The World's End

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright meet for the third time in a row. And for the third time in a row, do a decent job. It’s no longer so much fun as Shaun of the Dead but it’s still good. It’s not as much about fun rather than about the boys getting together and shooting another crazy but good movie, this time poking fun at sci-fi. Moreover, I saw The World’s End after about six beers, so my rating reflects that. Nevertheless, I think that had I not returned from a pub, I’d have opened a beer while watching this, because a movie like this needs that. As pubs are its subject matter, it’s hard not to think about beer during the first five minutes. Anyhow, the boys managed to get a great cast for their movie – Freeman, Marsan and Considine were really cool. Each of them did their own thing and it fit the movie well. I wouldn’t mind going on a beer trip like this, maybe except for the global consequences. I’d give those a pass. But the rest was a wild ride indeed. (12/18/2013)

I'll be upfront — I've got a soft spot for Simon Pegg. But even with that bias aside, this film landed as my least favorite among his works, both as an actor and a screenwriter. Why? It felt like a rehash of Shaun of the Dead with a few tweaks. And frankly, that just doesn't cut it for me. The cast looked promising and I couldn't wrap my head around why this film had such a low rating. Well, now I get it. Compared to Shaun, Hot Fuzz, and Paul, this one fell noticeably short, leaving me with the impression that Pegg might've rushed through the screenplay. Aside from a handful of standout moments, I found myself less entertained than usual — even bordering on boredom, which is a first for me with the Pegg/Frost duo. The only silver lining? I finally understand why they use blue blood in certain ads. / Lesson learned: When things don't go as planned, don't lose your head. (01/06/2024)

"Have you noticed how communications technologies have developed in the last ten years?" "No." The odd fear was that after the commercial awesomeness of Scott Pilgrim, Edgar Wright's anarchic creativity would be hidden under a bushel. On the contrary, what emerged was probably Wright's purest film, managing to combine two of the director's distinctive virtues: his work with humor and his ability to make good, uncluttered action sequences. In addition, the drunken celebration of fighting the system and especially the constant wit are practically uncorrected by any external interference, so that you can enjoy, for example, an excellent dosage of jokes that are not patently written into the scenes, but instead are the drivers of the plot. This is especially noticeable in the fact that they often build on things that have been hinted at before, so you have to remain constantly vigilant and see beyond the hilarity of the film. Plus, for perhaps the first time, Simon Pegg didn't get on my nerves. Imaging what this director could have done with Ant-Man will forever be in my masturbatory fantasies. (Apologies to the users here for adding the 667th review. Truth be told, I don't give a shit and Satan may rise) (02/10/2016)

I'm wavering between three and four stars, and that's ultimately one of the biggest surprises that The World's End brought me. The other ones are that Simon Pegg is similar to Tomas Hajíček from the band Krucipüsk, that Nick Frost plays a truly completely different character than you would expect, at least at the beginning, and that Edgar Wright seems to have abandoned his typical bullet shots, or at least is trying to limit them, because there are noticeably less of them. I can't say that I was completely disappointed, but the fact is that I liked The World's End a lot less than the previous two films. I thought it was too long and unnecessarily action-packed (the first encounter with the UFOs was great, but the others just repeated it - and not in the funny "déjà vu" sense). Kudos to the music (the irresistible “Whiskey Bar" scene by The Doors) and all the actors, and I really liked the epilogue. I was thinking that is was too bad that the first half of the film didn't take place "before" and the second half "after". I round down the three and a half stars for now with a heavy heart and will wait to watch it on DVD.__P.S. I don't know how much the other viewers enjoyed the film, I was alone in the movie theatre. (11/10/2013)

Wright, Pegg and Frost are back and in excellent form, this time in a beer-drinkers’ sci-fi about the threat of technology taking over. Almost non-stop situation gags, the action looks like a typical bar fight, crossed with kung-fu. The special effects are excellent, the story gets you thinking. Welcome to the end of the world! (11/08/2013)