According to the title, ‘The World’s End‘ should belong to the apocalyptic genre. The movie directed in 2013 by Edgar Wright fulfills this promise but only towards the end. It begins as a film about nostalgia and the comparison between the hopes of youth and reality. It continues as a social and character comedy to turn into a horror prank with alien invaders (or maybe robots). The last pub on the route of 12 the such institutions traveled by a group of five friends gathered to celebrate 20 years since graduating from high school is called ‘The World’s End’ and the name is not accidental. What struck me as remarkable about the British director’s film is that he manages to be credible in each of the four cinematic genres approached in succession, that the connection between them seems quite natural, and the British humor sparkling dialogues manage to maintain permanently the comic feel. This seemingly impossible mix of cinematic genres works beyond expectations.
The screenplay is written by director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg who is Gary King, the head of the gang of men who meet after 20 years and decide (or are convinced by Gary) to remake the route of the pubs after their prom. Him being apparently the least ‘accomplished’ of all, this reunion is perhaps for Gary an exercise in detoxification (alcohol? drugs? we will never know clearly). The alcohol fumes accumulated after the 3rd or 4th pub facilitate the transition from social comedy to a sci-fi film that would have shades of horror if everything was not so comical. The gradual increase in the degree of madness makes the pyrotechnic effects towards the end seem almost natural. The film has an epilogue, and surprisingly enough, that deserves to be waited on patiently.
Besides Simon Pegg, I also noticed the excellent performances of Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan. The only more consistent female presence is that of Rosamund Pike (the sister of one of the men and the romantic interest of all the others) in a role rather thin for her talent. Pierce Brosnan also appears, also under-distributed. But maybe the two simply wanted to have their names listed on the credits of this unusual apocalyptic comedy, which manages to offer to the audience an entertainment that does not avoid stereotypes of the genre but combines them with original ideas and sparkling British-style dialogues. ‘The World’s End manages to entertain without giving the impression that you wasted your time watching.