The World’s End (2013) Review

The World’s End (2013)

The World’s End follows Gary King, an immature 40 year old, who never got over the good ol’ days and decides to get the gang back together to accomplish an epic pub crawl in their old hometown. Their mission turns into a fight for humanity however, as they realize their old hometown has been taken over by extraterrestrial invaders. 

The final entry into the Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy sees Edgar Wright finally tackle the sci-fi genre, with the help of Nick Frost and Simon Pegg of course. I had relatively high hopes for this movie and I won’t say I was let down, just a little disappointed. You enter fickle territory when you make your lead character entirely unlikeable for most of the film because sure, you want them to grow, but boy will the first half leave a bad taste in your mouth, which is the case here. This also creates a weird connection with the rest of the cast because where a lead will normally bring the rest of the cast together, they so obviously detest Gary, causing the film to lack in overall chemistry. 

The theme of this corny sci-fi romp is repetition, and how humanity is always doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again, hence why the robots (that aren’t robots) take over, to end the cycle. It’s a perfect parallel for Gary as well, stuck in the same loop from 20 years prior, having never grown up and still living the glory days while the world is gone and passed him by. 

The premise is weird from the start (trademark Wright) but it just doesn’t really land here, especially with the ending that proceeds to get more and more bonkers as they reach The World’s End. The action however is really fun, and seeing Frost absolutely body the blue blooded robots was a real treat. 

Despite how zany the movie is, we get a great cast, featuring Pierce Brosnan, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine, Rosamund Pike, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, and Simon Pegg. As I’ve mentioned, Peggis written in a way that if he was funny, would be great, but he just feels annoyingly cumbersome for the majority of the movie. Frost however, this might be his best performance yet. He moves away from his usual goofy comedic relief act and kills it here. 

The World’s End, directed by Edgar Wright, is undoubtedly a fun little romp into the realm of science fiction but it’s unwieldy characters and bonkers story make for erratic, if not slightly annoying final product that doesn’t quite live up to it’s potential. 

6.4/10