THE WORLD'S END; Carlisle's Final Word

"I still think nothing that has been suggested in the last 10 minutes beats smashy-smashy-egg-men."

 Andrew

The three friends were unimpressed with the trailer for the new TMNT movie...

Synopsis;

The team responsible for bringing us Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz (the comedy team of director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) reunite a third time for this, a tale of 5 friends attempting to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier. Obviously, things don't go completely to plan as old tensions within the group resurface- and (wouldn't you just believe it?) they also find themselves in the midst of an alien invasion... Talk about inconvenient timing.

Script Logic; 1/2

Aside from a few (irritating) lapses in logic the film plods along nicely and the characters do their thing. I mean, and it's not overly important in the grand scheme of things, but (spoilers ahead) why are some of the robots / clones more life-like than others? Who was the creepy barman (a cameo by Mark Heap) who knew what the friends were going to order? How comes some of the robots repair themselves while others can't? Lastly, under the extreme circumstances the characters find themselves under (i.e. annihilation), it's a contrivance that anybody would assume it was a good idea to keep up with the pub crawl. Blah, blah, blah... So, it doesn't hold up as well as Shaun Of The Dead? It does at least provide the means for some decent gags...

Pace; 1/2

The set-up is well developed and smartly told, but when the aliens / clones/ robots do emerge onto the scene, that's when the film begins to come undone, especially regarding the pace. I feel like I have this complaint a lot, but for the sake of trimming back the script the final finish of the film would have been much stronger- a few less pubs and a much leaner ending would have been of great benefit. It's not that I have no attention span, I'll sit through anything so long as it serves a purpose, I'm just acutely aware of scenes that feel like padding or which don't further character or plot (hey, Tarantino, take note).

Acting; 1/2

Not really an 'actors piece', and perhaps it's a little unfair to hold that against a comedy, but everybody plays their part well enough- and Simon Pegg (looking very gaunt here) goes nicely against type as the manipulative lead character responsible for assembling his old drinking buddies. Still, it's not really Pegg's film- he's overshadowed (as he always has been) by his sidekick Nick Frost, not least because, in this instance, his character is a lot more likeable- the sympathetic beating heart of the film. It's a shame then that, despite the strength of the premise and the set-up, the more dramatic moments lack a satisfying resonance or pay-off.

Anyone familiar with Edgar Wright's other works will also be sure to notice a steady stream of cameos from his many other past collaborators.

Aesthetic; 2/2

Well, it doesn't look cheap, and Wright has made good use of his effects.  Nothing else to add I guess, other than the aliens (when they turn really mean and emit a blue glow from their eyes and mouths) are suitably eerie and serve as an affectionate homage to the clones from the classic film Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, to which this film owes a considerable and obvious debt.

Originality & Intention; 1/2

As a follow up to Shaun Of The Dead it's disappointing (they set the bar ridiculously high) but after Hot Fuzz a good step in the right direction. The laughs are there, it's just a shame the story's not stronger. Still, it's entertaining while it lasts, although a few scares would have gone a long way- the comedy outweighs the horror to such an extent that you never really fear for the characters as much as you might expect, and when they do start succumbing to the alien threat, it's never with as much impact as the deaths in (yep, I'm bringing it up again) Shaun Of The Dead.

Final Score; 6/10 

Worth watching if just to see Pegg and Frost doing what they do best, and so long as your hopes aren't unrealistic then there's much to enjoy. A fitting end to Wright's 'Cornetto trilogy'. As a stand-alone comedy it's a success, just don't expect any lasting memories...