Directed by Edgar Wright
Written by Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright
Release Date: 23 August 2013
Running Time: 109 minutes
Editor’s Rating: 4 ill-conceived attempts reclaim one’s lost youth out of 4


The Golden Mile is the pub crawl to end all pub crawls. In the little podunk UK town of Newton Haven, twelve pubs dot its landscape, daring those who are dumb enough to drink twelve British pints (that’s twenty ounces, kids) of incredibly British beer. That’s almost two gallons of bladder-busting intoxication in one night’s (what will obviously become a self-fulfilling descriptor) crawl. Gary King (Simon Pegg) and his friends tried doing it when they graduated school, but they fell short of glory. This is something that Gary has never forgotten, and it’s something he’s always wanted to rectify.

Now, twenty-some-odd years later, it seems the time has come. But he can’t do it alone. He must get his old gang back together, who have gone on to be actual humans with actual lives who do things other than reminisce about the good old days. So he gears up, slipping on his completely-still-stylish black trenchcoat, sunglasses, and far too many rings and necklaces. He gets into his vintage 1980s beater, pops in his greatest hits jam cassette mixtape, newly minted in 1990, and ventures forth into the strange daylight to track his friends down.

By some strange serendipity (the film’s script), Gary convinces them all to head back to Newton Haven. But when they all finally arrive and get to drinkin’, Gary and friends begin to realize that something is off about their old home. But just as it seems their strange feelings might be an all-too-familiar case of “you can’t go back home,” something very… alien convinces them that is completely not the case. Gary’s misguided pub crawl might just end up changing the course of human history, let alone spoil five middle-aged Brits’ weekend.

The World’s End is the end of more than just the world. It’s the end of an era. The Cornetto Trilogy, the three films created by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and starring Pegg and Nick Frost, is three different films with very light associations with one another brought about by fan service and attention to detail throughout the film-making process. All three Cornetto movies have delightful intricacies that reward those who rewatch them, and this one’s no different. I won’t spoil them here, but let me just say that all the pubs’ names aren’t named what they are just by chance.

This movie also takes a more serious tone towards the manchild of the film, Gary. The consequences of the decisions he makes are much more impactful than the other men-children from the other Cornetto flicks. Without spoiling too much, the film takes a decidedly sci-fi twist, and the choice the film makes with it is actually very interesting. All the while, it never forgets to keep the audience laughing. And this time around, Pegg and Frost are joined by a great ensemble including Martin Freeman, Rosamund Pike, David Bradley (of Harry Potter’s grouchy caretaker fame), Pierce Brosnan, and Bill Nighy for like, ten seconds. It’s a great flick, and you owe it to yourself to check it out. For max effect, watch Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz before watching this one. It’ll be a great time.

**I own this film. Use your own discretion when letting kids watch this one, it’s got some nasty language and it gets a bit violent, I guess. I was not compensated for this review.**