The World's End (2013) Review

Written By Stu Cooper

It’s been almost 9 years since I first discovered Simon Pegg in “Shaun of the Dead”. Soon after that he immediately became one of my favorite actors, and you can bet I was one of the people who showed up to see “Hot Fuzz” opening weekend! For years to come I found myself quoting both films, and then I discovered “SPACED”. This was Pegg’s British comedy show he had prior to both films. Since the episodes were hard to find until the DVD release, it took me awhile to see it, but once I did…I loved it! There is really nothing Pegg hasn’t been involved in that I didn’t love. When you combine Pegg with his best friend Nick Frost and Writer/Director Edgar Wright you have a team that is certain to impress. Wright wrote “The World’s End” along with Pegg to serve as the final installment in Wright’s “Blood and Ice Cream” series, which consists of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The films themselves have little to do with each other aside from the actors and the comedy style. I was very excited when I heard these guys were teaming up again, and I was not disappointed. So let’s get right into the film.

“The World’s End” tells the story of man by the name of Gary King who grew up in a small town in England with his 5 best friends. One night the group decides to attempt a local challenge called “The Golden Mile” in which you must visit 12 pubs and have at least a pint at each pub. The final pub is called “The World’s End”, which sadly the boys never made it to (in 1990). After a failed attempt at the pub challenge, the boys seem to have grown up and gone their separate ways. The film picks up some 23 years later (the original challenge took place in 1990, which is obvious by the clothing and music during the time). Every member of the group has moved on to some type of mature adult oriented life, while Gary is still stuck in 1990. Gary wears the same clothes, listens to the same music, and is still obsessed over the feat that fell through his grasps…The Golden Mile. While living as a functioning alcoholic Gary makes it his mission to reunite the old gang and give the pub challenge one last attempt. After lying his way through each of his friends, he somehow convinces all of them participate. The other members of the group are Peter Page (Eddie Marsan), Oliver Chamberlain (Martin Freeman) (begrudgingly known as “O-Man” due to a birth mark he has on his face that makes look like “The Omen”), Steven Prince (Paddy Considine), and of course Andy Knightley (Nick Frost). In a nice little role reversal, Pegg actually plays the crazy one and Nick Frost actually plays the straight laced one. It’s nice to see the roles changing up a bit. The group as a whole is just superb though. Every actor is good in their own right, and of course fans of “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “The Hobbit” will be thrilled to see Martin Freeman. It’s a win-win as soon as you see this cast. Also for fans of Pegg and Wright's other projects there are several cameos from actors featured on "SPACED" and the other films as well. I verbally yelled "YES!" when the "SPACED" cameos took place.

After all 5 men agree to meet-up in their old hometown, they begin “The Golden Mile”. Gary makes it clear that he has not forgotten all the good times the boys used to have, in fact it’s all he ever talks about. There is a great sequence where it shows each man preparing to leave on their journey. Some are wrapping things up at work, some are saying goodbye to their wife and kids, but Gary is sitting in a ratty little apartment, getting wasted, and putting on the same clothes he wore in 1990. There is also a great bit where the group is all carpooling and they realize Gary is still listening to the exact same cassette tape he was listening to in 1990. They make it clear he is not ready to move on with his life, and this adventure is all that he has. The group begins the “Golden Mile” and quickly realizes that some of the pubs they grew up loving have been altered and turned into corporate chains, which puts a damper on the originality of the bars. As an added problem, Andy no longer drinks, so he keeps ordering water while Gary is trying to get everyone pumped up over the prospect of drinking all night. You find out later in the film that Andy has some serious issues with Gary, and part of that is the reason why he no longer drinks.

As the film progresses from bar to bar, funny bit to funny bit it is easy to get immersed into the film and pretend you’re right along with the group. I often found myself jealous that I could not actually participate in the challenge with them! About half-way through the film you are introduced to a science fiction element of the film. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say the film gets kicked up a notch and it kind of becomes Shaun of the Dead meets Doctor Who. I was concerned about this element of the film but it is executed perfectly. Throughout the film the theme of “maturity” and “growing up” was addressed. It seems the whole world besides Gary has moved on with life and found some type of contentment, so it’s heartbreaking to see Gary desperately latching on to his nostalgia. This is a feeling I can certainly relate to, and maybe that’s why it hit me so hard. He loves his friends, but he loves the memories more. One might say he is trapped in his own personal hell, looping his memories without introducing new ones.

As the film winds down you see Gary realize that no matter how hard he tries, he won’t be time traveling, and he won’t be that young handsome fun guy from 1990 again. He realizes he needs to be something more than that. That’s where the whole moral of the film comes in. It really feels like the message of the film is…Don’t live for the past, live for your future. If you live for the past, it will ultimately destroy your future prospects, because you are blinded by it and not prepared for what lies ahead. This is a feeling that almost every human being deals with I think. The older you get, the more you reflect on “the good ole days” and you either resent time, or you embrace it. You either wish you could go back to being a kid, or you use your new found knowledge and maturity to explore a new future. Gary’s friends were able to move on, he was not. So you get to see him tragically realize this throughout the film. I think that is the part that actually makes this a trilogy. In Shaun of the Dead, Shaun was like a young dumb boy who was experiencing life for the first time, experiencing love and friendship for the first time. In Hot Fuzz, Nicholas Angel was a stern lonesome man who was learning to lighten up and let people in, and then In “The World’s End” we have a Gary King. A shell of a man, washed up and burnt out, aged, and tired, but still looking for that last adventure, the adventure that gives me a sense of purpose. That’s precisely what he finds. The cycle is complete. There is also a final confrontation that reminds me a lot of Star Trek/Doctor Who in which King must battle the villain using wit and attitude. This film is a fun comedy, intense action sequences, and a great overall deep meaning. I absolutely loved this film and I can’t wait to watch it again. Truly entertaining stuff. I highly recommend it.