No. This is not about the World's End. Or is it?
The World's End is a pub at the end of what the teenagers of Newton Haven call the Golden Mile - a pub crawl that covers 11 other pubs before terminating at this one. On the day of their graduation, Gary King and his 4 buddies decide to "conquer the Golden Mile", drinking a beer in each of the "twelve pubs along a legendary path of alcoholic indulgence"... They never manage to finish it...
That was 20 years back. Flash forward to the present. All the 4 friends are busy and settled down in their respective professions. And Gary King? He is institutionalized. Trying to come to terms with the disappointment and meaninglessness that life has become. But there is the business of the Golden Mile. The crawl they started but never finished. Unfinished business.
So Gary decides to go and finish it once and for all. But of course he cant do it without his 4 buddies. But its "Gary fucking King". The guy who, according to his best pal Andy, can do anything... So Gary visits each one of them. And using his obnoxious charm, manages to convince, persuade and at times emotionally blackmail them to join him in their 20 years old quest.
So the four friends find themselves back in Newton Haven, following the indomitable and insufferable Gary King. And while they are at it, they stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens to change their world...
This is one movie that, for me, defies classification. It is the concluding part of the famous Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (though, it is in no way related to either of the 2 predecessors). But unlike its prequels, it is not really a parody. It is a good comedy. At the same time it is quite an interesting piece of "social science fiction". It boasts some pretty cool action scenes. But best of all, it paints the characters of the 5 friends quite well. The shattered promise of youth, the nostalgic collective memories of a bunch of friends before life separated them, their trip down that memory lane, and their unresolved hopes, conflicts and desires. The movie manages to capture all this very nicely.
The script is well written. Much detailed and well crafted than either of the predecessors. Hats off to the Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Edgar Wright's direction is, as always, awesome - bearing the unique signature that anyone who has seen the other two movies in the trilogy would quickly recognize.
Simon Pegg plays the role of the cocky, obnoxious and gritty Gary King. That Simon Pegg is a great actor has been evident in the previous two movies from the trilogy. But this one exhibits equally great acting skills by Nick Frost. He plays the role of the adorable but grumpy Andy, Gary's best buddy. The rest of the actors have played their parts well too.
The movie picks up very nicely and never once slows down.
The dialogues are at times funny ("What the fuck is WTF?"), and witty ("He used to ask me what I wanted to do with my life.told him I just wanted to have a good time. He thought that was funny. It wasn't meant to be."), and at times serious enough to the point of being philosophical ("How can you tell when you're drunk if you're never sober"). Sometimes they are a commentary on us humans and our idiosyncrasies ("Your reliance on profanity is a measure of your immaturity as a man and a species.")... That's what I liked a lot about the script... It has a lot of substance to it.
The action is at times intense. As compared to the other two movies in the series, the action sequences in this one are very professionally shot. Many action movies rely on the shaking of the camera to portray intense action. This one avoid the shaky camerawork. Instead it portrays the fight sequences very lucidly and in detail. Its fun to watch, except if you can make yourself digest the fact that all the five protagonists who are bashing up so many people, are supposed to be in their middle ages, with no indication of their acquaintance to martial arts.
Compared to the other two movies in the trilogy, this one has the best climax. The climax of Hot Fuzz was, according to me, a serious botch up. The climax of Shaun of the Dead was simply mediocre. But the climax of this one is well executed. It wraps up the story to a very satisfying and logical conclusion.
The science fiction part of the movie does not necessarily consist of an original premise. But the idea is well executed. The main idea is to make a social commentary on the vagaries of the human race, while proclaiming our right to be free to mess up ourselves the way we please. Which the movie sets forth pretty effectively, using comedy or satire as a medium.
According to me, this one was the best one of the three movies that make up the Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. And its certainly worth a watch at least once.
The World's End is a pub at the end of what the teenagers of Newton Haven call the Golden Mile - a pub crawl that covers 11 other pubs before terminating at this one. On the day of their graduation, Gary King and his 4 buddies decide to "conquer the Golden Mile", drinking a beer in each of the "twelve pubs along a legendary path of alcoholic indulgence"... They never manage to finish it...
That was 20 years back. Flash forward to the present. All the 4 friends are busy and settled down in their respective professions. And Gary King? He is institutionalized. Trying to come to terms with the disappointment and meaninglessness that life has become. But there is the business of the Golden Mile. The crawl they started but never finished. Unfinished business.
So Gary decides to go and finish it once and for all. But of course he cant do it without his 4 buddies. But its "Gary fucking King". The guy who, according to his best pal Andy, can do anything... So Gary visits each one of them. And using his obnoxious charm, manages to convince, persuade and at times emotionally blackmail them to join him in their 20 years old quest.
So the four friends find themselves back in Newton Haven, following the indomitable and insufferable Gary King. And while they are at it, they stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens to change their world...
This is one movie that, for me, defies classification. It is the concluding part of the famous Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (though, it is in no way related to either of the 2 predecessors). But unlike its prequels, it is not really a parody. It is a good comedy. At the same time it is quite an interesting piece of "social science fiction". It boasts some pretty cool action scenes. But best of all, it paints the characters of the 5 friends quite well. The shattered promise of youth, the nostalgic collective memories of a bunch of friends before life separated them, their trip down that memory lane, and their unresolved hopes, conflicts and desires. The movie manages to capture all this very nicely.
The script is well written. Much detailed and well crafted than either of the predecessors. Hats off to the Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Edgar Wright's direction is, as always, awesome - bearing the unique signature that anyone who has seen the other two movies in the trilogy would quickly recognize.
Simon Pegg plays the role of the cocky, obnoxious and gritty Gary King. That Simon Pegg is a great actor has been evident in the previous two movies from the trilogy. But this one exhibits equally great acting skills by Nick Frost. He plays the role of the adorable but grumpy Andy, Gary's best buddy. The rest of the actors have played their parts well too.
The movie picks up very nicely and never once slows down.
The dialogues are at times funny ("What the fuck is WTF?"), and witty ("He used to ask me what I wanted to do with my life.told him I just wanted to have a good time. He thought that was funny. It wasn't meant to be."), and at times serious enough to the point of being philosophical ("How can you tell when you're drunk if you're never sober"). Sometimes they are a commentary on us humans and our idiosyncrasies ("Your reliance on profanity is a measure of your immaturity as a man and a species.")... That's what I liked a lot about the script... It has a lot of substance to it.
The action is at times intense. As compared to the other two movies in the series, the action sequences in this one are very professionally shot. Many action movies rely on the shaking of the camera to portray intense action. This one avoid the shaky camerawork. Instead it portrays the fight sequences very lucidly and in detail. Its fun to watch, except if you can make yourself digest the fact that all the five protagonists who are bashing up so many people, are supposed to be in their middle ages, with no indication of their acquaintance to martial arts.
Compared to the other two movies in the trilogy, this one has the best climax. The climax of Hot Fuzz was, according to me, a serious botch up. The climax of Shaun of the Dead was simply mediocre. But the climax of this one is well executed. It wraps up the story to a very satisfying and logical conclusion.
The science fiction part of the movie does not necessarily consist of an original premise. But the idea is well executed. The main idea is to make a social commentary on the vagaries of the human race, while proclaiming our right to be free to mess up ourselves the way we please. Which the movie sets forth pretty effectively, using comedy or satire as a medium.
According to me, this one was the best one of the three movies that make up the Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. And its certainly worth a watch at least once.
My ratings: 3.5
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