The World's End - Noodles Review

8.25 out of 10 Noodles

   Just when I thought summer was over, I get a fun movie to put an end to it. I had mixed expectations for The World's End; I expect it to be funny and witty, but from an initial look, it's seems too similar to this summer's earlier apocalyptic comedy, This Is The End. I was a little worried that the familiarity and similarity would leave a bland taste for me. This Is The End was probably one of the funniest movies of the year (after Despicable Me 2, of course), so I was hoping the jokes wouldn't be too similar. However, The World's End isn't only a lot different from This Is The End, but, in my opinion, a lot better. The World's End is the unofficial conclusion to what is known as the Three Colours Cornetto Trilogy, which is comprised of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and this. They're all directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright & Scott Pegg, and all star Scott Pegg & Nick Frost.They don't really have anything else to do with eachother, other than they're similar British comedy. If you're a fan of the first two, then you'll probably enjoy this one. I personally loved the wit and jokes of them, so The World's End was a lot of fun for me.
   In this movie, the five main characters, led by Pegg's character Gary King, partook in the Golden Mile as teenagers; which is a pub crawl challenge from their hometown in which you have to drink a pint of beer from each pub on this mile-long stretch, ending with the pub called The World's End. The gang wasn't able to complete the Golden Mile back then, so after like 20 years now, they come back together and head back to their hometown to take another crack at it. However, upon coming back, the crew realizes that the town they grew up in has been replaced with alien robots. It sounds ridiculous, right. It is explained competently, but the ridiculousness of this film is one of the best parts. And among the chaos brought upon by these robots, the gang continues to go on the Golden Mile, and the further the film progresses, the more drunk the guys get. And they play it so well that it's believable and hilarious. Simon Pegg kills it in this movie as the self-declared leader of the group. He's a complete loose-cannon and everything that comes out of the guy's mouth is comedy gold. The rest of group, too, are all great in the movie. They've all moved on in their lives. One's a lawyer, another's car salesman with a family; they all just feel like real regular people and seem like they all know eachother so well as if they were really best friends as kids, which adds to this film because you relate to them and care about them. My personal favourite was Martin Freeman's character, Oliver (or as he hates being called, the "O-Man!"), the real estate agent with the bluetooth who always says the acronym "WTF." The acting and character writing of this film are on point, which is possibly the main reason it's so funny. What I also liked about the comedy is that it's cleverly written. There's a lot of jokes that develop in the movie to be funny, and then there's also the subtleties that a lot of people will miss that are really hilarious.

   The comedy and entertainment of this movie is also due highly to the direction. Edgar Wright has his own style of direction in which he does quick cuts, cool zooms, long takes, all mixed together. And the choreography of the fight scenes were fun, too. An example is when the gang is in one pub brawling against a bunch of robots and Pegg's character keeps trying to finish his glass of beer, while also being preoccupied by the ongoing fight. Just as well, it has some dramatic scenes that would otherwise be really cheesy in any other movie. However, the relatable characters and clever writing make it fit right in. My only gripes for this movie are that the last third aren't as strong as the the first two. It's still good and entertaining, don't get me wrong, but I feel like it's not as fun or engrossing as the beginning; it got more action. That, and the movie's not really for everyone. A lot of people really wouldn't find the British comedy as funny; and there are those who won't understand some of the more clever jokes. But for me, this was a laugh-out-loud 8.25 out of 10 Noodles (I couldn't decide between 8 and 8.5 so I just went in the middle). Had I made my Top 5 Summer Movies list after seeing this film, it would've knocked Pacific Rim into the Honourable Mentions.