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The End of the Line (2008)

tomatometer

78

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Reviews Counted: 46
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 10

A thought-provoking and insightful documentary about the dangers of commercial fishing.

73

Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 3

A thought-provoking and insightful documentary about the dangers of commercial fishing.

audience

67

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 3,601

My Rating

Movie Info

As the world's demand for fish and other seafood increases and the technology available to commercial fisherman becomes more sophisticated, the annual harvest from global seaports has grown tremendously in recent years. However, the rise of industrialized fishing has not come without consequences, and many environmentalists and oceanographers believe that the current demand for fish and the methods used to fulfill it are taking an irreparable toll on the world's oceans, with some speculating

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Documentary, Special Interest

Feb 23, 2010

The Fish Film

All Critics (47) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (10)

If the tone is occasionally off-putting, the message -- at least, the facts about the fish -- is harder to shrug off.

August 14, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

With commendable clarity, it lays out the data.

August 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This movie wants to cover every base without thinking very deeply about them. So while a lot of ground is covered in 80 brisk minutes, the information presented is only abstractly useful.

July 23, 2009 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comment
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's hard not to feel that the vital information in The End of the Line may have been more effectively relayed by Clover's original book or by a movie whose methods were less pedantic and pedestrian.

July 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Another day, another film about environmental collapse.

July 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The End of the Line documents what threatens to become an irreversible decline in aquatic populations within 40 years.

July 16, 2009 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This is a documentary that will change the way you think about seafood and give you the power of knowledge to make a change.

May 17, 2010 Full Review Source: Sunday Times (Australia) | Comment
Sunday Times (Australia)

As the final credits roll you feel like you've been on an emotional rollercoaster -- the same as you might if you'd just watched a moderately successful Hollywood disaster movie.

May 14, 2010 Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | Comment
MovieTime, ABC Radio National

Revelations about the tonnes of wasted sealife caught and discarded annually and the destructive effects of practices such as bottom-trawling, are head-spinning in their immensity.

May 14, 2010 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au | Comment
sbs.com.au

There are an irritating number of fish and ocean montages with plaintive music which makes the film longer than it need be, but there's no denying the impact of its content.

May 12, 2010 Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | Comment
At the Movies (Australia)

It's compelling viewing, and outlines the problem -- and the solution -- in minute detail.

May 12, 2010 Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | Comment
FILMINK (Australia)

Forget 2012. 2012. According to The End of the Line, the year right-minded folk should be dreading is 2048.

May 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | Comment
Courier Mail (Australia)

Informative and alarming, if a little dry in its singular message and barrage of statistics.

August 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Washington City Paper | Comment
Washington City Paper

A gorgeously filmed cautionary tale about how industrial fishing is depriving little guys of their livelihood and depleting the once-vast supply.

August 7, 2009 Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | Comment
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Plenty of fish in the sea? Time to learn a new adage.

July 17, 2009 Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | Comment
Jam! Movies

As if we didn't already have enough signs of the impending apocalypse with which to contend.

July 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment (1)
Slant Magazine

..."Food, Inc." for fish.

July 6, 2009 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | Comment
Reeling Reviews

The exercise feels mass-produced and makes you think some books shouldn't be adapted unless given a new and fervent second wind.

June 22, 2009 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Boxoffice Magazine

An illuminating, provocative and important wake-up call for everyone young and old.

June 20, 2009 Full Review Source: NYC Movie Guru | Comment
NYC Movie Guru
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The End of the Line

After watching this movie, I'm giving up seafood for Lent ... even though I'm not Catholic. Thankfully this movie provides things we can do now to make a difference. So why don't we?

March 20, 2011

Great visuals and music as usual, National Geographic! However, I wish this movie talked more about bycatch. People care more about dead dolphins, sharks, octopi, etc. Not to give fish less credit, because I love them and went veg because of fish, but you have to market what people care about too.

October 6, 2010

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Foreign Titles

  • Die unbequeme Wahrheit über unsere Ozeane (DE)
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