Filthy Review - 'The World's End'

The World’s End (2013)

Review by Jude Felton

Upon learning that Messer’s Wright, Pegg and Frost were making the third film in their Cornetto Trilogy, following Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the expectation level shot through the roof. The previous two movies, both excellent in their own right, set the bar incredibly high as they delivered riffs on zombies and Michael Bay style cop movies (with far more fun and gore), among others. They couldn’t fail, right?

Right. They didn’t; they actually delivered a truly wonderful movie. Sure, you’ll get your self-loathing hipsters that hate it, just because, but for me it was superb. I caught it at the theater first, and then on this Blu, and to tell the truth it was better on a second viewing. Sorry folks, this is one of those few reviews where I get all fan boy and gush a little. Suck it up.

The short and sweet, of the story, concerns Gary King, and his four childhood mates, who all meet up as they approach 40 to attempt a pub crawl in the town they grew up in; Newton Haven. Well, four of them grew up, whereas Gary is stuck in the past. Anyway, the crawl starts, and it’s not too long before they discover that something is amiss in their old home town.

There is, of course, plenty more to the actual plot, such as childhood betrayals, alcoholism, suicidal tendencies, love lost, sex and much more. The World’s End is actually a far deeper film than you might get from a first viewing, and it works perfectly. Sure, take it as a full-on comedy and it works tremendously well, but don’t be scared to look a little deeper.

The script, as you might imagine, is hilarious and Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have peppered it with clever little gags and nods here and there. For example, the twelve pubs they visit, or attempt to visit, all have names that relate to either a character or event.

Pegg is on fire as the tragic, yet hilarious Gary, delivering a monster performance that is as subtle as it is in your face. However, he is more than ably supported by a cast who absolutely nail it. Nick Frost shows that he has far more to his game than just the bumbling buffoon, and is a joy to watch. As well as these two, you also have Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike and Pierce Brosnan, all delivering wonderful character performances. They are just the tip of the iceberg though, as there is a wealth of rich and full characters here to enjoy.

What really surprised me about The World’s End though are the fight scenes; they are superb. This isn’t a fight movie, far from it, but the fights are bloody excellent and great fun to watch. Hell, I could on on and on about this movie, but I think you get the picture.

Maybe the film worked so well for me because I could relate all too well to it; I caught it for the first time on my 40^th birthday (yeah, I’m an old bastard). It’s filled with music and references from my teenage years. However, I don’t believe that is it, as I know many others, of varying ages, that have dug it just as much. Hell, when a movie works it works and no amount of uptight snobbery will change that.

As I have come to expect from Universal, they have delivered not only a bloody good looking Blu-ray, but they have packed it with special features. Three audio commentaries, a 50 minute making of, and gag reels are among them. I’m not going to go through all of them because you have to scroll through three pages just to check them all out. Yes, this is a packed and worthy release.

Overall, The World’s End is a wonderful movie, one that has been given a great release on Blu-ray, and all I can say is that it’s an hilarious and fitting end to a great trilogy.

The World's End hits Blu-ray and DVD on November 19th from Universal.