The World's End Blu-ray Review
Nathan Swank
November 19th, 2013
A bunch of middle aged men attempt an epic pub crawl that they never finished from their youth. Another brilliant idea from the guys who brought us the extremely funny comedies SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ, THE WORLD’S END is the third installment in what is now called The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. The trilogy name derives from a type of ice cream that continually makes an appearance in each film. Other than that along with writer/director Edgar Wright, writer/actor Simon Pegg, actor Nick Frost and a few other reoccurring cast members, the story and characters have no correlation whatsoever… besides being extremely funny.
Gary King (Simon Pegg) is the leader of this rag tag group who in their youth was the cool kid. But as an adult Gary is just sad and obnoxious desperately wanting to relive his glory days. His only real goal in life is to hit twelve pubs in one night finishing their glorious crawl, which they never quite accomplished so many years ago, coming a few pubs shy of finishing the whole drunken debauchery at the final pub THE WORLD’S END. So Gary convinces his old gang Oliver (Martin Freeman), Steven (Paddy Considine), Peter (Eddie Marsan) and his former best mate Andy (Nick Frost) to hop on a train back to their old town to finish what they started so many years ago.
What Edgar Wright film would be complete without some outlandish spin? THE WORLD’S END isn’t just the name of the final pub to down a pint. No this title implies much more as the gang slowly realizes that nearly all the people in town have been abducted INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHER style and replaced with robotic like replicas. Although the robots would definitely argue that name. Things get weird pretty quickly as they must battle these fake human creatures in hand to hand combat using some great physical comedy and choreography. The increasingly drunk group of guys decide it might be in their best interest to continue on the crawl as to not raise any blank robotic eye brows that they are on to them.
As the distance gets further from my college years, THE WORLD’S END is definitely identifiable in some respects. Heading back for the football games and participating in the surrounding activities gets far more difficult as I age, even if the desire is still there. While there are a lot of laughs to be had with adults trying to be youthful, THE WORLD’S END misses some unique opportunities, falling just short of their first two collaborations in SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ. Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike are adequate in their supporting turns but hardly noticeable. However, despite a rather annoying character, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are once again in full swing with perfect comedic chemistry with some pure laugh out loud moments. The British have an affinity for the casual dirty language in their comedy but if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, I’m sure THE WORLD’S END is good for a few laughs for most audiences.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (MPEG-4 AVC, 1080p 2.39:1) A strong picture that captures all the tones required for such wide genre range type of film.
Audio: (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) Great sound capturing the big blockbuster moments couple with all the humorous dialogue.
Feature Commentary with writers Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg: Probably the best commentary for those who want to learn about the film but keeping thing light and humorous.
Technical Commentary with director Edgar Wright and director of photography Bill Pope: This is a more serious, technical commentary about the making of the film.
Cast Commentary with Simon Pegg, Nick Frost & Paddy Considine: This one is just for laughs for those strictly wanting to hear jokes about the jokes.
U-Control: This option allows the viewer to watch the storyboards run along the corner of the screen while watching the film.
Deleted Scenes (:55) One unnecessary scene.
Out-takes (10:44): A bit long in the tooth but there is some funny stuff from the cast.
Alternate Edits (4:32): Several different takes of scenes in the film.
Completing the Golden Mile – The Making of The World’s End (48:06): Divided into two chapters, this is a very extensive feature about the entire production of the film.
Featurettes (11:32): Director at Work (2:33), Pegg + Frost = Fried Gold (3:28), Friends Reunited (3:46), Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (5:13) – These three short featurettes are light insights about the director, the chemistry between the two leads and the driving theme between the three films these guys have made together.
Filling in the Blanks: The Stunts and FX of The World’s End (27:40): This documentary looks deeper into all the stunt work and special effects.
Animatics (11:17): Divided into two parts, one can watch the storyboard version of the prologue and the catacombs
Hair and Make-Up Tests (4:07): The actors stand and turn in full character wardrobe.
Rehearsal Footage (6:20): The cast running scenes before the actual shoot.
Stunt Tapes (8:47): Divided into three parts, we get to see the choreographed run through of Bathroom Fight, Twinbot Fight, and Beehive Fight scenes.
VFX Breakdown (8:39): Frasier Churchill talks us through the visual effects scenes showing the pre and post shots. This is quite cool and moves at fast pace.
Bits & Pieces (3:23): A compilation of the actors trying several different takes at certain lines or actions.
There’s Only One Gary King – Osymyso’s Inibri-8 Megamix (4:36): A music remix montage of scenes from the film.
Signs & Omens (7:51): I wish more Blu-ray’s would add this feature as we get a look at some of the revealing easter eggs and foreshadowing within the film.
Edgar & Simon’s Flip Chart (13:08): The two take us down the writing process from early drafts to the final stages. This is quite interesting and recommended for those working on their own screenplays.
TV Safe Version (3:41): All the language moments are dubbed over with safe words. It’s quite fun. A lot of “funks” and “fluffy’s.”
Gallaries: Production photos, animatronics & prosthetics, theatrical posters, concept art and Hero pub signs.
Trivia Track: Watch the film with pop-up trivia revealing fun little tidbits throughout.
Trailers/TV Spots
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