And so the third instalment of the Cornetto trilogy has arrived, YES! As you push the play button you can't help thinking you're obliged to watch while either drinking a locally brewed ale or a cup of tea; all while waving a miniature British flag. Finding a British Gem is something special and as the opening sequence of The Worlds End starts, being a fan of the previous two films (especially Shaun Of The Dead) you hope that what will follow is just as, if not better than the previous films. As is the way of my film reviews, I shall only be discussing a few key points...otherwise we may be here for a while.
A key and somewhat expected element of the trilogy are it's 'running jokes', which fans and strangers alike have come to love. One example being the most obvious is the 'hoping garden fences gag'. I personally feel this is an over stated scene in all the films. This is only due to marketing campaigns however, it would have been much more rewarding to only find out how the characters attempted to hop a garden fence in the film itself; as opposed to the very annoying sales technique of showing what happens in TV advertisments! Having said that,it's small scenes like these that make the films ooze with character.
In regards to The Worlds End specifically, the jokes are less running and more quick back and forth whitey remarks. This is all well and funny, but the very charm of this trilogy is it's physical as well as verbal humour as prominent in Shaun of the dead and hot fuzz. The Worlds End fails to deliver this well balanced concoction however. Thinking back, the funny moments occur mostly in conversations around a pub table. These scenes are the sole provider of the laugh out loud humour and as such, these scenes almost feel rushed. The conversational pace is extremely quick, trying to squeeze in as many puns and play on words as possible. Leaving you feeling as though Edgar Wright (the Director) shouts "cut!" onset, quickly followed by him rubbing his hands together and saying "right, now there's a funny bit done, let's get back to the action!".
Talking of which, the group find themselves in a town taken over by robots (which are copies of people who are replaced by these robots) and so there is plenty of action! After surviving a couple of intense fights, they group end up being chased from pub to pub. Some of these scenes have a very generic 'doomsday' kind of look. Unlike in Shaun of the dead and Hot Fuzz, it doesn't feel like your watching a locally made film oozing with British culture. It may as well be another American made sci-fi horror. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with such films, but the great 'selling point' of these films is the fact that the most relatable audience should be British pub loving folk. But instead of pub culture it was more 'a sci-fi...but not as you know it.'
Ultimatly, the film deals with some dark and deep themes of problems with the human race and our murderous nature, self destructive nature. In comparison, Hot Fuzz turned out to be people murdering for the sake of winning 'village of the year' award. Brilliant! Discovering that Aliens have planted robots on planet earth to help us mend our ways, just makes you want to grab the nearest bin and stick two fingers down your throat.
I have this few up until the final few minutes of the film, in which the ending is actually, in my opinion, quite touching. As others are trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world...we see Simon Pegg returning to a pub trying to get served with outcast 'blanks', who are younger copies of his original group. This to me shows that his character is the very embodiment of ignorant adolescence, who just wants to have fun no matter what the cost. So even though the film deals with this dark themes, it concludes by showing us what we want to see. A somewhat light hearted 'FUCK IT!' attitude. This ending dissolves the serious undertones and leaves you with a sense of optimism in that, even when everything turns to shit...we will still instinctively seek out fun. niiiiiiiiiice *borrat voice
I give this film a 7.5/10
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