"The World's End" Review

In 2004, director Edgar Wright won audiences over with the raucous zombie romp, “Shaun of the Dead”, and continued his success in 2007 with the buddy-cop comedy “Hot Fuzz”. But in 2013, Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost bring their “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy to an aptly-titled conclusion with “The World’s End”.

Twenty years after an epic pub crawl attempt goes awry, five childhood friends reluctantly reunite in their hometown after one among them (Pegg) becomes fixated on attempting to finish the drinking marathon once and for all by reaching the twelfth and final pub known as “The World’s End”. As the men come to terms with both the past and present, they eventually realize that the true battle is for the future; a point that hits home when the guys unwittingly become humankind’s last hope for survival.

Viewers unfamiliar with Wright’s “Cornetto” trilogy may be wary of an all-English cast, fearing the deadpan, sarcastic sense of humor that permeates British comedy. Such humor is not for everyone, so credit Wright and Pegg for evoking a sense of humor that everyone can enjoy with one of the year’s freshest, funniest screenplays. 

With non-stop laughs, plenty of action and a cast of layered, well-developed characters, “The World’s End” rarely misses a beat. It helps when you have the dynamic comedic duo of Frost and Pegg in starring roles, as well as the cream of today’s most popular British actors in your supporting cast. Martin Freeman (“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”), Paddy Considine (“The Bourne Ultimatum”), Eddie Marsan (“Sherlock Holmes”) and Rosamund Pike (“Pride & Prejudice”) are all stellar and perfectly cast in their respective roles. Also, look out for a scruffy Pierce Brosnan and an interstellar Bill Nighy in two of the year’s best cameo appearances so far.

“The World’s End” also earns props for its clever blend of comedy and science fiction. There are several elements that will have longtime sci-fi fans drawing comparisons to “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, but as I recall, Donald Sutherland never had a pub crawl to finish. Much of the action is derived from the science fiction elements, nearly all of which are played for laughs. Concern was only briefly aroused when the inebriated heroes made a daring escape under circumstances that felt contrived at first but turned out to be logical once explained in the film’s denouement. The twists and turns along the way make for a breezy late-summer comedy.

The “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy earns its moniker for a motif involving Nick Frost’s characters and Cornetto brand ice cream in all three films. “Shaun of the Dead” features Frost’s Ed asking Pegg’s Shaun for a red strawberry-flavored Cornetto from the local convenience store. Red signifies the blood and gore of the zombie genre. “Hot Fuzz” features Frost’s Danny Butterman getting a “brain-freeze” after scarfing down a blue-wrapped, original Cornetto. Blue is a color associated with the police force. “The World’s End” depicts Frost’s Andy Knightly yearning for a green-wrapped, mint-flavored Cornetto after the packaging gets whisked up against a fence he’s standing behind. Green represents aliens and science fiction. 

Credit Wright and Pegg for three clever stories that all put their own hilarious twists on the horror, action and sci-fi genres, but the best Cornetto has been saved for last with “The World’s End”. A witty sense of humor that consistently delivers the laughs, loads of action, brisk pacing, well-developed characters and capable actors to fill their shoes make “The World’s End” a near-perfect late-summer film that’s worth sticking out “until the bitter end… or lager end”, as Pegg’s Gary King says, time and time again. One of the year's best and most heartfelt films so far.

9.5/10