The World's End (2013) - Film Review
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine & Rosamund Pike
Screenplay: Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Certificate: 15
I've
made it no secret that I absolutely love Shaun Of The Dead and
Hot Fuzz. They're two of the absolute best comedies
ever made – in fact they're two of the best films in general that
I've ever had the privilege of seeing. Both directed by one of the
finest directors currently working today, and each with a cast
featuring some of the best actors working today, I just can't find
fault with either one. So when production of a third film was
announced, creating a trilogy of films under the title of the
“Cornetto Trilogy”, I was hyped. Merging science-fiction with
comedy, after previously doing the same with horror and action, can
lightning strike a third time?
In
1990, teenager Gary King and his friends attempted a pub crawl of
their hometown of Newton Haven known as the “Golden Mile”, and
designed to take them to each of the twelve pubs in the town. They
never completed the crawl, and now more than twenty years later, a
now-alcoholic Gary King persuades his estranged friends to attempt
the same pub crawl again. However, they return to Newton Haven to
find it a changed place – barely anyone recognizes them, and a
fight in a pub bathroom leads them to discover that the town has been
replaced by androids...
The
World's End shines
with the exact same magic and razor-sharp wit of the previous two
films in the Cornetto Trilogy. Even if you went into this unaware of
the people that wrote, starred or directed it, you'd be able to tell
in a matter of minutes that Edgar Wright was behind it. Both his and
Simon Pegg's comedy trademarks are all here, and it's so packed with
laughs that if you're not paying full attention, it's easy to miss
them. Even then, it's still the kind of film where you go back and
re-watch it and pick up on things you'd not noticed before. Edgar
Wright and Simon Pegg prove they are masters of witty dialogue, able
to pull it off without feeling smug of self-gratuitous (I wish they'd
give Doctor Who some
tips about this). As ever, they revel in setting up comedy notes in
the first act, and coming back to visit them and deliver pay-off in
the second and third acts, even with things as small as Gary's lines
about the lintel over a door. It's done to the extent where even the
expertly-edited montage that opens the film practically gives away
the plot, without us even knowing. (Spoiler
Warning!) The
same technique is done with the information that foreshadows the
plot's events, such as characters blaming the “Network” for the
lack of phone signal, before encountering our main villain … the
Network. To top it all, running alongside this are plenty of inside
jokes alluding to the previous two films, with moments such as the
fence-jumping making a return.
Again
like Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, for
all the huge laughs and fun we have with The World's End,
it also has some serious brains and concepts behind it. Particularly
during the last act, you can detect some strong messages to do with
alcoholism and dependency on beer. The scene in question of Gary and
Andy reaching The World's End pub presents one of the finest warnings
about alcoholism I've ever seen on film, and even though it's
something you feel you should've seen coming, it's still just as
gut-wrenching to watch. Simon Pegg's delivery of the line “It's
all I've got!” in that scene never fails to send shivers down
my spine. Perhaps an even stronger message The World's End
offers, is how our nostalgia can trap us and how we need
change to happen. Gary pretty much embodies a lack of change – he
still wears the same clothes, has the same car, the same cassette
tapes and even the same map of Newton Haven that he had in 1990.
While he desperately clings to his glory days of the past, his
friends have all moved on, got married, had kids, got jobs, but even
they don't seem content. Rather like Nicholas and Danny's friendship
in Hot Fuzz, it's another tale of balance and how you
need to maintain some fun and freedom in life like Gary does, but
know when to reel things back and take responsibility like his
friends do.
As
with any film where Edgar Wright is behind the camera, I can
unequivocally say that The World's End looks brilliant,
with consistently high production values and stunning direction. Like
the writing, many of his best trademarks are all here, with fast
choppy editing (though not to the point where it's disorientating
where many other films can falter), dramatic zooms, experimental
shots and angles and camerawork that never grows dull or uninspired.
Once the androids are introduced, we're treated to plenty of action
and fight sequences that are expertly choreographed and filmed.
They're also surprisingly brutal and if the androids didn't have blue
ink blood, they'd be a lot more graphic. Many of the fight scenes are
also completely owned by Nick Frost, who is just superb to watch once
his character starts coming out of his shell, although Rosamund Pike
also gets the occasional moment where she owns some of the fight
scenes too. The rest of the production looks just as great, and
there's some seamless effects work going on, particularly when it
comes to things like the android Oliver's half-destroyed head, or the
fire and destruction of the apocalypse in the last ten minutes.
The
World's End plays
host to some serious acting talent too, and while it may not be quite
as impressive as the cast list for Hot Fuzz,
the insane number of top actors in that film make it unfair standards
to hold it too. That being said, with names like Martin Freeman,
Pierce Brosnan, David Bradley and Rosamund Pike in The
World's End,
it still manages to impress and everyone is on form here no matter
how big their role. After playing comic relief or sympathetic roles
in the last two films, Nick Frost gets his chance to play the
straight man and he does a great job with it. He really is an
underrated and varied actor, and like I've said, when his character
comes out of his shell, he's a lot of fun to watch. Simon Pegg's
character is somewhat similar to Ed from Shaun Of
The Dead,
in that he can frequently be crude and difficult to get right. His
crassness and manipulative side could have made Gary King a less fun
and engaging lead in the hands of a lesser writer or actor, but Simon
Pegg is a strong and talented enough actor to pull it off, and Gary
himself is shown to have a well-hidden but more vulnerable side in
the last act.
However,
while The World's End is a strong film, I'll admit that
when compared to its Cornetto trilogy siblings, I'd argue it's
probably the weaker of the three. Now this is partly down to the
already ridiculously high quality of Shaun Of The Dead
and Hot Fuzz, but there are a couple of (admittedly
relatively minor) things that I feel The World's End
could have done a better job with. Most notable is that it can take
its time starting off, and it's not until the thirty-five minute mark
that the invading androids have even been introduced. While I
understand that the first half-hour is more dedicated on establishing
our main characters and the start of their pub crawl, and this
half-hour is still entertaining, it does end up feeling slower on
re-watches. The film also isn't quite as quotable and vivid in the
memory as its predecessors. That isn't to say there aren't some
exceptions, with one of my favourite lines of the film being “What
the f*** does WTF mean?”, but whereas Shaun Of The Dead
and Hot Fuzz were fit to burst with memorable
lines and funny gags, The World's End doesn't contain
quite as many.
When
I can come away from watching The World's End and say
that it's the weaker of three films, it's not because of a lack of
quality with this film, but the quality of the trilogy overall. This
is still an incredibly strong film that boasts a ton of fun, wit,
great performances and an intelligent script. It's a fitting end to
the Cornetto trilogy and solidifies it as one of the absolute
strongest film trilogies ever known, up with the likes of the Toy
Story and original Star Wars trilogies. The
creative team behind Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz
and The World's End are people to look out for
in the future, cause they possess some rare and strong talent.
The World's End
9/10