Review of The World's End (2013) by Trevor R — 19 Oct 2014

In his fourth feature, Wright achieves a level of depth and sophistication that is all too rare in genre-cinema. While the end product is perhaps the least accessible of his films (and maybe even the least instantly-gratifying), it is ultimately the most powerful and thought-provoking, with a thematic complexity that continues to astound me each time I revisit the film.

The screenplay is remarkable, establishing the framework for a film that not only wrestles with a wealth of huge concepts, but balances an ensemble cast while charting carefully-constructed arcs for each member; fires jokes through wordplay, slapstick, and editing at the audience like a machine gun; subtly foreshadows major and minor events in the cleverest of ways; features jaw-dropping fight scenes (with most of the actors doing their own stunts), AND tells an epic, apocalyptic story with a perfect fusion of physical and CGI effects. All of this is grounded by the performance of a lifetime from Simon Pegg. "The World's End" is an astounding achievement.