The World's End Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: The World's End
Year: 2013
Director: Edgar Wright
Country: UK
Language: English

In 2004 British Director Edgar Wright tickled our funny bone with the delirious zombie satire Shaun of the Dead. It was only his second feature film, yet was enough proof to show that this man had enormous talent. His next two feature films would also impress the public. Hot Fuzz had many in stiches and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World amazed with its impressive sound and visual effects. With Wright’s achievements in mind, there were high hopes for his latest film The World’s End.

The World’s End is essentially about five childhood friends in their mid-thirties who reunite when one of them decides that they should go on an epic drinking marathon; 12 pubs and 12 pints in one alcohol fueled night. Gary King (Simon Pegg) is the leader of this group, who convinces the friends to travel to their hometown for this pub crawl. As the night goes on, things start to get very strange.

As the movie goes on, the writers start running out of ideas. Though the runtime is only 109 minutes, it feels far too long for this film. The first forty minutes is hilarious and fun filled, but the rest leaves much to be desired. It seems as if the writers had a brilliant idea, but had no clue where to go with it. It starts with witty comedy, and then devolves into long winded explanations of why humans screw up and why killer robots exist.

If The World’s End tried to be a complex philosophical meditation about the nature of man while masquerading as a comedy, then it completely failed.  The picture is shallower than a kiddie pool infested with glamour models.  Other than Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s characters, the cast feels bland and pointless, only there to fill a void. Unlike the rest of Wright’s filmography The World’s End lacks the direction his other films have had.

In conclusion, if you want to see one of the most mindless films of 2013 then this (or Man of Steel) is the film for you.  While it can be quite funny, ultimately it’s a complete waste of time. By the end the writers beg for laughter, but chances are you'll have fallen asleep twenty minutes earlier.  If you already bought a ticket, you should demand your money back.

 Piss on it! 1/5