Well, since I reviewed "Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels" earlier this week, I guess I should review another film from Great Britain. I decided to pick the last installment from Simon Pegg's Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, which happens to be the less acknowledged and talked-about. The film centres on Gary King, who reunites his old friends and takes them back to their hometown in order to complete a pub crawl that they never completed in their youth, even though his friends have grown up and changed. When they return to their hometown of Newton Haven, they are shocked to learn that the entire town has been replaced by alien androids who are trying to take over humanity. The gang decides to continue the pub crawl however, in order to avoid being detected by the aliens and to figure out a plan of escape. Comparing the story to "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz", it feels more underdeveloped than these films. "Shaun of the Dead" behaved very much as a zombie film, "Hot Fuzz" behaved very much as a buddy cop film, "The World's End" doesn't feel much like an alien invasion film. The first act takes a while in order for the characters to learn about the aliens, focusing on King and his struggle to grow up. Unlike the films mentioned, the first act not only drags, but the film still brings up King's struggle. While the previous two films essentially ignores the first act after the zombies or murders start to show up, this film actually carries on this plot point, which can cause the film to feel bothersome as people don't want to see characters argue with King as it is not the biggest problem in their situation. It also affects the tone to an extent, since the drama and serious nature of it clashes heavily with the film, unlike the other films from the trilogy. With that said though, the film still delivers the comedy that the trilogy is known for. Whether it's witty dialogue or action sprinkled with laughs, it can hold its own as a comedy by itself or with the more popular films in the trilogy.
Simon Pegg is always great to see, and Gary King is a character only Pegg can play. Despite the story forcing the view that he needs to grow up, he's still an enjoyable character who is not only a goofball, but is also smart in his own way against the aliens. Of course, you can't have Pegg without his friend, Nick Frost, who plays Andy Knightly, the old best friend of King. Unlike his previous characters in the trilogy, he is much more intellectual, angry, and a badass warrior. Other characters include Sam Chamberlain, a fling of King and a woman who joins the gang once she discovers of the aliens, Oliver Chamberlain, the brother of Sam, played by Martin Freeman, Steven Prince, a friend of King who is in love with Sam, and Pierce Brosnan plays Guy Shepherd, an android who attempts to negotiate with the group of friends. The androids themselves are unique with an emphasis on the colour blue, as their blood and glowing lights from the eyes and mouths share the visually-popping colour. The characters are generally acted well and behave realistically to the circumstances. Although they are enjoyable and have a sense of comradery, it's not as strong as the previous films. I think the issue is that not only do they mainly argue with each other most of the time, but you don't get that sense of friendship between the characters. Perhaps they were written like this in mind, but it results in a chemistry that feels underdeveloped in a way. Regardless, the characters themselves are still fun to watch thanks to the talent attached to them.
Edgar Wright once again directs and co-writes the film alongside Pegg. The duo are responsible with the trilogy and Wright still manages to direct comedy and action spectacularly. It still maintains the witty charm, slick style, and fast pace, but the main draw in this film is the action, which I personally think is the best in the trilogy. "Shaun of the Dead" was more comedic in the zombie-slaying, "Hot Fuzz" had the clever gimmick of the protagonists not killing the villains in the shootout, but "The World's End" goes for epic, unarmed combat. Sure, it feels a bit unrealistic that the friends somehow manage to fight like professionals, despite no indication of how they learn to fight, but honestly, the fights are just so entertaining to nitpick on. The cinematography by Bill Pope is also great with some long takes, good use of slow-motion, and handheld movement to give off the tight, chaotic nature of the fights. The soundtrack is also well done as usual, seeing that Wright knows exactly where to place music in his films. The effects in general are also well done with the modest budget as the androids prosthetics and CGI effects are pulled off very well. If there is one thing I felt Wright did poorly, it's that the ending was way too stuffed with the social commentary. I won't try spoiling on how the conflict is resolved, but the themes of technology exposure, slaves to the system, prejudice, and the morals of humanity are suddenly squeezed in a rather obvious way, not to mention that King's character arc is also a thematic journey. The conclusions to the other films were more subtle and at least had one theme to cover, whereas Wright decided to cram in all of these themes in order to make the film look more thought-provoking than it really is. I however won't blame Wright or Pegg for trying to make the final installment to their trilogy to be more grand, since that's the nature of trilogies.
"The World's End" is clearly the weakest film in the Cornetto trilogy, as the film doesn't reach the same fun levels with the forceful use of the serious moments, unnecessary, time-consuming character arc, and an overstuffed ending of themes really affect the product as a whole that makes it an underwhelming conclusion to some. However, I appreciate a lot from this film despite the issues. With great comedy, awesome action, enjoyable characters, creative directing, nice cinematography and a fun soundtrack, the film almost rivals Wright's previous works from these qualities. Despite the use of the themes and drama, I can still see it as a fun sci-fi comedy that is a blast to watch. It may not be the finale to a fan-favourite trilogy people were expecting, but it sure is another home run for Wright and Pegg.
Verdict: 7.5/10. An enjoyable film if you ignore the negatives, but you still can't deny a Wright film no matter the quality!
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