Review of The World's End

Here's yet another collaboration between director and writer Edgar Wright with actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, following up on their prior hilarious films, "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz". I didn't think this one was on a par with either of those two, and in particular, with Pegg coming on a bit harsh with his character Gary King. The set up for the story has 'The King' reuniting his boyhood friends from the town of Newton Haven in order to complete a mission they set out for twenty years prior but never finished - completing a pub crawl calling for a dozen bars along the town's 'Golden Mile'. For this viewer, the story line had more than subtle references to a couple of sci-fi classics, the first being "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" which is pretty evident early on, along with "The Day The Earth Stood Still" in the latter part of the picture. For a comedy, this seemed to have more than it's share of martial arts style bar room brawls, with Gary's pal Andy Knightley (Frost) leading the charge in one of them to take on the blue blooded aliens who have taken over Newton Haven. The quips and one liners come at a rapid pace, though the film loses a little steam as it nears the finish line with the alien voice making it's demands known to what's left of The King's musketeers. Rosamund Pike shares in the antics as Gary's old time gal pal Sam Chamberlain, and does her part to pull the boys out of a jam as the story comes to a close. Lending credence to the title, the last pub on the Golden Mile is called The World's End, and this wouldn't be a modern day epic if it didn't go up in flames at the finale. You can have a bit of fun with this one, but if you're not familiar with Simon Pegg's brand of humor, start off with this one to build up to the other two.