charming but not cloying, slight but in a good way. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaJul 19, 2021
How It Ends works both as an alternative to the usual, race-against-time or humanity-sucks apocalypse dramas, and as a personal exploration of settling affairs — and it’s a comedy. Read full review
79
PolygonTasha RobinsonJan 31, 2021
It’s a pleasant enough hangout movie, and someday it may be held up as a slanted portrait of what mid-2020 felt like for people privileged enough to ignore politics. But it still feels like a minor movie in the face of a major catastrophe. Read full review
70
Screen RantFerdosa AbdiJul 23, 2021
How It Ends is a quirky and grounded indie feature about facing one's issues head-on when the world is about to be destroyed by an asteroid. Read full review
70
The New York TimesTeo BugbeeJul 22, 2021
The film plays as a series of perfectly enjoyable sketches strung together, an excuse for veteran actors to chew on playful dialogue. Read full review
70
SlashfilmBen PearsonJan 31, 2021
Underneath all the jokes and humorous moments, the movie is fundamentally about how important it is to love yourself – and about how something so seemingly simple can sometimes be incredibly difficult. Read full review
70
Film ThreatMatthew PassantinoJan 31, 2021
Yes, it was made during the pandemic, and the storyline serves as a metaphor for our current feelings and experiences, but it doesn’t use the pandemic as a tool to directly prey on our anxieties. It’s a bit more thoughtful and reflective than that. This drama gives us the green light to sit back and say, no matter when the end might be, perhaps we did just fine with our time here. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJan 31, 2021
It's more breezy than bittersweet, more about acceptance and forgiveness than a movie made in 2020 has any right to be. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiJan 31, 2021
The film is so economical in its momentum, and its tone of comic wistfulness so uniform, that its string of tableaux rarely feels jerky. Read full review
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