The Cornetto Trilogy has been brought to close with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s The World’s End and it’s another comedy masterpiece building on the genius of Hot Fuzz and Shaun if the Dead. With Nick Frost in toe, along with Paddy Consadine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan and Rosamund Pike, Pegg leads the way for the ultimate climax of an alien invasion.
The story surrounds a group of middle aged friends who return to their childhood town of Newton Haven to take on the infamous pub crawl that beat them all when they were growing up. Simon Pegg (Paul) plays the group’s self absorbed great leader, Gary King, who manages to persuade the others to take on the challenge once again, but things get pretty freaky after the first couple of beers as they find out that the town has been overran by alien robots with blue blood.
Pegg is the main source of the majority of the jokes and he plays the part of the middle aged waster to perfection with the others as his more seriousness companions. However, the genius of the film is that as it progresses the characters get more and more annihilated as they down the pints and crush the eggy skulls of the robotic alien invaders.
One of the funniest moments of the film comes from Nick Frost (Cuban Fury) as character, Andy, lays out destructive fight moves that take their toll on the alien massive in the loos of the second pub, The Old Familiar. His back cracking overhead lift drop is a thing of comic beauty only to be followed up with a skull obliterating elbow of doom.
Paddy Consadine (Submarine), Martin Freeman (Sherlock) and Eddie Marsan’s characters, Steven, Oliver and Peter, are pretty understated, but each of they play their part well to form the group dynamic. They also have their moments of comic brilliance to back up Pegg’s unashamed joke machine King of the world.
The cameo roles are pretty cool as Pierce Brosnan (A Long Way Down) rears his head as their former teacher, Rafe Spall (I Give It A Year) appears fleetingly with Alice Lowe (Sightseers) as a couple looking at a house, Steve Oram (also in Sightseers) is the town’s well wishing policeman and Reece Shearsmith (Psychoville 2) is one of the town’s biggest alien collaborators. There’s also Billy Nighy as the voice of the alien network and Darren Boyd (Holy Flying Circus) plays Peter’s former bully and school torturer.
Some of the special effects will age quickly, like the giant robot statue thing that walks around trying to hunt them down, but on the whole the look and feel of The World’s End is effective. The dazzling lights of the robots eyes, blue eggy destructability and random re-animation capabilities gives the film a unique alien concept that adds the required level of comic tension.
In general, the storyline works well, albeit tenuously threaded at times, but there’s a chink in the armour as Pegg and Wright seem to have struggled to link the main build up of the film with the overall ending. The plot doesn’t entirely break down, but it does judder into its climax. Luckily, the end of the film is as witty and unexpected as that of Shaun of the dead.
The World’s End is a very funny ending to Pegg and Wright’s multicoloured, ice cream treat and while it sort of wanders towards the finish it still manages to make the ride a lot of fun. If you liked either of the original films then the final in the trilogy will have you roaring with laughter. However, if you don’t like comedy super-violence then it may not be one to watch.
The World’s End review: 4.1/5
