Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have yet again concocted a movie comedy drawn from both's immersing roots in observational "geek" comedy and sci-fi-fantasy tropes. The so-called "blood and ice-cream" (jokes about gore and cornettos, the UK's uniquely homely ice-cream cornets) cycle, as well as their landmark TV show 'Spaced' have invariably included exploration of interpersonal man-boy issues born of Pegg, Frost and Wright's generational joys and trials. Married to horror, action or sci-fi plots, the movies took the work of Kevin Smith one step further, in a way the technical handicaps of Smith could never do, mounting the real world geek trials amid deft Hollywood spoof.
'The World's End' sees Pegg as the mysterious Gary King, the former teen alpha of a group of geeks and misfits who has mythologised his crew's half-completed 1990 end-of-school-last-night of drink and drugs pub crawl to become an unfinished, near Homeric, quest. Rounding up his gang after more than twenty years, the manic (and, as we discover, manically depressed alcoholic) King returns to Newton Haven where a local old conspiracy theorist's prophecy of alien takeover of the town becomes an apparent reality.
Where Pegg's protagonists - in his and Wright's previous films - have been an emasculated couch potato (Shaun of the Dead) and workaholic superman (Nicholas Angel in Hot Fuzz) Gary King is like a pub-dwelling pied piper, a nice version of Jack Torrance in Kubrick's 'The Shining'; an avuncular version of Ledger's 'Joker'.
While his friends joined the ranks of professionals and home-makers, Gary remained the eternally partying Pied Piper he had been in his late teens. His mental illness almost provides a plot twist that could have been sobering - but there is no "it was all a dream - you're still in a ward" ending. Determined to complete his quest of a pint of lager in every one of the town's numerous pubs, regardless of riotous fights amid invincible robots posing as humans, King leads his reluctant crew, ultimately forcing his teetotal friend Andy (a kinetic and career-best Frost) to become his drinking buddy-cum-bodyguard and fellow (sort of) saviour of Earth. Rather, there is a near Douglas-Adams-with-tourettes finale which also, rather too quickly, gives a peek at a potential sequel-spawning adventure.
The plot, ultimately, is less engrossing than that of previous Pegg/Wright efforts. Their first was a (very successful) Hollywood calling-card. Their second a technical firework display showcasing Wright's comic and action credentials. Here, the joy is in reveling in Pegg and Wright's repertory of masterful acting chums and repertoire of dramatic and comedic trick box. A lesson to fans about the need for reality checks on fantasy-obsessed lives but a love letter to the unique souls who embrace such lifestyles.
The possible sequel implied by the closing scene might feed into an altogether better film but as a parting gift to Pegg and Wright fans, this is a delicious morsel.
'The World's End' sees Pegg as the mysterious Gary King, the former teen alpha of a group of geeks and misfits who has mythologised his crew's half-completed 1990 end-of-school-last-night of drink and drugs pub crawl to become an unfinished, near Homeric, quest. Rounding up his gang after more than twenty years, the manic (and, as we discover, manically depressed alcoholic) King returns to Newton Haven where a local old conspiracy theorist's prophecy of alien takeover of the town becomes an apparent reality.
Where Pegg's protagonists - in his and Wright's previous films - have been an emasculated couch potato (Shaun of the Dead) and workaholic superman (Nicholas Angel in Hot Fuzz) Gary King is like a pub-dwelling pied piper, a nice version of Jack Torrance in Kubrick's 'The Shining'; an avuncular version of Ledger's 'Joker'.
While his friends joined the ranks of professionals and home-makers, Gary remained the eternally partying Pied Piper he had been in his late teens. His mental illness almost provides a plot twist that could have been sobering - but there is no "it was all a dream - you're still in a ward" ending. Determined to complete his quest of a pint of lager in every one of the town's numerous pubs, regardless of riotous fights amid invincible robots posing as humans, King leads his reluctant crew, ultimately forcing his teetotal friend Andy (a kinetic and career-best Frost) to become his drinking buddy-cum-bodyguard and fellow (sort of) saviour of Earth. Rather, there is a near Douglas-Adams-with-tourettes finale which also, rather too quickly, gives a peek at a potential sequel-spawning adventure.
The plot, ultimately, is less engrossing than that of previous Pegg/Wright efforts. Their first was a (very successful) Hollywood calling-card. Their second a technical firework display showcasing Wright's comic and action credentials. Here, the joy is in reveling in Pegg and Wright's repertory of masterful acting chums and repertoire of dramatic and comedic trick box. A lesson to fans about the need for reality checks on fantasy-obsessed lives but a love letter to the unique souls who embrace such lifestyles.
The possible sequel implied by the closing scene might feed into an altogether better film but as a parting gift to Pegg and Wright fans, this is a delicious morsel.