The World's End (2013)

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.

Director:

Edgar Wright

Writers:

Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright

Stars:

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman

5 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Thomas Law	...	Young Gary
Zachary Bailess	...	Young Andy
Jasper Levine	...	Young Steven
James Tarpey	...	Young Peter
Luke Bromley	...	Young Oliver
Sophie Evans	...	Becky Salt
Samantha White	...	Erika Leekes
Rose Reynolds	...	Tracy Benson
Richard Hadfield	...	Young Shane
Flora Slorach	...	Young Sam
Francesca Reidie	...	Teenage Twins
Charlotte Reidie	...	Teenage Twins
Pierce Brosnan	...	Guy Shepherd
David Bradley	...	Basil
Michael Smiley	...	Reverend Green

Storyline

20 years after attempting an epic pub crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell bent on trying the drinking marathon again. They are convinced to stage an encore by mate Gary King, a 40-year old man trapped at the cigarette end of his teens, who drags his reluctant pals to their home town and once again attempts to reach the fabled pub, The World's End. As they attempt to reconcile the past and present, they realize the real struggle is for the future, not just theirs but humankind's. Reaching The World's End is the least of their worries.

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Plot Keywords:

paranoia | twin actresses for twin sisters | doppelganger | group therapy | alcoholic | 

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Taglines:

One Night. Six Friends. Twelve Pubs. Total Annihilation.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references.

Details

Official Sites:

Focus Features [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 August 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

The World's End

Filming Locations:

Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,790,237, 25 August 2013, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$26,004,851

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,089,287

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 SDDS (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Felicity, Nick Frost's assistant from the start of the film is named after a young woman from Stockport, called Fliss, who tragically passed away. She was a massive Simon Pegg fan and he had sent her signed pictures at the request of her dad when she was ill. She passed before she could receive them. When Simon Pegg found out he wrote the character into the movie in her memory.

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Goofs

In the early scenes with Gary recruiting his buddies, his Eye of Horus necklace frequently appears and disappears from shot to shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gary King: Ever have one of those nights that starts out like any other, but ends up being the *best* night of your life?

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Crazy Credits

People going to see the film at the Broadway Cinema in Letchworth, the location for the outside of The Mermaid, were shown a short clip beforehand featuring Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost, welcoming them to the cinema and hoping they enjoyed watching it from inside one of the filming locations.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Baby Driver (2018)

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Soundtracks

This Corrosion
Written by Andrew Eldritch
Performed by The Sisters of Mercy
Courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd

User Reviews

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright has been one of the biggest success stories of British cinema of the past decade.

The movie-making team of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright has been one of the biggest success stories of British cinema of the past decade. With "Shaun of the Dead" (2004) and "Hot Fuzz" (2007), the trio demonstrated originality, ingenuity, and most significantly, capable of drawing a large, appreciative audience. Now they're back with the long-awaited third movie of what's become unofficially known as the "Cornetto trilogy." Like it's predecessors, director Edgar Wright loves paying homage to American cinema; "Shaun" pays its respects to George Romero, "Fuzz" nods its head to over the top action, buddy flicks, and "World's End" takes a page from our classic American sci-fi films.

In "The World's End," 20 years after attempting an epic pub-crawl, five childhood friends reunite when one of them becomes hell-bent on trying the drinking marathon once again. Once convinced to stage an encore by Gary King (Simon Pegg), a 40-year- old man trapped in the mindset of his mid 20's, drags his reluctant friends back to their hometown, and once again attempt to reach the fabled pub - The World's End.

"The World's End" plays on the notion that any time you return to your old stomping grounds, changes are inevitable. Upon returning to their small town roots—a place so boring it boasts about having the first roundabout in all of England—the crew notices that things are a little strange. As it turns out, the town residents are now blue- blooded alien robots. Pretty soon, the group of friends find they are not only fighting to recapture who they once were, but to preserve who they are.

"The World's End" follows similar thematic and structural paths as the other films in the trilogy. While it is definitely intended as a satirical spoof on one level, it also works just as well as a fully functional sci-fi story. You have elements of body snatching, invasions, and more than a few overt nods to John Carpenter's classic "They Live" (1998), in the way the aliens integrate into their society and take over. It's satire in such a loving fashion that it comes across as infectiously charming.

If there is anything to criticize here, maybe it's that the genre is a bit more skewered and less defined than in its predecessors. However, "The World's End" does cap an unofficial trilogy, and the grievance is overly critical given the nature of the movies. Long-time fans of the trilogy will appreciate the reversal of roles, casting Pegg as the selfish screw-up, and Frost as the one who has it together. This allows Pegg to fully unleash his gift for gab, and for Frost to show off his considerable skill for physical comedy.

With great gags, better fights, and fan pleasing cameos, "The World's End" is exactly the sort of British-accented, genre-blending pleasure we've come to expect from its creative trio, and we can only anticipate to what the future holds.