The World's End (2013)

The World's End (2013) PosterA round of Cornetto's for the lads

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.


This final entry into Edgar Wright's Blood and Ice Cream trilogy has been anticipated for many years, with expectations running highly after the quality of its predecessors, Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. Suffice to say, The World's End is the weakest entry of the trilogy. This is largely due to the first half an hour, which is all about "getting the band back together", managing to drag and not illicit as many laughs as you would expect. However, once the gang have reunited and begin enacting the golden mile, the tale becomes as ridiculously entertaining as you'd expect.

The cast all have great chemistry with one another, which makes it easy to believe in and invest within their life long friendship, despite one or two of the gang being in need of a bit more character development. Simon Pegg's Gary King may not be as likable as Shaun or Nicholas Angel, doing many a dickish thing, but it's understandable for his character. He's unable to let go of the past, holding onto the happy memories from his teen years so much that he refuses to grow up. Nick Frost's character, Andrew, is the opposite of Gary, wanting to leave his past behind and move on from who he was. Both Pegg and Frosts characters seem like a contrast from their usual roles, as if the two swapped their roles round in an effort to try something new, and both come out of the change extremely well.


Edgar Wright's direction remains as kinetic as ever, containing some of the best fight scenes you'll see all year, while the tone seamlessly flows from being comedic to more action based, and vice versa. I won't reveal anything more about the plot than the vague synopsis that I have already written, its more entertaining to watch it unfold for yourself before your eyes. Also, be sure to keep an eye our for a number of cameos.

The thing with Edgar Wrights films is that they're made for repeat viewings. This is due to many hidden references, jokes that circle back around and foreshadowing, all of which doesn't become apparent until you've watched the film more than once. That alone, is reason enough to see this film again. The wonderful chemistry between the cast is another.

Comments

Douglas said…
Seeing this Saturday night. Excited. Chose this to see over Kick-Ass 2. Loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, so it was a no brainer.
James Rodrigues said…
It would've been a no-brainer of a choice for me also. Gotta love the combination of Wright, Pegg and Frost.