Gary King (Simon Pegg) reunites his group of five friends in an attempt to complete an epic pub crawl they failed to finish from 20 years earlier, and during the attempt they unwittingly uncover something which could threaten humankind. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Martin Freeman once again collaborate as they finish off the Cornetto Trilogy.
Why I Saw It: The first two installments of the Cornetto trilogy were both both really enjoyable (Hot Fuzz more than Shaun Of The Dead, though horror fans probably have it the other way around). Simon Pegg is really entertaining in everything he does, so why wouldn’t I want to watch it?
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
Memorable Performances: This certainly wasn’t the best I had seen from Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman or Rosamund Pike. I enjoyed Nick Frost’s performance as the sobering (and sober) friend and the straight to Pegg’s craziness.
Potential Nominations for Film Quest ’13:
- none
Favorite Parts: The scene in the final bar in their trek was absolutely a highlight of the film, as it was clever and touching, doing a great job of balancing that while having left hints throughout the film about it. The gags and one-liners throughout the film were as good as you’d expect them to be, had you seen the first two films by these guys.
The Regrettable Aspects: The fight scenes in this movie were frantic, and the way they were filmed made it difficult to see what was going on. I don’t need to see all of the choreography, especially when the people involved in a fight scene aren’t martial artists, but it was often hard to tell who was getting hit and what was happening. Some of the things they were actually doing was really clever, like when Nick Frost was using the bar stools as boxing gloves.
Would I watch it again? After this hits DVD, I will probably watch the entire trilogy again. Perhaps not right away, but certainly before 2014 is over.
To Whom Would I Recommend It? Anyone who enjoys action comedies should give this a watch. There wasn’t much in this film that I’d consider “British Humor”, so even if someone isn’t a fan of those types of films, they should still give this strong consideration. Given that there’s not a lot of blood in the film (hardly at all), it’s actually easier to recommend this to people who aren’t typically a fan of action films.
Other Recommendations:
– HOT FUZZ. – Easily my favorite of the Cornetto trilogy, it has most of the same cast as The World’s End and a lot of people from Shaun Of The Dead, but it was much funnier with better action.
– SHAUN OF THE DEAD – This is one of the first zombie movies I can remember enjoying. There have been a few since, but I believe this was the first.
– MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL – The only reason I’m including this film is because Simon Pegg’s performance was golden, though he was just a supporting character in it.
If you’ve got recommendations for alternatives to THE WORLD’S END, or for other similar films, let me know!
Next up… who knows?!
(or continue on to the spoiler-iffic portions of page 2)
Guys Film Quest 
A lot of fun that deserves to be watched in a big crowd, especially if you had a couple of drinks here and there as well. Good review.