Skip to main content

‘The World’s End’ review: The Cornetto trilogy concludes in style

The Worlds End screenshot 10
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In a summer movie lineup crammed with enough highly sophisticated robots to make a terminator jealously kick a skull and go home, it’s somewhat telling that the best and most creative of the bunch may be a (relatively) low budget comedy set in a small town in England. Then again, it’s also from director Edgar Wright, so maybe the creative success isn’t all that surprising.

The World’s End concludes the “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy, that includes Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. The name stems from a “silly joke” based on something a reporter brought up during a Hot Fuzz interview, where he noted that the first two films both featured a packaged ice cream cone from Cornetto, and the two flavors in some way represented the film (the “flavor” of Shaun of the Dead was strawberry that came in a red wrapper, fitting the gore, while the blue packaging of the original cone represented the police blue of Hot Fuzz). The name caught on and came to represent this trilogy of thematically linked films that now concludes with The World’s End (which is represented by a green mint chocolate chip wrapper).

Recommended Videos

“There are robots, creepy kids, and it all revolves around a man named Gary King who never grew up.”

Beyond the ice cream-related Easter Egg that gave a name to the trilogy, the films are connected by their cast and crew. They star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, they were written by Pegg and Wright, they were produced by Nira Park, and they were directed by Wright. The films are littered with in-jokes that go back as far as the whole group’s original collaboration on the TV show Spaced, and there are ideas that run through all three films. Beyond that though, each film stands alone.

The World’s End is a deconstruction of a genre film. Where Shaun of the Dead was a twist on zombie horror and Hot Fuzz reworked the buddy cop genre, The World’s End is a comedic riff on films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. If by some lucky chance you haven’t had the full plot spoiled for you yet, try to keep it that way. Just know there are robots, creepy kids, and it all revolves around a man named Gary King who never grew up.

Gary (played by Pegg) is a wreck of a man, irresponsible and wild, clinging to the vestiges of a childhood in which he discovered that being a “free spirit” was cool. That attitude hasn’t served him well as an adult on the far side of 40 though. Gary is one part force of nature, one part shattered mess. He’s delusional and obnoxious, but occasionally he’s also charming and endearing. 

One of Gary’s last great days was in 1990, when he and his four best friends decided to celebrate finishing school by embarking on a pub crawl through 12 bars in their hometown of Newton Haven. Despite having a memorable night, they never finished. Through lies and trickery, Gary manages to convince his old friends Oliver (Martin Freeman), Peter (Eddie Marsan), Steven (Paddy Considine), and his former best friend Andrew (Nick Frost) to join in finally completing the pub crawl, which concludes at the bar, The World’s End.

As the evening goes on and the beers go down, the former friends begin to discover that something is off. Between rounds, the group discusses whether the town has changed or they have – then they fight a group of robotic kids with detachable heads. That pretty much answers that question. Joined by Oliver’s sister Sam (Rosamund Pike), they make their way from bar to bar, learning more about the town’s mystery with each stop. Then it all goes tits up. 

The Worlds End screenshot 9
Simon Pegg, Paddy Considine, and Nick Frost try to survive a pub crawl in the town of Newton Haven. Image used with permission by copyright holder

The film starts out with a maudlin tone and hides its true intention underneath a veneer of middle-aged men trying to reconcile their present with the past. Gary is representative of this: he still dresses as he did when he was 18, still drives the same car, and still listens to the same cassette tape he was given more than 20 years ago. Gary is a loser that thinks he’s the hero of every story, which makes him pitiable in the eyes of his more successful and mature friends. Then the film suddenly, and radically, changes. Wright and company manage to combine a believable mid-life crisis film with a robot invasion, and it all works.

Pegg owns the role of Gary, from his movements to his banter with the others. There is an air of desperation hidden under the “free spirit” persona, and that leads to a surprisingly cathartic ending. But it’s really Frost that steals the movie, and this is the most well-rounded character he has portrayed under Wright’s direction. His transformation as the stiff and professional Andrew into the atomic elbow dropping fighter is perfect for the film. 

“The thing that sets the Cornetto trilogy apart from other films is Wright.”

There is also some surprisingly good fight choreography in The World’s End. It’s impressive watching Frost, a big man, nimbly fights off several foes. Meanwhile, Pegg is constantly thwarted by attacking robots as he unsuccessfully attempts to pour himself a beer, dodging with a style and grace that is meant to be accidental but looks more like a Chinese drunken boxer. For a film billed as a comedy, the fight scenes – although there are only a few of them – are among the best of the summer.

As good as Pegg and Frost are though, it all comes back to Wright. He has a style that is distinctive and unique, whether it’s in his TV show Spaced or his work on Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Nothing is included in a shot if it doesn’t some meaning. People in the background are later turned into a visual gag. There’s life and color in every scene, and there’s a deliberate and curated feel to everything you see and hear. Nothing happens by accident, it’s all part of Wright’s plan.

Wright is a master filmmaker, and The World’s End manages to take a $20 million budget and offer a sci-fi story that is every bit as compelling as a film with 10 times the budget. The visual effects don’t feature a major city being destroyed, but they don’t need to. 

Conclusion

The World’s End is steeped in originality and creativity, something sorely lacking in most films these days. He’s a master of deconstructing a genre film and honoring it, while still finding ways to pick it apart and make it funny. His filmography is littered with examples, including the other Cornetto films. The World’s End is another example of that formula, and it’s also one of the best films of the summer.

(Images and video © Focus Features. All rights reserved.)

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
You can soon buy a home in Azeroth, and there’s plenty to go around
Concept art of what a Horde neighborhood might look like, with deep valleys and rocky outcroppings.

Player housing is coming to World of Warcraft this year. You'll soon have a place to kick up your feet and relax after a long day of grinding materials or hunting legendary loot, and the system for designing your home is simple enough that anyone can use it, even if they have no prior experience with 3D modeling.

At first, there will only be two housing zones: one for Alliance players, and one for Horde players. The Alliance zone will take its inspiration from Stormwind-adjacent Elwynn Forest, while the Horde zone is based around the autumn-clad Azshara. While there will be more options in the future, Blizzard wants to keep the areas more closely connected at first to encourage the social aspect of the game.

Read more
This Acer Predator gaming PC with RTX 4070 Ti Super is $350 off
The side profile of the Acer Predator Orion 5000 gaming PC.

You should be careful if you're thinking about upgrading with gaming PC deals, as not all machines are worth your hard-earned money. Here's one that we highly recommend: the Acer Predator Orion 5000 at $350 off from Best Buy, which brings its price down to $1,750 from $2,100. It's still not what you'd call affordable after that discount, but this is the type of machine that you will never regret buying. You're going to want to complete your transaction for it as soon as possible though, as there's no telling when the offer expires.

Why you should buy the Acer Predator Orion 5000 gaming PC
The Acer Predator Orion 5000 challenges the best gaming PCs with specifications that will let you play the best PC games at their most demanding settings. It's powered by the 14th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics card, along with 32GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the sweet spot for high-end gamers. The gaming desktop also comes with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded in its 2TB SSD, which will provide enough storage space for multiple AAA titles with all their necessary updates and optional add-ons.

Read more
Grab this Lenovo Legion gaming PC while it’s under $1,000
The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i Gen 8 gaming PC on a white background.

You don't need to spend more than $1,000 in upgrading your gaming desktop, as there are gaming PC deals out there with huge discounts on powerful machines. You won't have to do the searching yourself though, as we've done that for you -- check out the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 8, which is available with a 30% discount from Lenovo that drops its price from $1,330 to only $930. There are only limited stocks for this computer though, so you have to hurry with your purchase if you want to secure the $400 in savings.

Why you should buy the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 8 gaming PC
The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 8 is an affordable gaming desktop that's built similar to the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i, which appears in our list of the best gaming PCs as our favorite option for below $1,000. The major difference is that the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 8 is powered by AMD -- the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor, to be exact, alongside the AMD Radeon RX 7600 graphics card and 16GB of RAM that's the best place to start for gaming, according to our guide on how much RAM do you need. With these specifications, you'll be able to play the best PC games on this gaming PC without any issues.

Read more