Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return with director Edgar Wright in the third and final part of what has come to be known as the “Cornetto Trilogy”. If you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, you’ve probably thought to give this one a watch too and though the Pegg, Frost and Wright combination seems like a safe bet, should you? Let’s find out.
In the opening scene, Gary King (Simon Pegg) tells the story of the riotous night twenty years ago when he and four mates tried to conquer the “Golden Mile”, a pub-crawl in their hometown of Newton Haven; twelve pubs, twelve pints, one in each pub. The five young friends, despite their bravest efforts, failed to reach the final pub – The World's End - and never finished the Golden Mile.
Twenty years on, Gary still thinks of it as the best night of his life and longs to recapture that old feeling. One by one he rounds up the guys and persuades them, against their better judgement, to head back to Newton Haven and give the Golden Mile a second shot. With hilarious consequences.
While his childhood friends, (Nick Frost and Martin Freeman among them) have all grown up and have wives, kids and careers, Gary still acts like a teenager – jumping fences and making inappropriate remarks. He's like the annoying friend who's a bit of a dick, but you let him hang around with you because you feel a bit sorry for him and remember that you used to have good times together.
Pretty soon after the night gets underway, the five friends realise that their hometown has changed while they've been away - it's not just that the pubs have been taken over by a chain. Much like in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, there is something sinister going on... their quest to reach the World's End becomes a quest to stop the world from ending.
The special effects are excellent and the well-written story makes the film worth watching more than once. The 90's Britpop soundtrack is a perfect match for the story and adds a touch of nostalgia for those from that era. I'm struggling to find anything at all to fault in this film. I was expecting to get a few chuckles from this film but it was even better than I'd hoped for. There's loads of laugh out loud moments and dashes of deadpan humour too, delivered perfectly by all of the cast – not a single actor lets the team down.
Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz were great, good for a few laughs but I think with The World's End they've topped the lot. Definitely worth a watch.
9/10
Ant Silvers
The World's End CeX
