Featured

The World’s End (2013)

September 09, 2013 By Mike B
Movie Review

The World’s End Film Review

What Worked?

The Cornetto Trilogy, aka the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy, comes to a finale  at The World’s End, and it goes out with a bang that echos throughout the history of film trilogies. The trio of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Director Edgar Wright come together to give us a tale of five men looking to accomplish a high school pub crawl mission called the golden mile, in which they must conquer 12 different pubs in one day. Their bags are packed, the beast is roaring, and the “robots” are in for a surprise.

Wright has such an energetic style of direction, moving from one scene to the next with perfect timing, complimenting the comedic precision of the always reliable Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. In the film, the effects are done exceptionally well with the “robots” and their glowing headlights coming from their…heads. The gore is plentiful as well, even though most of it is an inky blue. The film is littered with homages to Sci-Fi films (and films in general), as well as symbolism. Pay attention to the pub names and pictures as they make their way through the golden mile. What was really surprising was how entertaining, and well choreographed the fight scenes were. When Frost wields bar stools as boxing gloves, it just can’t get any better.

The chemistry of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are the heart of this film, just like the first two in the trilogy. Pegg plays Gary, a rebel that’s pathetically, and hilariously, trying to hold on to his past because it’s all he’s got, and Frost plays Andy, his best friend that used to have a wild side, until society put it out. Gary is someone that believes life should be one big party because you can conform when you’re dead. He’s a free spirit that does what he wants, and Pegg has him nailed down. Andy is the complete opposite, as he has a good head on his shoulders, and has left his past behind to grow up and enter the monotony of the daily grind. The two rekindle, along with the rest of their buddies, and realize that “to err is to be human,” and that the town is infested with blue-filled “robots” trying to kill them.

Is it possible to grow up and maintain that free-spirit or do we always have to choose? The World’s End dances with this question throughout the entire film. The film is about the difficulty in resisting adulthood, where the inevitable is that the young life, the world you once knew, is going to end. The best comedy is the truth, and the Pegg/Frost/Wright team serves it up in fried gold. Wright’s film also portrays what a sincere friendship really is: complete acceptance of another person.

Go have a pint, start at Shaun of the Dead, follow it up with Hot Fuzz, and hit your last stop: the World’s End. Time to boo boo.

P.S. After you’ve watched the film, check out the Golden Mile pub crawl signs.

Potential Drawbacks:

If you aren’t into comedies with sarcasm, wit, cleverness or ones that are plentiful in film homages, this movie may be a bore to you. It’s definitely not a Starbucks movie, so keep that in mind while heading in.

Film Recommendations:

Shaun of the Dead

Hot Fuzz

Cabin in the Woods 

Constructive debates are welcome, but personal attacks are not. If you feel a comment is offensive or considered spam, please feel free to flag it.

Latest Reviews

  • Lock starring Tom Hardy
  • Locke

    One of the best places to have time to yourself and really think about your life is in your car;...

    Read Review >>
  • Expendables 3 Once again, Sylvester Stallone and company are back to spill blood and yell out manly things. Expendables 3 continues the old school action of the...
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Back in the 90s, the turtles in a half shell hit the big screen with three live action movies that were ridiculously fun to watch for kids. Michael...
  • Guardians of the Galaxy We've ventured off into space before, but we've never done it with such a likable bunch as Star Lord, Groot, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket. James Gunn's...
  • See more reviews »