Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
Synopsis: Gary King (Pegg) assembles his
childhood friends to reattempt an epic pub crawl in their hometown. However,
upon getting there they discover the town has been taken over by aliens and the
only way to go unnoticed is to carry on their crawl until they reach The
World’s End.
Topping
Spaced must have had Simon Pegg,
Edgar Wright and Nick Frost full of trepidation to begin with. With their
innate comic sensibilities, however, that worry didn’t last long once The Good
Companions came up with Shaun of the Dead.
The success of Shaun – from
commercial, critical and global appreciation – then made the prospect of a
second film quite daunting. Hot Fuzz,
as it came to be, was not as wonderful as Shaun
of the Dead or Spaced but it made
for an entertaining two hours, with a final 30 minutes that was plain ace. So,
for the end of their much loved “Blood and Ice Cream”/“Cornetto” trilogy the
last instalment means a lot. It’s then a shame that even with some Old Familiar
jokes and our best British buddy icons – Pegg and Frost – together again with
Wright that The World’s End is not a
satisfying end to such a beloved set of films.
One
of the main issues with Hot Fuzz
lacking Shaun’s certifiable appeal
was seeing Pegg go from daft yet doting figure in the First Post of the trilogy
film to a stern and slightly cold figure in the next. The World’s End sees him play a weird combination of the two; Gary
King is, for the most part, asinine and irksome. Aspects of his back story
explain some of these characteristic and help to humanism him past the annoying
qualities, but he’ll never be the character you admire the most. He labels
himself “The King” but in his friend’s and audience’s eyes he’s just the Famous
Cock of the bunch, strutting his stuff, ignorant towards others. Frost’s Andrew
is similarly tough to love at the start but soon (after he’s had a few pints)
steals the show, just like the Trusty Servant he always is as the comic support.
Rosamund Pike as the love interest is token and dull, whilst the Mermaid-esque
“Marmalade Sandwich” are far more fun and interesting. The remaining players,
mainly Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine and Eddie Marsan serve to aid exposition
and occasional narrative momentum but fail to give the ensemble the same soul
that the Spaced crew mustered.
The
constant comparison to the trio’s previous work is hard to let slide,
especially with a barrage of cameos and occasional in-jokes we’ve come to know
over the years. They are always lovely reminders as to how far the cast and
crew have all come, and to highlight the fan base they’ve built up. The World’s End is a Beehive of the
Cornetto trilogy actors and contemporary comic stars, popping up to please you
past the narrative and dialogue. Some actors are missed (Peter Serafinowicz and
Jessica Hynes went unspotted), leaving you with the feeling that it’s not all
said and done. This may be deemed the final chapter in the Cornetto trilogy but
it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Expecting some sort of bow from the lot of
them once the credits start rolling, this is not a heartfelt goodbye/trilogy
sign-off from Pegg, Wright and Frost and the curiosity as to why leaves a
damper on it all. Overall it’s hard to tell what tonality Pegg and Wright (as
the writers) are after; it’s like the film’s Two Headed Dog image, one’s
attention on one thing and one’s on something else.
Without
the trio’s names on the billing/in someone else’s hands, this film would be a
write-off. It’s a mark of the team’s brilliance that they have made such an
abnormal film without a studio or test-audience’s involvement – a testament to
what they mean to British entertainment, working only with each other. The plot
never really lulls once it gets going but it takes a slow 30 minutes for drinks
and fun to be had. The pub crawl plot is a brilliantly inventive narrative –
linear with countless opportunities for side-stepping and disequilibrium. The
town invasion story is where the chaos really ensues but the basic premise is
used in conjunction with aliens terrifically.
After
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and the
upcoming Antman, Wright has mastered
his fight choreography with The World’s
End sporting some excellent fight sequences. One moment sees Gary
attempting to fend off a hoard of the townspeople whilst trying not to spill
his pint. It’s a fantastic piece of physical humour – you can tell all of
what’s going through King’s Head to keep that pint full as Pegg has become a
masterful comic actor; Buster Keaton would have been proud. With many a Hole in
the Wall/window, fires, and blood/ink splatters when fights really erupt, it’s
a fun and exciting ride when it wants to be. Sadly, it builds and builds to a
crescendo that neither satisfies nor leaves any great moments in its wake. What
we do benefit from is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of the aforementioned
Cornetto at the end – the best gag saved till last.
With
the town invasion aside that harks back to Shaun’s
thematic as well as Hot Fuzz’s eerie
rural village focus, it certainly feels like part of the trilogy. However, the
humour and characters are disappointingly average in relation to what’s come
before. With the jokes about the Starbucks effect on pubs, Frost once he’s had
a few, and a handful of guests that put a smile on your face, The World’s End keeps you entertained
and chuckling, but never thrilled and in stitches. Much like a night of
drinking, it seems to get better as more alcohol becomes consumed but may
induce a sickly feeling for the bound-to-be-disappointed fans who were awaiting
a triumphant finish to the Blood and Ice Cream films.
***
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