The thirds flavor of Cornetto has long been my favorite. The World’s End is a Sci-fi comedy that works on every level. There is probably the best human story underneath the action and comedy of the three films. It deals with addiction and growing up while managing to keep it fairly light and yet still have the dramatic moments. To be fair, picking a favorite of the trilogy is like deciding which piece of gold is shiniest. They’re all great, so like the others, I give The World’s End the Must See rating.
The World’s End is a great last chapter of the Cornetto Trilogy
Gary King (Simon Pegg) looks to reunite his four best friends from high school to complete some unfinished business. That business is an epic pub crawl where they go through 12 pubs drinking a pint at each one. Yet, returning to their hometown of Newton Haven for the first time in years, they find that the town has changed in more ways than they could have imagined.
The regulars are back with bigger roles. Martin Freeman is in the other two flavors, but really gets to work in this film as “O-man.” Nick Frost and Simon Pegg are back and amazing as always. The five friends are filled out with Paddy Considine and Eddie Marsan. The five main characters have some absolutely memorable exchanges and stories. The history of the characters is woven into a great tapestry of comedy and substance. King is such a broken character who wears denial like a bulletproof vest. It’s fun seeing Pegg play the screw up instead of Frost. Andy is a very sensible character who is too loyal for his own good.
I can’t stress enough how great of a director Edgar Wright is. The three films that Simon Pegg and Wright wrote together are among my favorites. They each age so well and get better with every viewing. While the other two films both have a human story underneath the horror/action elements, Gary King’s is easily the most tragic. A guy who literally peaked at high school. His greatest accomplishment wasn’t even a successful one as they failed the Golden Mile Pub Crawl. He’s so down and out at the beginning of the film, but you’d never know as he carries such bravado. The movie does a terrific job of making you love and hate him, but ultimately feel sorry for him. Yet, he never truly seems to feel sorry for anything he does in the film.
If you skipped any of the three films, I highly recommend you right your wrongs. Zombies, Police, and alien invaders is a trifecta of awesome that you need in your life. They are three films that I will likely rewatch year after year. That is until Wright has a few more movies come out in the future.
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