REVIEW: The World's End

At long last, I've finally witnessed the last film in Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, the grand finale known as The World's End. Released in 2013, the film follows the story of Gary "The King" King (Simon Pegg), an aging slacker who reunites with his school-age chums (Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan, all of whom now have actual jobs and families of their own) in an attempt to finish a legendary pub crawl from their youth. Upon returning to their quaint little hometown village, the friends slowly realize that all is not what it seems, as most of the population has apparently been replaced by blue-blooded android replicants. As with the other films in the Trilogy, it's a basic premise (zombie outbreak, comically mismatched police duo, invasion of a small town) made extraordinary by the brilliant minds behind it all. 

It's honestly difficult to decide which is better, the writing, the direction, or the cast. Truthfully, it's a symbiote circle; each aspect of the film is equally as strong as the others, and it's the quality of each section that helps bolster the quality of all the others. It's a perfect storm of a film, getting a bunch of funny people together, having them read lots of great dialog, and filming it in the brilliant kind of way that Edgar Wright excels in. For now, let's focus on the direction. Like Wright's other films, it's shot in a remarkably clever fashion; I'm certain that the next time I watch this movie, I'll notice some subtle visual gag or clever framing device that corresponds to the action on screen. To give a good example of what I'm talking about, say the climax of the film is approaching; if you look in the background, you can very faintly make out a sign that reads "THE END IS NIGH". It's this attention to detail that makes Edgar Wright films a complete joy to watch, in that there's always something new to discover with each viewing. 

The cast is a pure delight to watch as well; all while watching this movie, I would occasionally think of writing this review. I'd say "this character is definitely the highlight", only to eventually realize that I'd said this at least once for just about every one of the primary group of fellows journeying to The World's End (the final pub on the legendary "Golden Mile"). Each character has a moment (or moments) to shine, building a great deal of character despite having such a decent-sized cast. It's a fantastic ensemble piece, yet it never loses focus of Simon Pegg as the core of everything that's happening; he's the protagonist, but that doesn't mean he's the only character to get any sort of development, backstory, definition, or jokes. The supporting cast is great too, bringing in talent like Rosamund Pike, David Bradley, and Pierce Brosnan; despite their roles as secondary characters, they're all just as strong as the main cast (just less present). The characters are what make this movie, as it paints a really intriguing picture of youthful glory days and what it can feel like to return to that kind of environment (or in Pegg's case, what it can feel like to never leave that kind of environment). It's a story about growing up and joining the real world and whether or not that's entirely a good thing. Out of all the Cornetto films, I feel as though this one is both the most action-packed and the most subjective. It feels almost like a tribute to movies like They Live and The Stuff, in which a big dumb message is gotten across through big dumb sci-fi action. The only difference being that the message behind The World's End is anything but dumb.

As I said, this is easily the most action-oriented of all of Wright's Cornetto films, which certainly isn't a bad thing. It's all shot in a really wonderful, kinetic way that makes the fight scenes against these easily-breakable mannequin men a really entertaining treat to watch; there's always something new in each action beat, so we never really get bored of watching our protagonists beat up these things. They're completely disposable enemies who still manage to feel like a threat, so it's certainly an effective entry into the action, horror, and sci-fi genres. However, if I had to compare it to the other Cornetto movies, I would probably consider World's End to be the least funny. That certainly doesn't mean it's unfunny (the worst Edgar Wright film is still miles above the best Rob Schneider film), it's just not as good as Hot Fuzz (which I personally consider to be one of the greatest comedies of all time). So take that as you will; this good movie isn't quite as good as some of the best things ever. Despite that, I was surprised at some of the places this movie went, particularly during the third act; with a subject matter like a bunch of old friends getting together to relive the glory days, you expect there will be a fair amount of heart to it. There is, but not necessarily where you'd expect. I won't spoil anything, but know that this movie is much more than " haha that man drank a beer and punched a robot and cursed".

While it's personally not my favorite of the Cornetto Trilogy, I have to say that The World's End is a truly spectacular way to end the series. Even though it's the runt of the litter, it's still one of the better comedies I've seen in years. It manages to take a simple premise, introduce a wild element, and make the entire thing work properly as a hilarious and heartfelt action/sci-fi/horror/comedy flick with more brains in one scene than most modern comedies have in their entire runtime. It's a product born of care, dedication, and raw talent; that much is incredibly obvious to see. If you've enjoyed anything else from Wright's directorial backlog, I highly recommend you check this one out. If you haven't seen anything by Edgar Wright, then you should go watch his entire filmography (The World's End included) immediately.