SPLICED MOVIES /
ISSUE 02
REVIEW / THE WORLD’S END
by Caitlin Geng
The gang
is back together for
The World’s End; the
third instalment of the ‘Cornetto Trilogy’, following the massive cult successes of
Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007) in true blood and ice-cream style.
Watch
the
trailer
The film was partly
inspired by a script
Edgar Wright began
in his teens called
Crawl, following an
actual pub crawl
involving 15 pubs,
although Wright says
he didn’t make it past
the seventh. After
seeing Greg Mottola’s
Superbad in 2007,
Wright’s idea was
reignited, and the
idea of a night out as
an adventurous quest
began to take shape.
The ‘running gags’, or more
superficial links, that have been
threaded right through from Shaun
are there; the ‘fence jumping’ gag,
and of course, the third flavour of
Cornetto (mint, in case you wondered)
makes an appearance. While these
little successfully sentimental nods
are crowd pleasers, the film also fits
comfortably into the more substantial
continuing themes that director/writer
Edgar Wright and actor/co-writer
Simon Pegg set in motion all those
years ago. Themes that centre on the
difficulty of letting go of perpetual
adolescence, of growing up, of
friendship, and the dangers and joys
involved are all as present and deeply
rooted in The World’s End, as in their
previous films. Similarly to Shaun and
Hot Fuzz, the premise revolves around
the friendship between the characters
played by Pegg and Frost, and their
unwitting transformation into unlikely
heroes pitted against a sinister horde.
You might say it sounds repetitive,
and question whether three films with
essentially the same themes and even
stories might not be a bit boring. If so,
just remember the wise words of Ed
(Frost) in Shaun of the Dead: “I’ll stop
doin em’ when you stop laughing”.
The story begins with a prologue set
in 1990 (beautifully filmed on 16mm),
which introduces the five lads (Gary/
Pegg and his friends) in their glory
years, and is voiced-over by Pegg’s
character Gary King. A little hint, pay
attention to this intro, as ‘Gary’ not
only reminisces on their first failed
adolescent attempt at the ‘Golden Mile’
pub crawl in their then hometown, but
also provides a tidy little itinerary for
where the film will take you. “Pint six
put Oman out of commission”, and,
in pub nine; ‘The Beehive’, “it was us
against the world”. These give a taste of
what lies in wait.
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