Topic: The World's End Review by Jimmy B (minor spoilers)

Copied from my blog.

Warning: In this review, I give my opinion on the ending without giving it away. I class this as minor spoilers

Director: Edgar Wright                  Screenwriters: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike

Plot: Five middle aged men try to conquer the mother of all pub crawls, which they failed to do in their youth. On returning to their home town, however, they discover something is wrong, when the residents start acting odd. As though they have been replaced by robots. Spoiler, they have.

Review: The comedy trio of Pegg/Wright/Frost reunite for the final film in their 'Cornetto' trilogy. Pegg plays Gary King, a total dickhead who is constantly trying to be a teenager again and in a reversal of the previous films, Frost plays his straight man ex-best friend, Andy. And within that sentence lies on of my problems- Pegg's character is completely annoying throughout the entire film to the point where his constant joking negates some supposedly serious moments. Character-wise, the other actors fare better, with Frost, especially, upping his game and even proves himself to be a bit of an action hero. Which actually leads me nicely into what I did like about it, the fight scenes are fun, shot in that kinetic Edgar Wright style but well enough that you can tell what is happening. Also, the film is funny and although a lot of Pegg mugging and falling about only goes so far,  it has enough one-liners to keep you chuckling along. Finally, I liked the way they subvert your expectations a little regarding the character of Sam, played by Rosamund Pike even if she has little to do otherwise. My major problem is the ending but I won't go into too much about it. I will say I find it particularity misjudged and I am now convinced film-makers have completely forgotten how to end films, especially this year.

Conclusion: Despite my gripes with the ending and with Pegg's character, I did enjoy the film.  The cast are great and the action is well shot and choreographed. I am glad films like this are being made in this country, as a genre fan and while it is not perfect it is a still an enjoyable enough way to pass a couple of hours.

3/5 (I'm really conflicted about this, really, I will re-watch on blu ray)

Thumbs up +1 Thumbs down

Re: The World's End Review by Jimmy B (minor spoilers)

I just saw it. And it was great.

(minor spoilers)

Not as great as Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz? I don't know. Maybe. I might need to watch the whole Cornetto trilogy in a row for that. But in the end, I don't care much. The World's End made me feel safe in the hands of Wright, Pegg, Frost and the whole bunch. I felt home. I kinda knew what I was gonna get by watching a Wright movie, and I got it. The cinematography is great, the dialogues are sharp and funny, the characters well developed. The action is very present but not boring, the editing fast but comprehensible.

As such, The World's End lives up to being the last movie of the Cornetto trilogy; and as of now, I'll be happy to count this trilogy in one of my watch-them-once-a-year trilogies such as Star Wars or Lord of the Rings (the latter, maybe not every year; who's got time for that, eh?).

To address Jimmy's main problems with it:

Pegg's character did not annoy me negatively. It did, of course, as he's supposed to, but otherwise I loved him. I just needed a moment to get used to the fact that Pegg wouldn't be carrying the heroic part of the movie. His character (and therefore acting) is very much different than in the other two movies, and I'm happy either way. The whole character development kinda throws you off balance, because you'd expect the most development would come from Pegg's character; but somehow, he's not the one being dragged up; it's the others being dragged down.

The ending felt a bit odd to me too. It all makes perfect sense thematically, but it might be a bit too much. I don't think the movie needed to go that far to wrap up its message (which got a bit blurred to me at first, because the pre-ending seems to tell the opposite message). I think Wright wanted to go a bit nuts with it because it's the end of the Cornetto trilogy (speaking of which...).

Last edited by Saniss (2013-12-06 23:00:13)

Sébastien Fraud
Instagram |Facebook

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: The World's End Review by Jimmy B (minor spoilers)

Saniss wrote:

To address Jimmy's main problems with it:

Pegg's character did not annoy me negatively. It did, of course, as he's supposed to, but otherwise I loved him.

I just couldn't and I don't know why. I never sympathised with him, which you are supposed to towards the end but I was just left cold by the character. Maybe I'm just a heartless git but I don't feel the sad story bat was justified. He was just a dick and he ends the film as a dick, I do't care that he was suicidal.

The ending felt a bit odd to me too. It all makes perfect sense thematically, but it might be a bit too much. I don't think the movie needed to go that far to wrap up its message (which got a bit blurred to me at first, because the pre-ending seems to tell the opposite message). I think Wright wanted to go a bit nuts with it because it's the end of the Cornetto trilogy.

Yeah, I really really don't like the ending. It is a happy for one for the majority of our main characters (the ones that lived) but it just felt a bit sour to me. Again, I have yet to re-watch the film and I have heard that some people who feel the same way as me have changed their view on a second watch. I should be getting the Blu Ray (with a ton of extras) at Christmas so I'll know after then smile

Thumbs up Thumbs down

Re: The World's End Review by Jimmy B (minor spoilers)

Jimmy B wrote:

Pegg plays Gary King, a total dickhead who is constantly trying to be a teenager again and in a reversal of the previous films . . .

I struggled through the beginning of the film for this reason. I think it may be my own bias though. I'm so used to Pegg playing a likeable character that it bothered me to see him playing an asshole.

Not as laugh-out-loud funny as the previous two collaborations, but still deserves its place among them.
For me the film really took off after the first 'turn' in the movie. Once those stakes were established, I began to have a lot more fun with the characters and the world.

The end didn't sit well with me the first time either. It didn't seem like a natural conclusion or to wrap things up as nicely as I would have hoped.

Thumbs up +1 Thumbs down

Re: The World's End Review by Jimmy B (minor spoilers)

I am British and therefore required by law like beer so this film appealed to me. I loved the first three quarters of this film, the fight scenes are well done where I could see what was going on, and the humour was my cup of tea!    I was not a fan of the ending, maybe if I see it again I will change my mind.   Shaun of the Dead is by far my favourite of the three in the trilogy, but that is not a hard choice.

Oh, and go watched Spaced now. Go on. now.

Thumbs up Thumbs down