“This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. Not with a whimper, but with a bang.”

Existing on its own, Southland Tales is a mosaic mess of a narrative. Yet, coupled with the three-part “Prequel Saga” graphic novel, Southland Tales is an acceptable and intriguing complexity. Think of the graphic novel as a prescribed dose of medication to treat a cluster headache prophylactically; without this dose, one would surely develop a painful attack of mangled ideas and unsure conclusions. However, with the first three chapters of back-story under your belt, the graphic novel makes the film (the final three chapters) smoother sailing, more enriching, and exponentially vast.

Writer/director Richard Kelly has crafted an intricate six-part saga — reminiscent of Star Wars, with its Roman numeral “episodes.” Only each chapter does not stand alone as its own feature. As a remedy, Kelly compounds IV, V, and VI into the two-hour and twenty-four minute motion picture and presents I, II, and III in the 311-page alternate medium. Coupling the film and its expansive graphic novel with its elaborate website, Southland Tales is more than a movie, it’s an interactive experience.

The titles of the six chapters read as follows: I: “Two Roads Diverge,” II: “Fingerprints,” III: “The Mechanicals,” IV: “Temptation Waits,” V: “Memory Gospel,” and VI: “Wave of Mutilation.” Between “The Mechanicals” and “Temptation Waits,” sits a prologue — mainly to clue in those who didn’t read the graphic novel. Featured are only snippets of the “Prequel Saga” and a brief introduction to assist in painting the picture. By no means does this preamble (a quick summary of chapters I, II, and III) serve as a replacement to consuming the graphic novel.

In the wake of two nuclear disasters in El Paso and Abilene, Texas on July 4, 2005, the world is a different place. The draft has been reinstated; strict borders have been established at state lines requiring interstate travel visas; and, the Republican regime keeps close tabs on its citizens through a colossal think tank called US-Ident — an extension of the Patriot Act.

As Pilot Abilene (Justin Timberlake) reads passages from the Book of Revelations, a parallel story unfolds in the proceedings. Set in Los Angeles and leading up to Independence Day 2008, action film star Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnston), porn star Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and L.A. police officer Ronald Taverner (Sean William Scott) are at the center of chaos.

When Boxer is stricken with amnesia, Krysta guides him on a path that mirrors her screenplay, “The Power.” While Boxer struggles to remember who he is, he simultaneously serves as the pawn for a Neo-Marxist sect looking to bring down the federal government, the test subject for a German energy monopoly called Treer, the “pragmatic prevaricator,” and the sacrificial lamb for all of those involved. Above all, it is Ronald/Roland Taverner who hold the key to a miraculous conspiracy.