Release Date: July 19th 2013
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.
Director: Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs the World)
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright's collaborations since Spaced T.V series in 2001 have never disappointed. The World's End lacks the idealistic freshness of the first two films of the Cornetto Trilogy, but still finishes it off nicely.
Simon Pegg's character Gary 'the King' King is a drug abusing, maniacal, careless person, whose voiceover guides us through the 'good ol' days'... hanging out at school with his four best friends Peter (Eddie Marsan), Steven (Paddy Considine), Oliver (Martin Freeman) and Andrew (Frost) and pretty much getting up to no good. We are privy to their attempt at conquering The Golden Mile; 12 pints in 12 pubs, starting at The First Post and finishing at The World's End.
After the attempt fails the first time round, King rallies the group. Although the other four have moved on with their lives, Gary King is stuck in the past. It's a struggle to like King, or hate him, even if he's self-centered. There is no consistency here with Shaun of the Dead of Hot Fuzz.
Nick Frost's Andrew Knightley, seeps resplendence, outshining anyone in frame. Freeman, Considine and Marsan are great support, making up 'five musketeers'. Rosamund Pike's character sits in reverse, never getting a chance to shine, because let's face it, this film is aimed at lads being lads. What little romance there is, is overshadowed by the pending doom.
It's almost easy to forget that TWE is a sci-fi. A fight breaks out in one of the pub toilets, snapping our thoughts back to the unreal and awarding us with a action similar to the successes of Scott Pilgrim.
Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are consistently funny, whereas The World's End tries and fails a lot of the time. Nick Frost, on the other hand, steals the show, dishing out all the laughs. Pegg and Frost's characters in both SOTD and HF shine brilliantly when together. Only nearing the finale of The World's End do we see any of this.
Cameos are a welcome sight from Pierce Brosnan (another Bond cameo... Hot Fuzz had Timothy Dalton), Bill Nighy (in all three) and David Bradley (Mr. Filch in Harry Potter). All make a strong impression in the film, for at least the small time they have.
It's also nice to see that they are a few familiar jokes that make the last of the trilogy. Look out for the cornetto gag!
Overview: Whilst it doesn't live up to it's predecessors, it's a worthy ending of The Cornetto Trilogy.
*May contain spoilers*
ReplyDeleteYou mention that Garry 'The King' King is a drug abuser. Is this true? I know there's a bit where he has bandaged arms, but is that due to self harm perhaps? He is clearly a depressed character in the beginning.
Still no comeback comment on this then eh?
ReplyDeleteOh I'm pretty bad at replies in the first place, but here is my comeback!:
ReplyDeleteIt's apparent that Gary could still be a drug user. He was a drug addict when he was younger and Andy (Frost) was nearly killed attempting to save him from overdosing. The other four guys mention that he's the only one who still lives in the past, meaning that probably hasn't changed as well.
When they're in the pub 'The Trusty Servant', Gary asks Reverend Green if he can buy some weed from him.
The self harming and depression could be from the alcohol and drug abusing, but it's never mentioned outright.
Thanks for the reply Troy. You make a convincing case.
ReplyDelete