Review: The World's End

Focus Features

Well guys, this is it: the end of the Cornetto Trilogy! Beginning with Shaun of the Dead, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg set out with director and good friend Edgar Wright to make a trilogy of movies about basically whatever they wanted. Shaun of the Dead, as the name suggests, was a zombie/horror parody with abundant fast, witty humor and quick cuts/editing (Wright's filmmaking trademark), but also with some legitimately dark moments. In the same way, Hot Fuzz was a parody of action/buddy cop movies with its main target being American, blockbuster action-fare (namely Michael Bay's Bad Boys II), but with some truly cool and entertaining action and directing. First news of the The World's End suggested that it would be a sort of sci-fi, apocalyptic parody, but whatever it would be, die-hard fans of the Pegg/Frost/Wright trio expected nothing but for the trilogy to go out with a bang.

Childhood friends Gary (Pegg), Andy (Frost), Steven (Paddy Considine), Peter (Eddie Marsan), and Oliver (Martin Freeman) once attempted a legendary "pub crawl" around the 12 pubs of their hometown in the early '90s, but fell 4 or 5 pubs short. Now, 20 years later, Gary, always the adventurous leader, convinces the rest to join in a quest to complete the pub crawl. Little do the 5 friends know that their quaint hometown has been secretly overrun by an alien presence! Thus, you have one ridiculous premise: a handful of drunk, middle-aged men trying to fight robots(that they call "Blanks")/aliens while attempting to complete a drinking game that is life threatening enough as it is (1 pint per pub, so that makes 12). So how does this stack up to the rest of the trilogy?

Focus Features

To put it simply: The World's End is not as smart as its predecessors. Shaun of the Dead and especially Hot Fuzz were incredibly entertaining and cool even without the constant hilarious jokes and slap-stick. They both fit nicely into their genres and made sense as movies with trying too hard to be funny. In this case, we get all the usual quick cuts and snappy dialogue which is genuinely funny at many times plus some neat, well choreographed bar fights, but the initial premise and general nonsensical nature is hard to ignore. Even though the friends are being attacked by Blanks (who look like humans but are filled with blue stuff and have easily broken off/smash-able limbs) as they go from pub to pub, somehow they stick to the pub crawl with Gary goading them on. It's a ridiculous idea and the fact that their beer addled minds can't think of a better idea is funny, but the whole thing still feels too random. Plus, the plot is missing the key ingredient from the past films of real twists in the plot. Not to mention it's missing a clear target for parody.

Focus Features

Essentially, aside from the style of humor, The World's End feels different from the other two films. It seems like Wright and Pegg and Frost wanted to make something with a lot of drinking in it, so this is what they came up with. They sure assembled a great cast with Considine, Marsan, and Freeman who are all funny and have different styles and skills in their own right, but I think they didn't use each actor to his full potential. The whole thing feels rambling and not up to the slick, neat standards of the first two films.

That being said, Wright's style and the film as a whole are still a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of this Summer's releases. Pegg is at the top of his game as Gary and obviously having a hell of a good time and the fast, witty dialogue provides consistent material for some good laughs. The fights with the robots remind me of the ones in Scott Pilgrim vs The World and are fun to watch and well choreographed, filmed, and edited. Also, it's not until the end that you realize there's even some sort of message beneath the surface of ridiculousness. Without giving anything away, the whole plot functions as a sort of intervention which is oddly touching but has funny, absurd results.

So while The World's End doesn't quite live up to the reputation and humor of the rest of the Cornetto Trilogy, it is still another enjoyable outing with some of Britain's best comedic actors with enough antics to satisfy dedicated fans as well as new viewers.