Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz are two of the best British comedies ever made. Shaun of the Dead is obviously the best (although I may be biased due to being a horror hound) but Hot Fuzz is also brilliantly funny with a clever screenplay full of colourful and memorable characters. So you can imagine my excitement when The World's End was announced. And it top it off the final instalment of a consistently hilarious trilogy didn't disappoint. The World's End doesn't quite reach the heights of Shaun of the Dead, but I'd probably put it on par with Hot Fuzz. There is no greater mixture than Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Cornetto. It wins every time!
You know you're in safe hands as soon as the film begins. The same snappy editing and pastiche graces the screen as we're introduced to the characters we're going to be spending the rest of the film with through a flashback. It's a great comic sequence looking back at youth. Of course immature alcoholic, Simon Pegg wants to recreate the pub crawl he and his friends did. Trouble is they're all grown up with families and careers under their belt. Somehow they all end up going on the pub crawl and constant hilarity is assured. I would've been perfectly happy with this film without the aliens, because even when they're not there in the opening of the film it is still constantly entertaining with hilarious lines and great characterisation.
Once the aliens come into play the film becomes something more. I loved the scene where we first see them in the pub toilet. It's both hilarious and thrilling to see everyone do battle with mannequin-like creatures with bright blue blood squirting out. These action sequences are actually really well shot too. It normally annoys me when action sequences are shot too close, but here it worked thanks to the lack of quick cutting. It also emulated the claustrophobia of fighting so many aliens in such a closed environment. I loved how the film got progressively weirder as it went on, almost mimicking what it feels like to get more and more drunk. One could even say that the whole film is just in the drink-sizzled heads' of the protagonists'?
The characters are developed more and more as the film goes on. Towards the end there were even quite a few surprisingly emotional moments that worked really well. It's fantastic when you can really feel for the characters because they are so likable. I also liked the whole element of not knowing who had been replaced by an alien, like in The Thing. I even think that this idea could've been utilised more to get a feeling of paranoia, but it's no huge deal. The World's End is also never boring thanks to its fast pace and unpredictability. There's no way to predict what's going to happen next, because there are so many secrets to uncover. It almost reminded me of The Cabin in the Woods in the way it got crazier as it went on and all the more unpredictable for it.
It's sad that the trilogy is over, but at least it didn't end on a duff note. The World's End mixes sci-fi and action, but never forgets its most important genre, comedy. It's always funny and never takes itself too seriously either. It's full of wonderful characters who you grow to love as the film progresses and actually feel sorry for when they kick the bucket. The World's End left me feeling incredibly happy and raring to see it again. It's a clever ending to a clever trilogy that I'm sure will be sorely missed. So pour yourself a pint and watch with glee.
You know you're in safe hands as soon as the film begins. The same snappy editing and pastiche graces the screen as we're introduced to the characters we're going to be spending the rest of the film with through a flashback. It's a great comic sequence looking back at youth. Of course immature alcoholic, Simon Pegg wants to recreate the pub crawl he and his friends did. Trouble is they're all grown up with families and careers under their belt. Somehow they all end up going on the pub crawl and constant hilarity is assured. I would've been perfectly happy with this film without the aliens, because even when they're not there in the opening of the film it is still constantly entertaining with hilarious lines and great characterisation.
Once the aliens come into play the film becomes something more. I loved the scene where we first see them in the pub toilet. It's both hilarious and thrilling to see everyone do battle with mannequin-like creatures with bright blue blood squirting out. These action sequences are actually really well shot too. It normally annoys me when action sequences are shot too close, but here it worked thanks to the lack of quick cutting. It also emulated the claustrophobia of fighting so many aliens in such a closed environment. I loved how the film got progressively weirder as it went on, almost mimicking what it feels like to get more and more drunk. One could even say that the whole film is just in the drink-sizzled heads' of the protagonists'?
The characters are developed more and more as the film goes on. Towards the end there were even quite a few surprisingly emotional moments that worked really well. It's fantastic when you can really feel for the characters because they are so likable. I also liked the whole element of not knowing who had been replaced by an alien, like in The Thing. I even think that this idea could've been utilised more to get a feeling of paranoia, but it's no huge deal. The World's End is also never boring thanks to its fast pace and unpredictability. There's no way to predict what's going to happen next, because there are so many secrets to uncover. It almost reminded me of The Cabin in the Woods in the way it got crazier as it went on and all the more unpredictable for it.
It's sad that the trilogy is over, but at least it didn't end on a duff note. The World's End mixes sci-fi and action, but never forgets its most important genre, comedy. It's always funny and never takes itself too seriously either. It's full of wonderful characters who you grow to love as the film progresses and actually feel sorry for when they kick the bucket. The World's End left me feeling incredibly happy and raring to see it again. It's a clever ending to a clever trilogy that I'm sure will be sorely missed. So pour yourself a pint and watch with glee.