Sunday, August 25, 2013

On The World's End


Where do I begin? 

Edgar Wright.  Now, as an American with no too much free time on his hands, I have not seen EVERYTHING Edgar Wright has been a part of.  I have, however, seen every major theatrical release to date.  So, I feel it safe to say that Edgar Wright can do no wrong.  Shall we take a quick tour through his filmography?

Shaun of the Dead: Probably the best romantic comedy disguised as a zombie movie ever.
Hot Fuzz:  Carrying that same brand of humor into the police buddy-comedy.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World:  How perfect was this comic book adaptation?  Perfect.  

And now, The World's End.  IMDB synopsis:  Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

The World's End marks the end of what is being called the Cornetto trilogy.  The name stems from the Cornetto ice cream that appears in each of the flicks (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End).


But there's more that ties these movies together.  There's running gags (failed fence-jumping scenes) and there's the important thing.  All of these movies take ordinary people and place them into ridiculous situations.  But no matter how ridiculous the situations are, the stories are something of a bildungsroman.  That's not exactly correct as these aren't children coming into adulthood, but rather adults learning to "grow up." The movies are laugh-out-loud funny in the complete absurdness of the situations these characters are put in, but are also touching, heartwarming, and fully relatable.

The World's End is no different.  It is a story about growing up, about admitting there is more to life than those childhood fantasies of forever doing nothing but having a good time, and behind it all, it is the story of aliens attempting to take over the world.  Simon Pegg is fantastic in his Sisters of Mercy loving, alcoholic, broken man role.  Nick Frost, for a change, gets to play the straight character - no longer the bumbling comic relief, and he does it well.  The friendship between Simon and Nick outside of the movie universe gives the emotional scenes a sense of realism.




The movie is incredibly funny.  It's almost unfair but is inevitable that the movie be compared to Edgar Wright's previous offerings.  It's unfair because Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz have benefited from multiple viewings.  I can admit that I grew more fond of Hot Fuzz after subsequent watchings.  It's almost like Super Troopers - a comedy that really needs additional viewings to catch all of the more subtle comedy that is easily missed the first time around.  As such, The World's End doesn't seem to quite meet the standards of the first two in the "trilogy." The setup to the pub crawl is a bit on the slower side.  But once the movie gets going, it is relentless.  Action.  Laughs.  This definitely has the potential to grow on you as it is easily re-watchable.


Not owning Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, I can certainly see myself purchasing a box set of the trilogy upon its inevitable release.  Highly recommended.


On a side note, Edgar Wright's next movie will be Ant-Man for Marvel.  While I was never much of an Ant-Man fan, I am very excited to see his take on a superhero movie.




8 comments:

  1. I cannot believe they already stopped playing this in Slovenia. I was all: have to check when it starts and all I got was a notice from a month ago it's already over. I was so mad.
    I really wanted to see it and now I'll have to wait some more.
    I adore the cast, it's amazing and full of my favorite actors! I was so excited for this one, really.
    Glad you enjoyed it! :)

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    1. It was a lot of fun. Probably the weakest of the three movies, but that's really not saying much when put in perspective of a lot of the other nonsense out there.

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  2. Good review Szever. Maybe I'm a boob for not thinking this is as good as the other two in the trilogy, but so be it. I still had fun and enjoyed myself, but I can't say it was as near-perfect as those two were.

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    1. I didn't quite think it as good as the other two. But my more rational (or maybe more hopeful) side thinks that maybe the other two benefit from the fact I've watched them a few times. There are just some movies that don't quite click the first time - and maybe this is in that grouping. I'll watch it again when it's on video.

      So, I don't disagree, so maybe you're not a boob after all.

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  3. I can't wait to see this movie. I might have to wait till Blu-Ray though.

    Really like your blog, new follower through bloglovin and GFC

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    1. It was a lot of fun. Definitely worth a watch, especially if you enjoyed the others.

      Thanks.

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  4. I think we might go to this movie tonight at the Alamo Draft House!!! I wanted to tell you that PJ won't care if you join in on the Follow Me Friday even without a book blog. So long as you answer the question. I have found a lot of movie bloggers/gamer bloggers through follow me friday too. Like next week is take a picture of your book case I think.. and you could take a picture of your DVD collection. PJ may not email you back.. she is a busy blog. I emailed her a while back and never got an answer! Though I will say that the other host of FF... Alison can Read will probably answer!!

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    1. Hope you enjoy it. I suppose seeing it at the Alamo Draft House will help. I think that's comparable to the dine-in theater we see movies in. I won't go to a normal theater anymore.

      Thanks for the info. Perhaps I'll sign up or whatever you need to do for the next one.

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