It seems this year, Hollywood had a fascination with the end of the world. Be it Brad Pitt fighting off zombies across the globe, or Seth Rogen and his pals throwing a party during the rapture, the box office was purely apocalyptic. Out of all the films within the genre that came out this year, one stood out above the rest as the smartest and most heartfelt, The World's End.
The third film in Edgar Wright's Cornetto trilogy, The World's End tells the story of Gary King, a recovering drug addict who wishes to reunite his old high school friends to return to their hometown of Newton Haven in order to complete the legendary pub crawl, The Golden Mile. However, Newton Haven isn't at all like they remember, and they soon discover an extraterrestrial conspiracy to replace the town and it's citizens with robots.
The jokes in this movie don't come as often as they did in Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, but it still has a consistency to it's humor. The jokes are laugh out loud hilarious, and the sight gags are wickedly clever. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have crafted yet another brilliant comedy, which stands above the average gross-out laugh riot that seems to come out bi-weekly. It is a brilliant play on the science fiction genre, just as Wright's last films in the trilogy were commentaries on the zombie and buddy cop genres. It delightfully plays on the common tropes and twists them into it's own quirks.
What it has that the other two films in the trilogy didn't is a touching sense of realism and heart. The brutal fate which Gary King tries to move away from at the beginning of the movie is so wrenching and down-trodden that you almost immediately feel for our wacky protagonist. The lies he spins, his obsession with completion of the pub crawl, his glory days state of mind, it all feels so gritty and real. But when we near our conclusion, I challenge you not to sense how touching it all is.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost go together like salt and pepper. They complement each other perfectly, and have such a unique chemistry. What works best about them is that they can shift their dynamic almost seamlessly. Whereas in previous films in which they've appeared, Frost was our comedy source, here he is our straight man. The usually seriously stern Pegg gets to be much more playful with his role this time around. This is what makes them such a wonderful pairing. They can do so much with each other without getting stale.
Each of the ensemble gets their moment to shine. Whereas some comedies may throw the talents of Pierce Brosnan, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan to the side, this film allows them to craft wonderfully colorful characters who get so more much to do.
This movie absolutely deserves your attention. It is easily the most heartfelt and intelligent comedy to come out this year. And I personally guarantee you will feel for our wonderfully three dimensional characters.
A-
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