#REVIEW – “THE WORLD’S END”

Struggling with Alcoholism, Gary King (Simon Pegg) decides to unite with four of his childhood Friends to complete the illusive Golden Mile Pub Crawl in their Hometown of Newton Haven. Despite going to become successful in their own rights establishing lives in London, Gary is the odd one out, never having grown-up fully, fixated only on reaching the Crawl’s final destination, the ironically-named The World’s End Pub. Joining him are Oliver (Martin Freeman), Peter (Eddie Marsan), Steven (Paddy Considine) and Andrew (Nick Frost). Despite their reluctance to complete this journey with Gary, these five Friends find themselves unexpectedly in a tight bond in their fight to save Humankind from an Alien Invasion. Yes, you read that right.

Longtime Collaborators Edgar Wright, Pegg and Frost cap-off their Cornetto Trilogy here, which began with Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), ending on a rather celebratory note here. The message behind this Sci-Fi-Comedy is simplistic: in life sometimes all we have is ourselves. If we submit ourselves to conformity, we might as well be Aliens or Robots. As we learn through our unconventional, albeit v. charismatic  Hero in Gary, as a Human Race it is necessary to embrace our imperfection and be able to face ourselves at the end of the day and in this case, the end of the World. All this, intertwined with the unique tonal shift from a Beer-obsessed Comedy to  Sci-Fi-Action territory – handled with grace actually – make The World’s End fresh, unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Although outlandish, we never quite know where we are being led and that is a good thing.

Pegg shines brightest here as engagingly funny as ever, delivering what surely will be known and quoted as Gary King-isms in a highly-memorable performance. The Ensemble here plays off each other smartly, forming believable history between them, whether it be Frost‘s tightly-wound performance as the cautious, water-drinking-only Andrew, contrasting with an Alchol-obsessed Gary, or Considine‘s Steve getting his competitiveness ignited with the arrival of Sam (Rosamund Pike), whom both he and Gary carry long-held affections for. Marsan delivers the right amount of insecurity having been bullied as a Child, which gives him a dimension of boyishness which complements Gary‘s immaturity. Freeman despite his initial disinterest in the reunion, unleashes his inhibitions as the Story progresses – a testament to Gary‘s persuasiveness.

From the same cloth as smart, Adult-oriented Action Flicks like Red, this Film proves that Moviegoers are ready for Stories starring Heroes over the age of Channing Tatum. eOne Films releases fun and boisterous The World’s End on Friday, August 23, 2013.