Today's Review: The World's End

It's been a full six years since the blue, chocolatey Hot Fuzz, and almost ten since the red, strawberry Shaun Of The Dead, but finally the Blood And Ice Cream trilogy is complete, with minty green alien romp The World's End. Wright is back, directing Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and a whole host of British talent.

Pegg plays Gary King, a man in his 40s who hasn't really grown up much since he was 18. After finishing high school, he embarked with four of his friends on The Golden Mile, a pub crawl around the 12 taverns of Newton Haven. Sadly, they didn't make it, but now Gary is intent on getting the old gang back together, returning to their hometown and conquering the mile once and for all. Unfortunately, his friends have grown up quite normally and settled into quiet, responsible lives, so it's quite hard to get them in on the festivities, especially when something extremely odd is going on with the town's residents.

The World's End is very much in keeping with the other two instalments of the trilogy, a blockbuster movie squeezed into a relatively rural and boring area of Britain, and it is pulled off with great success. There are some absolutely fantastically choreographed fight scenes, worthy of the finest Hollywood flicks, but instead confined to cramped pubs, with guns and swords replaced with pint glasses and bar stools. Everything is so distinctly, satirically British, proving that Wright, Pegg and Frost have truly refined their craft over the last two movies.

Not only is this movie fantastically directed, the cast is flawless too. Pegg and Frost put in great performances as always, but there are also great turns by the likes of Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine,  Eddie Marsan, David Bradley and even Pierce Brosnan. The five hogh school chums in particular are wonderful, their conflicting personalities and increasing drunkenness interweaving with each other perfectly. It can be hard to really relate to five main characters at once, but this movie does a great job of introducing us to everyone, and establishing a camaraderie between the boys that really pulls the whole movie together, with plenty of hilarious, quotable lines chucked in.

The only problem I had with the movie was the plot. It starts out quite slow, which I can forgive as it establishes our heroes very well, but once things get in full swing the story kind of splutters and starts, sort of hanging in a limbo and never really escalating. There is some explanation as to what is going on, but it's paced quite awkwardly, with little bits explained in-between fight scenes and comedic banter. Still, it all comes together in the end, and The World's End is certainly a very good and well written movie in its own right, it just doesn't feel as polished as Shaun or Hot Fuzz.

The World's End is a hilarious, ass kicking, fitting end to the Cornetto trilogy. It may have a few problems, but I came away from it quite satisfied. Wright, Pegg and Frost have done us Brits proud like.

My rating: 4/5