The World's End

 

July 2013 will be remembered as the month when I went to see two comedies in the cinema, both of which were apocalypse themed with the word “End” in the title. 

The trailer for The World’s End wasn’t particularly interesting however excitement for the film was there.  The team of Wright/Pegg/Frost has worked so well in the past I would have seen the film even if they didn’t release a preview.

PLOT:  On the brink of turning forty troubled Gary King (Simon Pegg) convinces his now estranged childhood friends (Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman and Eddie Marsan) to go back to their home town to recreate a legendary pub crawl known as The Golden Mile.  As unresolved friction threatens to ruin the reunion the friends discover that mankind is in the process of being invaded by robots. END PLOT

The opening segments of The World’s End feature a flashback to the original attempt at The Golden Mile and a brief introduction to the characters as adults.  They are amusing but the film doesn’t really get going until the five actors are all together.

The idea of a pub crawl during a robot invasion sounds ridiculous but the film keeps grounded by surprising us with some emotionally poignant scenes.  Gary (Pegg), Andy (Frost), Steven (Considine), Oliver (Freeman) and Peter (Marsan) are all brand new characters but it felt as though I had known them for years.  Peter’s reaction to seeing his childhood bully was heart wrenching but it made getting his revenge all the more satisfying (and amusing).

As the pub crawl progressed from pub to pub the characters got drunker and the invasion gets more serious.  It’s hard not to laugh at their drunken reactions to the madness.

Pegg and Frost swap their traditional roles with Frost now playing the straight man.  This was an inspired decision as Pegg manages to be hilarious yet brings a pathetic sadness to Gary.

Considine and Marsan are also great fun but it is Martin Freeman who stole the show.  Freeman has this wonderful mild mannered attitude but I always feel like he is wound tighter than a drum.  It is only a matter of time before Freeman raises his voice and hulks out on us.  I can’t wait for this day.

It is a testament to those involved that five men walking down a street is the most hilarious section of the film

The cast are clearly having a ball and their enjoyment is infectious.  There are some laugh out loud moments and plenty of giggles and although The World’s End can’t quite match Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz in terms of comedy value it trumps them both in emotional punches.

There are plenty of cameo appearances and familiar faces – it is comfortingly nostalgic spotting actors who played zombies in Shaun of the Dead in the background. 

The robot effects are good and despite having five leads who are not exactly renowned for hand to hand combat scenes the action sequences and robot battles are very well choreographed (and amusing). 

The World’s End is the final instalment in The Cornetto Trilogy and it is obvious that the entire team gave this film their all.  It is probably the weakest of the trilogy in terms of genuine laughs but the changes in tone to give us big dramatic moments suited the film perfectly.   The World’s End gets 8/10. 

I watched The World's End unable to shake the realisation that this is potentially the final film the Wright/Pegg/Frost team make together.  If they change their minds and make a fourth I doubt anyone would complain. They haven't taken on the horror genre yet........

***This is my 2nd comedy review of the month and you will note that the word miserable has not been used once.  This is because I am not miserable (dammit) although, perhaps more alarming, I find the destruction of mankind hilarious***

Life of Pi

I hope you are all sitting down while you are reading this as instead of my usual half apologetic disclaimer I am pleased to announce that I have read Life of Pi.  This sad little factoid is likely to be the most interesting thing I will write in 2012 purely because it is such a deviation from the norm.

PLOT:  After his father decides to relocate to Canada Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) finds himself on board a freighter with the family zoo.  Midway through their journey a terrible storm sinks the ship leaving Pi ship-wreaked on a lifeboat with Richard Parker, the Patel family’s tiger.  Pi must learn to survive at sea and avoid being eaten by a sea sick tiger.  END PLOT

I’ve never been the strongest blogger and my plot descriptions are usually the weakest parts of my reviews.  The plot description of Life of Pi is not the exception to the rule as it doesn’t do the film any justice.

Granted the film is a story of a sixteen year old boy trying to survive at sea with a hungry tiger but despite its simple premise Life of Pi manages to be one of the year’s most heart warming and emotionally traumatising films of the year.

Both Suraj Sharma and Irrfan Khan are excellent as the young and older Pi.  Sharma’s performance is all the more notable as in the majority of his scenes he was acting alone against a green screen backdrop.

The supporting cast of Tabu and Rafe Spall are solid in their roles as characters which are never meant to stray from the background.

Much has been made of the 3D but it is not often that a film lives up to the hype.  Life of Pi is a visually stunning film – right from the colourful opening credits to the jellyfish sea there is always something special to look at and no one from the UK will view the Meerkat Island without affection thanks to a ridiculously successful advertising campaign.

The 3D gives the film a greater sense of depth and is again a testament to the efforts that have gone into the special effects in the film.  There are no real pop out moments which would normally render the 3D pointless but as the film was so visual it didn’t matter.

The creation of Richard Parker is quite an achievement given that only a few swimming scenes involved a real tiger (IMDB trivia).  I think it is reasonable to expect Life of Pi to fare quite well on the technical nominations come awards season.

Life of Pi clocks in at 127minutes and although I didn’t feel the length there were a few moments when I wanted the film to move things along just a smidge quicker. 

I read the book on the recommendation of my A Level psychology teacher due to the section of the book which focused on the conditioning of the tiger to respond to the whistle.  It took Pi a few attempts to train the tiger in the film but it felt as though this part of the book was brushed over quite hastily in favour of additional visuals such as the whale.

Ang Lee has created a gorgeous film and he has made it look effortless.  Whether you opt for 2D or 3D Life of Pi is one film that must be watched in the cinema in order to appreciate it fully.  It gets a 8.5/10.