Rating: C+
Dir: Edgar Wright
Star: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman
Ten years on from my first viewing, almost to the day, and of the trilogy, this one has worn least well. It’s probably telling that I likely haven’t seen it since its initial release, while both Shaun and Fuzz have been seen on multiple occasions. If I’m surfing and see either of those, I’ll likely dip in. This one? Meh. Reading my original review (below), the Dr. Who comparison seems apt, especially in the finale which basically has the hero annoying an alien invasion off of Earth. The bad news: we stopped watching Dr. Who a couple of years ago. It may still be a key factor that the ground it’s treading, described by the makers as “British social science fiction”, is already well-worn.
That stands in contrast to its predecessors. Outside of 28 Days Later, there had hardly been a British zombie film of note before Shaun. Fuzz seemed similarly fresh, in its relocation of Hollywood action tropes to the English countryside. This might well be a Christmas special episode of Dr. Who, complete with special guest stars like Pierce Brosnan and Martin Freeman. This is a bit – okay, considerably – more sweary, including the immortal line, “Why don’t you just get back in your rocket and fuck off to Legoland, you cunts!” That had the makers sending a inquiring letter to the BBFC, asking how many C-bombs they were allowed in a ’15’ certificate. The answer: it depends on context.
It is, basically, another mid-life crisis movie for Pegg. His character here, Gary, is definitely a bit of a dick, to put it mildly. Even by the end, I’m not certain what life lesson has been learned: he has now become a teetotal dick. That’s what passes for a character arc here. More appealing and entertaining is Andy Knightley (Frost), who goes from a sober corporate lawyer to a true drunken master, eventually swinging pub stools around like an English version of Sammo Hung. Key word “eventually”, since the early going is almost a chore, with things not kicking off properly until Gary gets into a bathroom fight with one of the alien-made replacements for the locals. That and the other brawls are likely the film’s best element, providing comedy that is surprisingly light in other areas.
The idea for this had been kicking around for a while – it started as a teenage-based script called Crawl, written by Wright when he was 21. Yet it feels more like contractual obligation than a project made out of particular passion. Things like the foreshadowing of the pub names seems forced, and the musical choices put the cart in front of the horse. “Loaded” by Primal Scream is about as obvious a choice as imaginable. Perhaps it’s me, not being a fan at all of “Madchester”, which heavily pollutes proceedings here. I admit, I did enjoy the use of This Corrosion by The Sisters of Mercy at the end.
It’s ironic that one of the themes of this is, “You can never go back,” because the results feel like Wright himself was attempting to go back to what had worked, after the expensive failure of Scott Pilgrim. What’s true in the movie is, to a significant degree, true of the movie. Ten years on, this is increasingly likely the last collaboration between Wright, Pegg and Frost. Perhaps they felt there was nothing more of interest to add. Perhaps they had drifted apart in their career goals. Either way, I think a parting of the ways may have been for the best. While this has some very good moments, it’s not difficult to see why this is the lowest-rated of the trilogy, and going on further together may well have been in nobody’s best interests.
[September 2013] 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
This is 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 forgivable. B+