Movie Review: 'The World's End'

***** out of 5
109 minutes
Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references
Focus Features

Article first published as Movie Review: ‘The World’s End’ on Blogcritics.

When it comes to film perfection these days, not many can pull it off like Edgar Wright. First he took on zombies in Shaun of the Dead, and then he took down all things Michael Bay and ’80s action films with Hot Fuzz. Now, Wright and company (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) are back in business and set their sights even higher in The World’s End. Whether or not the title suggests the world’s complete annihilation I’ll leave for you to find out. But the “Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy” is certainly going out with a bang. This is one of two films I was most excited for this summer—the other being Pacific Rim—and now for me, the summer season truly is over. But The World’s End is a pure slice of fried gold.

Gary King (Pegg) has hit rock bottom, but comes across the brilliant idea of getting the boys back together. The boys are his best friends from high school who set out to complete the “Golden Mile” (an epic pup crawl) back in 1990. Seeing how that never happened, the boys have gone their separate ways over the past 23 years. Now, Gary hatches a plan to reunite Oliver (Martin Freeman), Steven (Paddy Considine), Peter (Eddie Marsan), and Andy (Frost), to finish what they started so many years ago. They return to their hometown of Newton Haven and get right down to business, but slowly they realize that something isn’t quite right. And soon enough, the five are swept up into all kinds of chaos and now must survive the night and the pints.

To try and pick a favorite of the “trilogy” is probably easier than a parent trying to pick their favorite child. After having watched Shaun and Fuzz back-to-back over the weekend to prep for The World’s End, I definitely favored the Fuzz. If I was to watch all three in a row, I would have to say that they do indeed get progressively funnier, meaning The World’s End supplies the biggest laughs. Packed with so many jokes that multiple viewings are definitely in order (and shall be imbibed), The World’s End is the perfect way for the Cornetto series to end. Everything is pitch-perfect, and everyone is at the top of their game. This is the film to see this weekend.

Photo courtesy Focus Features