The World's End

So it’s reunion time for Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as they complete their “Cornetto Trilogy” with The World’s End. And the theme of reuniting is what drives the plot for the film as Gary King (Pegg) convinces a group of his old school friends (Frost, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Martin Freeman) to meet up and return to their childhood town of Newton Haven and complete a famous pub crawl that they failed to finish some twenty years previous. On its own that sounds like a two-part drama on ITV or possibly something from the stable of Loach or Leigh. However, this is from the pen of Wright and Pegg so they throw in an alien invasion for good measure. Though this is a film for both sexes to enjoy, all the men in the audience will recognise themselves as the now 30 and 40 something’s discussing old flames and scrapes from the past. The nostalgic ambiance is soon forgotten though when the boy’s night on the beers is turned on its head when they discover (in a clever genre changing scene) their old town has been taken over by aliens and they must fight for their own survival. Well, I say survive, but these aliens are from the John Wyndham invasion school, i.e. not overtly scary and somewhat lumbering. That’s actually slightly problematic for the horror aspect of the film as you never really feel the characters are in any real danger and the fights, though choreographed by Brad Allen, just come across as stagey, not helped by the invaders “bleeding” light blue paint. Wright and Pegg’s screenplay is good on the joke front though, with the gags coming so thick and fast that any that fail to land their mark are quickly forgotten about as a new chuckle comes along shortly thereafter. There’s even some social commentary thrown in (see the lovely gag concerning the look of the first and second pubs) and a soundtrack that will kill for anyone who was a teenager in the early 1990’s. It’s a shame then that it goes so drastically wrong in the last twenty minutes with any wit usurped by “comic” swearing, dodgy specials effects and an ending that is so off-kilter with what has gone before it leaves you leaving the cinema wondering whether this had any test screenings. Shaun Of The Dead and, to a lesser extent, Hot Fuzz also suffered from weak endings, but this really is terrible, including a character reveal that is so dark in tone it sits uneasily with the atmosphere of general mirth. On the acting front Pegg is fine as the eternal man-child, though it’s Frost who steals the film putting in arguably his best ever performance. He really comes into his own as an actor here in, ironically enough, a style of film that doesn’t really warrant it. Plus he raises one of the biggest cinematic laughs of the year with a mini speech and drunken exit from one of the pubs. As for Wright’s direction this is him in a more sober (sorry) mood. The usual quick edits and cuts are here, but this lacks his usual flashy signature. In terms of the triumvirate, this is the weakest of the three films, but that’s no surprise when you consider the stiff opposition that is represented by the first two films.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

This has its missteps (the ending the ending the ending), but it’s unlikely you’ll see a film this year that will make you laugh out loud as many times as this does. Rating: 7/10.