As a HUGE fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, I was unbelievably excited about The World’s End. The trailers show off a fun premise, refreshingly mix things up a bit with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s characters, and, of course, funny dialogue. And while I got all of that with The World’s End, I will say that it is the weakest of the “trilogy” mainly due to a really strange ending, but The World’s End is still a very funny movie and worth seeing if you’re looking to laugh or to see something different than every other movie out there.
In the beginning of The World’s End, we see five teenage boys attempting a pup crawl consisting of twelve different pups which they do not complete. Many years later, four of the five boys have taken on careers and some have even started families. Gary King (Simon Pegg), the “leader” of the boys back when they were kids, is still living in the past like he’s still a teenager. So much in the past that he wants to try the pup crawl again with his four friends. After he gets the group back together, the five musketeers head back to their hometown to finish the pub crawl. And, let’s just say, things get very very bizarre.
Maybe a little too bizarre in fact. I’m all for originality and I commend this movie for being different but that bizarreness didn’t entirely work at the end of the film. The way everything was left off and where our characters ended up was very unsatisfying. The bizarre premise worked for the movie but some tweaking to the end would’ve went a long way.
It’s a shame because a lot of the movie was fantastic. This movie is very different than not just every comedy out there but every movie out there. It really was satisfying seeing something brand new unfold before me making this movie absurdly entertaining.
A lot of that entertainment comes from the fantastic performances. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are one of my favorite comedic duos of all time and they shine once again in this film. Their roles being swapped (instead of Nick Frost being the irresponsible clueless one and Simon Pegg being the responsible one, the roles are switched) was a great move and really showed off their powerful acting skills.
The rest of the cast which includes Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and Paddy Considine as the other three guys and Rosamund Pike who plays Martin Freeman’s sister were great in the movie as well and added on to that breath of fresh air I talked about before as the movie is different from the other “Cornetto” movies. So instead of seeing Shaun of the Dead 2 or Hot Fuzz 2, we get a whole new experience.
That experience would not have been achieved if it wasn’t for the great visual effects and Edgar Wright’s direction. Edgar Wright has come a long way from the shaky cam of the ending to Hot Fuzz and gave us great looking fight scenes in this movie. There is some slight shaky cam but that all works due to the absurdity of everything and the drunkenness of the characters.
Of course, the big question about this movie (being a comedy and all) is, “is it funny?” I’m very happy to say that this movie is hilarious. I laughed many many times throughout the film about as much as I did with the other “Cornetto” movies. A lot of people have been comparing the movie to This Is the End and let me tell you that this movie is completely different from that film so don’t let that keep you away from the theater.
THE VERDICT
Filled with laughs, The World’s End is one of the best comedies of 2013 and one of the most refreshing movies I’ve seen in a very long time. The performances were fantastic, the dialogue was great, and the fight scenes were lots of fun. It’s a shame the bizarreness of the movie went a little too far for my tastes but don’t let that keep you away from seeing The World’s End.
For reviews and more from me, Petey Oneto, you can check out my blog but be sure to check back to Resident Entertainment for more of my posts in the future.