A bit late, but Josh and Violet’s movie reviews of The World’s End are finally here! The film, directed by Edgar Wright, and starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman follows 5 reunited friends on an epic pub crawl that they could not complete in their prime. Back for a second try, things go a little world-end-y on their journey to the final pub, The World’s End. Let’s get into the movie reviews and see what we think!
His The World’s End Review:
The World’s End is the final film in the unofficially named trilogy called the Cornetto Trilogy. Named so only because Nick Frost’s character in each of the three films mentions that brand of ice cream, even though the films are completely unrelated story-wise. The World’s End teams up Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost again (previous notable films are Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). So what is the story of The World’s End? On the surface, it doesn’t sound as exciting as some people may think.
Gary King (played by Simon Pegg), a recovering drug addict, is in the midst of a nostalgia fit, where he wants to “get the band back together”, meaning his friends from high school, so they can do the epic pub crawl of their home town: called the Golden Mile, Gary King wants to hit twelve bars, 1 pint at each bar. They had tried it when they were all younger, but failed due to women and weed, and as could be predicted–that much alcohol is not easy to consume.
Unfortunately for Gary King, his friends have all done the “proper thing” and have their 9-5 jobs, and the “average” British life. Their friends (played by Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan) are hesitant, and Andy (Nick Frost’s character) outright refuses to have anything to do with Gary. Gary is a quick talking, energetic sweet talker though, and convinces the 5 to join him on his epic trip. We learn that he is a bit of a jerk, manipulative and pretty selfish along the way.
As the group proceeds on their pub crawl, they begin to notice stranger and stranger things along the way. Eventually, things spin out of control however, and the group finds themselves in the midst of a full blown world-ending situation.
So how is the film? I’ll preface this with a disclaimer: Edgar Wright and British films in general are hit and miss with me. I did not really like Shaun of the Dead, but I thought Hot Fuzz was great. I really enjoyed Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, another Edgar Wright film which did well critically, but was not a big hit at the box offices when it came out. So where did that leave me with The World’s End? I think somewhere in the middle. I thought it was really funny, however the premise of the movie in my opinion was really stupid once the bigger plot begins to develop.
The acting was great in the film. Simon Pegg played an excellent manipulative bastard, and Nick Frost and Martin Freeman were great in their parts as well. There were some fun cameos too, such as Pierce Brosnan and David Bradley. The comedy was great in the film as well. I usually find British humor lackluster, but this film had me cracking up quite a bit. On the more serious side, I was also wondering what the deal with Gary King was, and why he felt the need to make this journey.
The train gets a little off the tracks for me later in the film though, when despite the catastrophe that has struck the town, he insists on continuing their pub crawl. Why on Earth would they continue? Gary provides an explanation, but I think that Edgar Wright really didn’t care about making this film completely logical over more comical. I am sure the absurdities were purposefully done, but that didn’t make it bother me any less!
If you look past the illogical, absurd parts of the film, it is actually a pretty fun comedy flick. The science fiction part of the film is quite fun as well, even if a bit cheesy. I have purposely remained vague about it, so that people who haven’t seen the film aren’t spoiled, as I think it is a fun part of the movie. The ending was interesting as well, and I am curious if that plans to go anywhere in the future.
Overall, I would give The World’s End film a 7 out of ten. Unfortunately, comedies are not a favorite of mine, and they will always fall short of a good sci-fi/thriller movie. But for those huge Edgar Wright fans out there, I think this film is right up their alley. Plenty of humor, absurdity, and plenty of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to laugh at, mixed in with a little sci-fi/apocalyptic settings, the film is sure to be entertaining for most audiences at the very least.
Her The World’s End Review:
The World’s End, a sci-fi comedy movie written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, and directed by Edgar Wright, is the final movie in the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, which includes the films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. For those unaware, Cornetto is a British ice cream cone comparable to the Drumstick here in the U.S. In Shaun of the Dead, the Cornetto flavour used was strawberry, to refer to blood, while in Hot Fuzz the ice cream was blue, to refer to the police, and finally, The World’s End used green mint chocolate chip, as a nod to the film’s sci-fi element. The film stars Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine, and Rosamund Pike, and also features cameos from other stars such as David Bradley and Pierce Brosnan.
The World’s End is about five guys who return to their hometown of Newton Haven after 20 years to complete the pub crawl that they attempted and failed to complete all those years ago. Although to be clear, it’s not that the five guys decided to do this together because they’re still such great friends after all these years. To the contrary, many of them haven’t spoken to each other in awhile, and they don’t seem to like Gary (Simon Pegg) very much, who is the one that goes to each of his friends using lies to convince them to go back for the pub crawl. Each of Gary’s friends have gone on to live responsible adult lives, while Gary is still immature and stuck in the past. In the end, he is able to convince all four to join him, although Andy (Nick Frost) is the most resistant of the four, and no longer drinks.
So the five friends, Gary, Andy, Oliver (Martin Freeman), Peter (Eddie Marsan), and Steven (Paddy Considine) meet up and drive out to Newton Haven and start the pub crawl, which consists of 12 pubs. Throughout the course of the pub crawl, we get a lot of background information on the past that the five friends shared, and gain more insight into why the friends seem to harbor some animosity toward Gary.
However, their pub crawl is a bit interrupted upon an unusual discovery that would have sent most people running in the other direction. But, no matter, Gary won’t let that stop him. He is determined to follow through with his quest to get through all 12 pubs in the pub crawl. To him, failure is not an option this time around.
The movie was a bit ridiculous at times, but that is to be expected of a Cornetto movie, and only adds to the humor. Each of the five friends has a separate and distinct personality that is well displayed in the movie and provides relatability to each character. This is often hard to do when there are so many main characters, but Wright and Pegg did a great job of establishing each and every character, and making us feel like we knew them. It was a little bothersome to me when one of them, Peter, for example, would start to get into his back story, when all of a sudden there would be an abrupt interruption. But it was understandable that they would want to keep the movie flowing and not linger too long on the tragic details, opting instead for comedic relief.
I thought the effects were actually pretty great. I can’t think of any scene where something bothered me because it looked too fake. Pretty much everything was realistic looking . I was surprised, yet pleased, at the direction that the end of the movie took, as I was not aware that it would go that far. The very end of the movie is quite abrupt, however, and leaves you wanting more.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It did a great job of combining the sci-fi and comedy genres, without being overly sci-fi or overly comedic, while also providing great character development. However, as a female and a non-drinker, I felt I wasn’t able to really get into the movie and relate to it as much as most other people would probably be able to. It seems like a guy would be more into this movie, because it’s mostly about a night out drinking with the guys. I don’t think I found it quite as hilarious as others did, maybe because I struggle with British humor sometimes. I mean, I watch Doctor Who, but that’s about it. And although I liked Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, I don’t find myself quite as obsessed with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as it seems most people are. I’m just a casual fan.
My rating: 7.5/10
This was a movie I enjoyed thoroughly. I liked the mix of sci-fi and comedy. It worked surprisingly well.
World’s End was good. I like Simon Pegg, and this was another great movie from him. I wasn’t expecting it to be that much of a sci-fi movie.
Amazing end to the trilogy!