Genre double bill at the Carmike! Part 1: THE WORLD’S END
The final installment in the Cornetto Trilogy planned by director Edgar Wright (SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ) and actor Simon Pegg, it details the adventures of Gary King, whose heyday was in the 90s and whose life never went anywhere since. He enlists his four childhood friends, all showing reserve and reluctance, to go back to their hometown to complete a 12 pub drinking fest that they never finished as teenagers. When they arrive they find that things aren’t as they seem, and yet with sheer persistence and stubbornness Gary is determined not to let the rapidly escalating events get in his way of a nice tall glass of bitters.
As a study of nostalgia, conformity and humanity it is surprisingly dark yet still quite funny, and goes farther than the other two installments in exploring English small town life and its denizens. The film ends in a tragic sense, though not in the way I at all expected. I commend Simon Pegg for playing a right bastard, and the filmmakers for having the integrity to see through with what happens when a right bastard has the final word. Suffice it to say it is apocalyptic.
Do go see it, the film did not do so well this past weekend, and it would be a shame to let it bow out so quickly. It made me cry a bit towards the end, and I always recommend those sorts of films!
James Fazzaro 