Post by StevePulaski on Aug 23, 2013 22:36:08 GMT -5
The World's End (2013)
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Directed by: Edgar Wright
The entire gang in The World's End.
Rating: ★★★
The World's End is certainly not the funniest comedy I've seen all year, but it's definitely one of the most inspired. Here is a film that functions on its own merits, creates its own little world, and concocts the most asinine setups that the only plausible thing to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. It concludes Simon Pegg's, Nick Frost's, and director Edgar Wright's long-running "Cornetto" trilogy, which began with Shaun of the Dead back in 2004 and Hot Fuzz in 2007. I can see some walking out of the concluding, yet unrelated chapter of the trilogy confused and utterly baffled, and I see some emerging with the mindset they've seen the funniest comedy they've seen all year.
To the people who belong to the latter category, they definitely have good justification. The film follows Gary King (Simon Pegg), a self-indulgent manchild, whose ultimate goal in life when he was young and, now, when he is older is to keep the party going and have a damn good time. He hung out with five close friends when they were in their twenties in their hometown of Newton Haven and planned to bar-hop twelve different Irish pubs in what's known as "The Golden Mile," downing at least a pint of beer from each establishment, with the last pub being called "The World's End." Long story short, their plan fell through early-on, and the only one who seems to still care years later is Gary, who wants to reunite the crew.
He tracks down and demands that his pals - Peter (Eddie Marsan), Oliver, nicknamed "O-Man" (Martin Freeman), Steven (Paddy Considine), and Andy (Nick Frost) - all go back to their hometown of Newton Haven to complete their Golden Mile and receive a sense of closure they failed to get when they were young. All his pals, however, have grown up and moved on from a life that was nothing but shallow skirt-chasing and mindless drinking. Gary, however, has failed to grow up, and still operates with the inconsequential mindset he always has. So, the five men go from bar-to-bar, only to realize soon-on that some extraterrestrial lifeform is now inhabiting the planet and they may be the only one who can stop them.
The way this film goes from seemingly nonchalant to completely unconventional and out of the ordinary reminds me of last year's sleeper hit The Cabin in the Woods, which operated with the same idea of attempting to put a twist on an entire genre. The first half-hour plays in a very lax manner, getting by largely on quick-witted, rapid-fire dialog with the wry British wit its crew is known for delivering. The remaining seventy minutes are completely lawless and are predicated off of the film's desire to throw off all looming judgements and pre-conceived notions about the film. To put it simply, it defies all expectations, regardless of whether you knew what you were in for or weren't.
The reigning chaos and the completely anarchic second and third act get to be a bit of a muchness. What works brilliantly well is when writers Pegg and Wright decide to continue their streak of fueling the script with banter and hilarious dialog between characters. When you have a supporting cast made up of Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, and Martin Freeman, you've already got enough in the talent department, and this film does its part to assure the dialog lives up to the talent.
I feel in order to truly understand and, above all, enjoy The World's End, you need to be familiar with the humor styles of Pegg, Frost, and Wright (which is basically to have a good time and constantly be aware that the audience should have just as much fun) and to know ahead of time what they want to do with the story and the plot. It's no secret the apocalyptic film has been done to death, and the crew behind this film realize this, just like they did recognizing the zombie plot was getting redundant when they made Shaun of the Dead and how tired the formula for buddy cop comedies was when Hot Fuzz was released. Their plan is to try and breed a new standard and a new life into the material, and whether or not they succeed is up for debate. What they do succeed at is creating a comedy that, throughout its many tones, plot-points, and events, never runs out of energy. This alone is a strong credit to a comedy, especially one doomed with an August-release in America.
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsen, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Rosamund Pike, and Pierce Brosnan. Directed by: Edgar Wright.