It would be easy to call The World’s End 2013’s best comedy, except for the fact that when I think back on it, the laughs – wonderfully creative and plentiful as they may be – are far from the first thing I remember. Like Shaun of the Dead before it, the film isn’t a parody of its genre, but a straight-up science-fiction film, and a phenomenal one at that, using sci-fi concepts as a springboard to larger discussions of middle-age, unfulfilled ambition, addiction, interior trauma, and how we perceive and process experiences of the past when building our futures. And in its surprisingly challenging conclusion, the film goes for a complex, cynical, and perfectly calibrated thematic gut-punch, one that questions whether humanity’s insatiable thirst for independence is truly uplifting, or just downright destructive.
Simon Pegg gives one of the year’s most accomplished performances as the selfish and unlikable Gary King, creating an intense level of empathy even as Gary is never excused for his actions, while Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, and Rosamund Pike combine to make one of the year’s very best ensembles. Perfectly paced, gloriously inventive, and as richly, densely layered as any other film this year, The World’s End doesn’t just conclude Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy in style, but solidifies the series as one of the best and most significant undertakings in modern world cinema.
The World’s End is now available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Be sure to check our our video interview with Wright and Frost below to hear more about this wonderful film.
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