 The World's End
Dir: Edgar Wright
Star: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman
The finale of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, certainly lives up to its predecessors: I'd probably rank it as better than Hot Fuzz, but not as good as Shaun, though your mileage may vary. Having covered horror and action genres in the previous two entries, this one is more towards science-fiction. At times, it plays like a Dr. Who episode, possessing the same mix of quirky charm and intelligent wit, but the way the plot takes a left-turn in the middle, and the bar locations, reminded me a fair bit of From Dusk Till Dawn. Five friends, led by the alcoholic reprobate Gary (Pegg), reunite in their home town of Newton Haven, in an effort to re-create a legendary failed pub-crawl from their youth, through a dozen pubs in one night, even though the other four have now largely matured beyond such things. However, plans for a simple night of hardcore drinking are derailed, when an encounter in a pub toilet leads to Gary decapitating what turns out to be a robot: part of an apparent alien attempt to take over the world, one of the insertion points being Newton Haven.
Like the other entries, it straddles the boundary between its genre and comedy with impeccable ease, and it's clear those involved have a deep, genuine affection for SF. There's also a lot here that will repay repeat viewing, with foreshadowing of later events, etc. - even the pub names are meaningful. I was also surprisingly impressed with the fight scenes here, especially considering neither Pegg nor Frost are actually renowned martial artists; credit Brad Allen, who has worked with Jackie Chan, for managing to make them look increasingly-competent, the more they drink (obvious shades of JC's Drunken Master there). After the horror that was Scott Pilgrim, nice to see Wright rein things back a bit, and the film is all the more effective for it, even if the eventual denouement is somewhat anti-climactic, and some elements don't make that much sense. However, the rest is such an entertaining and smart ride, possessing both brain and heart, that its flaws are absolutely forgiveable.
B+
[September 2013]
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