Just watched this for the first time. I'm a massive MASSIVE fan of the first two films and I also really enjoyed the World's End. I had a big happy grin on my face from second one. You could tell the cast had a blast and the film had a great pace. All the comedic points hit for me.
The action scenes were also out of this world for a pub brawl
. The choreography was amazing, I was already looking forward to Ant Man but its gone up a little more in expectation now.
Also loved all the call backs/cameos to the first two films. As well as the sudden shift in tone at the halfway point, much like Shaun it seems all normal then BAM just something comes out of nowhere and the film does a 180.
The only thing I was initially iffy on was the end as I'd heard it was very bizarre and initially for me it was such a random thing that I didn't follow some of it.
It's humor and use of genre is different from the other two films, though I don't think it is to the film's detriment, though it it is different from what I expected.
Faraci actually has an interesting take on the film's themes and its ending that for once is actually based on what is to be found in the movie (rather than his usual tactic of trying to hang unrelated political baggage around a film's neck). Worth reading.
http://badassdigest.com/2013/08/25/simon-peggs-captain-kirk-moment-and-the-end-of-the-worlds-end/
Thank you for this article! Like I said I was a bit lost on all of the meaning and this helped me clear up everything.
So yeah a really solid 9/10. The only main issue I'd have is that for an Edgar Wright film it didn't seem as jam packed with foreshadowing and smaller jokes that Fuzz and Shaun did. However it normally takes a few rewatches to catch some, Fuzz in particular is just full of small jokes. I hope the trivia track points a few out on the bluray.
For example Edgar Wright said in an interview that all the pub names have relevance to an event. So far I've figured out -
The First Post - Obvious
The Old Familiar - The pub is the same as the first
The Famous Cock - The Guy sitting at the bar who they all knew?
The Cross Hands - No idea
The Good Companions - No idea
The Trusty Servant - The guy who is human but serving the robots
The Two Headed Dog - The twins
The Mermaid - No idea
The Beehive - No idea
The King's Head - Not 100% sure
The Hole in the Wall - Car crash
The World's End - Obvious
I also don't feel World's End is as quotable. I still quote Shaun and Fuzz a lot but End, while funny, didn't really have any instant classic lines.
Overall I'd order them -
1: Hot Fuzz
2: The World's End
3: Shaun of the Dead