Born Movie Reviews

Movie Review written by: Born Movie Reviews

RT Critics Rating: 9/10

Born Movie Reviews' Rating: 9/10

This is it. The final installment of Edgar Wright's Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, the previous two films being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. All the major players are back and the crew is here on their third roller coaster ride, and the ride alone is thankfully one of the most enjoyable ones this year.

The World's End revolves around Gary King (Simon Pegg), a hedonistic alcoholic, a crazy fast-talking cock of a man. He says that he is one of a kind. I cannot agree more. There is indeed only one Gary King. The film follows King as he tracks down his four estranged friends to complete the Golden Mile, an infamous pub crawl that includes twelve pubs total, located in their hometown of Newton Haven. The group attempted the crawl twenty years earlier as teenagers, but failed to reach the final pub, known as The World's End. Of course, King's friends have all moved on to have adult lives and responsibilities. King himself, on the other hand, remains the same over the years. In the middle of their crawl, the group discovers that the town has been invaded by alien robots.

Story-wise, it seems like the aliens have nothing to do with the story of the group's pub crawl. You will be surprised. There is an efficient thematic tie-in that makes the entire film make sense.

If you have ever seen Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz before, then you will find The World's End very familiar in the visual department --the editing, the sound effects, and the stylistic transitions are still here. Its fast pace makes the entire film feel hyper, and pretty soon, you'll feel hyper and pumped along with it. As a result, the movie can feel a lot funnier than it is supposed to be, which is a good thing. For sure, watch all three Edgar Wright films together back to back.

The World's End, through many heartful moments, proves that it is Simon Pegg's most original performance, though in terms of best performance, it's a tad short of portraying Shaun. Here, he talks unbelievably fast, and remains a jerk to his friends, yet his friends still deal with him. On our perspectives, though, he is hilarious and the type that we are willing to tolerate comically. For Nick Frost, on the other hand, he is surely the best in this film out of all others. For me specificallly, the cliche "loser" archetype that Frost plays in almost every British comedy was starting to get old, and here he plays a character who is serious and sincere, but through alcohol, becomes crazy. For the rest of the supporting cast, they each have a thin but classifiable personality, and thankfully, every line of dialogue they say fits who they are.

In case you have never seen the films from the Pegg/Frost duo, note this: This is classic golden British comedy. It is the kind of comedy where either you are on board or you are not. For me personally, they hit and miss. The language is vulgar, very vulgar. There's drugs and alcohol. The humor is crude, violent, and cynical. Yet, with the help of Wright's direction, the entire tone and atmosphere of The World's End is hilarious.

In conclusion, The World's End is the same reckless heartful piece produced from Edgar Wright and my favorite comedic duo that's alive today. With the sharpest dialogue, stylistic editing, and a large plethora of entertaining scenes, Wright's final installment finishes off with intriguing commentary about society today that fortunately fits in perfectly with the plot, without pushing itself. Like the lead character, The World's End is a reckless but lovable circus.