ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE WORLD'S END
Legend has it there was a boy named Gary King and he had a group of friends who followed him everywhere. On one magic night, Gary and his friends embarked on a quest that no other human could accomplish: to hit 12 pubs and have a Pint at each, ending with the famed THE WORLD'S END. Though they gave it a good fight, Gary and his mates never finished that pub crawl, instead ended up on a hilltop overlooking the town that was theirs. The oracles have predicted for years that Gary would return to the mythic town of Newton Haven, with his mates in tow, to finish the propisized pub crawl and thus will bring peace to all the lands until the end of time. Um... or something like that.
Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, and Nick Frost reteam for the third chapter of the "Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (the first two being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) tackling yet another genre. Pegg plays Gary King, a washed up alcoholic who hasn't ever stopped trying to recreate the glory days of his high school experience. When he was a lad, he and his friends tried a 12 pub epic crawl and never made it to the final bar, "The World's End." Now, 20 years later, Pegg tracks down his mates Andy, Steven, Peter, & Oliver and drags them back to their old stomping grounds to attempt the crawl once again. But once they arrive, things are far from the same. Something is rotten in the state of Newton Haven, and everyone there is just a bit... off. So sets the stage for a rollicking and hilarious trip down memory lane, which included the reappearance of an object of both Gary and Steven's affections Sam (Rosamund Pike), who also happens to be Oliver's sister. Having tackled Horror and Action, the trio set their sights on Sci-Fi and nail it. The first half of the movie plays just like a buddy comedy and is thoroughly hilarious and heartfelt. Then suddenly, the movie goes apeshit and the Sci-Fi element comes in. And mannnnn does it deliver. It's strange, wacky, and relentless. Just another day in the mind of three comedic masters.
Pegg relishes in making Gary look like a jackass, and he really is, but he's also one you can get behind and sympathize with. You want him to win at the end of the day, if for nothing else than to see him not loose yet again. He's fast and furious, as is his buddy Andy (Frost). Frost is all buttoned up and reserved, feeling sorry for Gary's decline over the years. But once he gets a few Pints in him, Frost lets loose and has you in his comedic pocket from then on. The entire ensemble of friends are great, from Martin Freeman's (The Hobbit, Sherlock) deadpan Oliver to to Paddy Considine's regreatful Steven, Eddie Marsan's needing to let loose Peter, and the charming Rosamund Pike desperately trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Showing up for some very funny moments is David Bradley (the Harry Potter films) as the creepy old man who may have all the answers. The finale may lag a bit, but the final moments make up for it, and it certainly entertains you tenfolds. Take a trip to The World's End but don't try a pub run before. Leave that for after.
MATEO'S GRADE: B+
Directed by Edgar Wright Written by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike Rated R for Adult Language, Violence NOW PLAYING
BOTTOM LINE: A strange, odd, hilarious good time. With this crew, what else would you expect?