‘The World’s End’ Review: If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It…

That piece of crotchety old man advice must have really soaked in with Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. They’re back with The World’s End, an inebriated apocalyptic adventure that follows suit with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, their previous two success of the of the aptly coined “Blood and Ice Cream” trilogy.

The storyline is simple, Simon Pegg takes the lead as Gary King, the quintessential “King” of high school turned foul-mouthed leech on society. Two decades have passed, and all he wants to do is recreate the glory days of his youth – which means an all-night drinking binge. The locals refer to it as “The Golden Mile” – it entails visiting 12 separate pubs and having a pint at each of them… and maybe a few extra shots along the way. This legendary pub crawl was undertaken by Gary and his four friends (Paddy Considine as Steven, Martin Freeman as Oliver, Eddie Marsan as Peter, and Nick Frost as Andy) in their adolescent, but they only made it to the 9th pub… and pint. Fast forward 20 years through the divorces, kids, and marriages… While all of Gary’s friends have moved on and grown up, Gary hasn’t, and he seems to be the only one truly game for this do-over adventure. However, he manages to talk all his friends into coming back and giving it one more shot for the sake of friendship.

Things seem pretty normal and inebriated – until some weird paranormal things start happening… yeah I’ll leave it there. Crazy awesomeness ensues. No spoilers here.

The cast is sheer comedic perfection, and Edgar Wright manages to strike an impeccable balance between comedy, sci-fi, and just plain chaos. The dialogue is the right amount of obscene while remaining sharp and clever. If you have any desire to catch The World’s End, it’ll entertain at the very least. As for the die-hards, you’ll appreciate the subtleties and connections to its predecessors. Bottom line, it’s just crazy awesome.

Grade: B
Review By: Emma Loggins

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  1. Saw The World’s End over the weekend. Wasn’t sure what to expect since I hadn’t seen Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz but it was HILARIOUS! Now I’ve got to see the other two movies. Also nice to see Rosamund Pike (Sam (Oliver’s sister)) in this film. It’s been awhile since Pride and Prejudice. Thanks for the recap.