The World's End (2013)

The World's End (2013)

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Martin Freeman.

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Plot: Back in 1990, a group of friends in the small town of Newton Haven attempted to complete "the Golden Mile" after they finish school.  This legendary pub crawl includes The First Post, The Old Familiar, The Famous Cock, The Cross Hands, The Good Companions, The Trusty Servant, The Two Headed Dog, The Mermaid, The Beehive, The King's Head, The Hole In The Wall, and finally, The World's End.  The friends only make it through nine of the pubs, and end up going their separate ways soon after.  Twenty-three years later, Gary King (the leader of the group) decides to reunite the boys together and complete "the Golden Mile" for old times sake.  The rest of the group reluctantly agree, and they begin their crawl with little incident.  However, they soon discover that something isn't right with their hometown, as it seems the people seem to be acting odd.  The group quickly realizes that the majority of the population has been replaced by robotic duplicates, and they plan to assimilate the rest of the planet.  In order to not attract attention, Gary and his friends must continue the pub crawl in order to not attract suspicion..  Will they be able to finish "the Golden Mile" while also keeping their lives, or will they be assimilated into a collective?

"Gary thinks we should keep up with the crawl because they know what they're doing, but they don't know that we know what they're doing, and basically no one else has a better idea so, f**k it."

Characters: Like the last two installments of the Cornetto Trilogy, the supporting cast is outstandingly memorable.  Each character has their own unique personality trait and quirk that helps the audience identify them even if they can't remember their names.  But unlike films such as Fargo or Brazil, this is done in a more lighthearted way, which fits the somewhat goofy tone of the movie.

"Drink up.  Let's Boo-boo."

Steven Prince, Peter Page, and Oliver Chamberlain are three of the more minor members of the group of friends, who despite having relatively minor roles, manage to stand out on their own merits.  Oliver (Martin Freeman) is very business minded, with his blue tooth always on, but his protectiveness of his sister, Sam shows through often and makes him relatable.  Steven (Paddy Considine) is more serious and sensible one on the outside, but as the movie continues and he gets more buzzed, he becomes more and more energized and bold, especially when it comes to his love for Sam.  Peter (Eddie Marsan) is much meeker and wimpier, but he grows to become braver and crazier with each drink, which leads to hilarious results. 

"Ten people have entered in this toilet in the last five minutes and not a single one has come back out again. That's going to look suspicious."

 Nick Frost returns to the Cornetto Trilogy, this time playing Andy Knightley, Gary's ex-best friend.  Unlike his previous roles, where he played somewhat dim man-children, this character is much more serious and down-to-earth, which really shows off his range as an actor.  He portrays the frustration and anger he has towards Gary very well, and it feels like these characters have a believable history with each other.  The contempt he has towards Gary contributes to a lot of the drama, as well as the comedy.  However, some of his funniest lines are when he starts drinking again after not having a drink in sixteen years.  In a different movie, this would've been a defeat of his character, but in this film, his return to drinking is a way for him to connect with Gary, as well as gain even better comedic timing.  The way he barrels through the enemies using only bar stools is a great image, and adds to many of the fantastic fights.

"How can you tell if you're drunk if you're never sober." 

Simon Pegg also makes a return, this time as Gary King.  Out of all the characters Pegg has played, this is probably the most fascinating.  He can also be rude, selfish, and insensitive, but his charisma and charm make his personality more entertaining.  Much of his comedy comes from his jokes at his friend's expense.  However his insistence on living in the past with rose-tinted glasses not only adds to the comedy, but it also comes off as sad and almost pathetic at times.  Sure, his personality would've been more acceptable when he was a teenager, but as someone in his forties, it feels pitiful.  This can lead to a lot of analysis of his character, which definitely enriches to experience of watching the movie.

"Ever have one of those nights that starts out like any other but ends up being the best night of your life?"

Writing: Like the last two additions of the trilogy, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright have crafted a magnificently funny script for this film.  Many of the sight gags are hilarious, including one particularly funny moment.  It's when they reach the first pub, and the movie shows four glasses being filled with beer while dramatic music plays.  Suddenly, the music stops and it shows Andy's glass filling up with tap water.  This is a great example of using misdirection to create comedy.

"A man of your legendary prowess drinking f**king rain! It's like a lion eating houmous."

However, most of the humor comes from the dialogue between the characters.  There are so many memorable lines that I can hardly remember all of them.  Most of them come in the form of non-sequiters, like when Gary explains how the group came up with the term "let's Boo-boo" when they were in school.  Despite being a shot scene that doesn't contribute to the plot, it makes the characters more believable as people, while also adding to the pile of funny lines.

Production: This film is wonderful to look at, especially during the fight scenes.  They're very well choreographed and have a kinetic pace that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.  There's a particularly great fight where the friends brawl with duplicates in the men's bathroom that's done in almost one shot that shows off how each character fights their opponent.  It's a great mix of cinematography and choreography that creates an excellent fight scene.

A duplicate minus its head.

The special effects are also very good, with a minimal use of CGI to get across the "gore" that happens to the duplicates.  There is some moments when there is pretty obvious CGI, which can take the audience out of the movie for a bit, but these points are few and far between.  However, the best part of the production would have to be the editing.  It turns already great fights and jokes into even better ones by creating a quick pace using quick cuts, energetic music, and interesting camera angles.  It's also not afraid to slow down a bit during the more dramatic scenes, which helps construct a very balanced film.

Trivia:

• Each main character has a last name that relates to royalty or a court: (Gary) King, (Andy) Knightly, (Peter) Page, (Steven) Prince, and (Oliver) Chamberlain.
• The poster for the pub, The King's Head, is an image of Simon Pegg dressed as a king, as his character's name implies.
• Edgar Wright not only took inspiration from the films The Thing and The Stepford Wives, he also took inspiration from their posters, with The Thing's poster having a light shining from someone's face, and The Stepford Wives having someone's head cracked open like a pot.
• Simon Pegg and Seth Rogen are good friends in real life.  When Rogen described his new film called "The End of the World", Pegg asked him if the title would be changed so that it wouldn't be too similar to The World's End.  After giving it some thought, Rogen agreed and changed his film's title to This Is The End, which was also released in 2013.

Final Verdict: As you've probably already guessed, I think that The World's End is a great film from start to finish.  It has well written characters, amazing editing, and a script full of Wright and Pegg's signature wit.  While Shaun of the Dead may be my favorite film in the Cornetto Trilogy, this is still a highly recommendable movie that's a fun time even on its own.  I'm somewhat sad that I'm finished reviewing the trilogy, but someday I hope to return to Wright's other movies, and I look forward to his future projects.

Next time, I'll review my first animated movie, as well as my first foreign film.

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