Review by Ben Bussey
Talk about expectation. It’s a noun, meaning 1) the act or the state of expecting: to wait in expectation, 2) the act or state of looking forward or anticipating, 3) an expectant mental attitude: a high pitch of expectation, 4) something expected; a thing looked forward to, 5) Often, expectations, a prospect of future good or profit: to have great expectations. Much obliged, Dictionary.reference.com.
And yes, there can be no question they’re very much present with the arrival of The World’s End. The concluding film of the Cornetto trilogy reuniting writer/director Edgar Wright, writer/actor Simon Pegg, and actor Nick Frost, this is the film that wraps up the cycle that began back in 2004 with Shaun of the Dead. Nine years on, the trio’s zom-rom-com is now justly held high as one of the greatest horror comedies ever made, and whilst 2007’s Hot Fuzz perhaps didn’t win over quite so many with its oddball mix of small town English sensibilities and Hollywood shoot-’em-up action, that too has stood the test of time as a superbly crafted, profoundly witty piece of work. Now, the team having spent a little time apart, producing more divisive movies – Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Pegg and Frost’s Paul – the old gang have gotten back together in the hope of reclaiming their former glories, with a movie about… well… an old gang getting back together, in the hope of reclaiming their former glories.
Most such reformations have a tendency to end badly. So how does this one fare…?
Oh, why am I bothering to build up like I’m going to say The World’s End is a disappointment? You must realise I’m faking you out. It totally isn’t a disappointment at all. The World’s End is every bit as good as its predecessors; every bit as likely to captivate audiences, merit innumerable repeat viewings, and inspire debate in unhealthy quantities.
It’s also every bit as different from both its predecessors as Hot Fuzz was from Shaun of the Dead. Not content to blend laddish Brit humour with dystopian sci-fi, The World’s End also significantly ups the quota of one element that was a little less prominent in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz: genuinely serious character-based drama, handling painful realities facing a great many of us approaching middle age.
The basic premise, as you may have gathered from the existing trailers, is that Pegg’s character Gary King, despite having hit his 40s, is trapped in perpetual adolescence. Whilst his old gang who hasn’t seen in the best part of twenty years – Andy (Frost), Steven (Paddy Considine), Oliver (Martin Freeman) and Peter (Eddie Marsan) – have all moved on to comfortable lives, steady jobs and smart suits, Gary’s still wearing the same clothes and driving the same car that he has since 1990. Tracking each of the old gang down in turn, Gary persuades them to reunite for another attempt at the Golden Mile, the marathon pub crawl around their hometown that they failed to complete so long ago; but on returning, they gradually realise things are not quite the same on their old stomping ground. Something very strange, and very sinister, has happened to Newton Haven.
Again, this much you already know from the trailers. What you might not expect based on the promotional campaign (don’t worry, I won’t get into spoilers) is just how seriously the characters are treated. Pegg’s Gary isn’t just a bit of a deluded loser – he’s a man with very real mental health problems, and while he may provide laughs aplenty the film is in no way flippant about this, nor is it the unabashed celebration of British binge-drinking culture that some might expect. When Frost’s Andy orders a tap water, in the trailer it seems to offer a laugh at his expense; in fact, Andy has very good reasons for having gone teetotal, and these turn out to be most of the same reasons why the old gang have not gotten together again since the 90s. There’s also a revealing moment with Marsan’s character Peter that’s genuinely quite heart-breaking. There’s also a revealing moment involving Paddy Considine’s arse, but that’s a whole different matter.
So how does the dystopian sci-fi mesh with all this middle-aged issue-based drama, I hear you ask? Answer – every bit as well as expected, i.e. great. The battles between the pissed-up 40 year olds and the sort-of robots (one of the best recurring gags in the film is the on-going debate as to what they should refer to them as) are as ridiculously over-the-top and incongruous as the zombie fights of Shaun and gun battles of Hot Fuzz, and that’s where so much of the humour comes from. When it comes to the raison d’être of the sort-of robot invasion – whilst again avoiding spoilers, I will say that this one is a bit more compelling than the ultimately rather silly central device of Hot Fuzz (this one is a spoiler – the village elders covertly committing mass murder in order to win the Village of the Year award). The World’s End deals with quite legitimate fears about corporate homogenisation, with every town and every city gradually being stripped of its individuality. Sure, in part that’s an element of the midlife anxieties at the heart of the film; the sense that the world is moving on without you. But the question remains, is this new remodelled world necessarily better than what came before?
In a sense, it wouldn’t surprise me if The World’s End becomes this year’s Cabin in the Woods, partly due to the somewhat abstract nature of the threat, but more so because I suspect the very ending of the film may divide opinion somewhat. Once again, as I’m making a conscious effort to avoid spoilers, I can’t really elaborate too much on that, but I don’t think it’s going to please everyone. I will say this much, though – proper old late 80s Goths should be absolutely delighted by the final scene.
And there’s one of the key things former 80s/90s indie kids not unlike myself are going to take from The World’s End: nostalgia overload on the soundtrack. I’m not sure if they actually compiled a specific track list, or just grabbed one of the Shine CDs from a box in someone’s attic. If memory serves, outside of one expertly-selected track by The Doors, it’s all music from between about ’88-’93. For someone like me who listened to it all growing up, much of it is glorious; equally, some of it might challenge the earlier question as to whether the new world is inferior to the old. Some bands are forgotten for good reason; case in point, the Soup Dragons…
So, what with its foreboding title and the foreknowledge that it marks the conclusion of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (yes, it’s there, keep an eye out), does The World’s End mark the last time Wright, Pegg and Frost will work together? I certainly hope not. This shows the team still working at the height of their powers, balancing their usual fanboy glee with a hitherto unseen level of maturity, and sensitive handling of difficult issues. All the while, the most important thing of all is never forgotten: showing the audience a good time. Enthralling, engrossing and entertaining from start to finish, this is a damn fine movie that shouldn’t be missed.
The World’s End is in UK cinemas now, and opens in the US on August 23rd, from Universal.