Set in Newton Haven, England, The World's End spins a classic tale of reliving one's youth into a movie full of plot twists and unexpected surprises. The film follows Gary King (Simon Pegg) who, after 20 years, attempts to reunite his four best friends from high school and return to their hometown to finally complete the famous pub crawl they never finished in their youth. 
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Gary seeks out each of his friends individually, convincing each one to join him on his adventure-though all are skeptical that their friend Andy Knightley (Nick Frost) will tag along after a mysterious "accident" they allude to in conversation. 
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The World's End is a hard movie to talk about without ruining its ultimate message-it reminded me of Cabin in the Woods, a horror movie released in April 2012. This is not your typical action movie: the five friends make a shocking, disturbing discovery upon returning to their hometown, while King remains adamant about completing the daunting pub crawl. 
Gary never grew out of high school, while Andy, Peter Page (Eddie Marsan), Oliver "O-Man" Chamberlain (Martin Freeman) and Steven Prince (Paddy Considine) have become mature adults with professional jobs and families. For example, Gary drives the same car, listens to an old mix tape and holds tightly onto old memories-all from high school. One of the first scenes of the production shows Gary at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and makes it clear that Gary struggles with many more issues in his life than just alcoholism. Reenacting the pub crawl is all he has left and Pegg portrays the character perfectly, from his unkempt performance to alcohol-induced swagger. 
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Toward the beginning of the film, Andy, Peter, Oliver and Steven were reluctant to give in to Gary's enthusiasm, but they slowly come around as they make their way through the bars. I thought that the camaraderie the actors developed was very convincing, and Andy especially stood out in my mind. He was Gary's best friend and proves that even old grudges can be mended when the two put aside their problems and work together to complete the pub crawl. Gary expects everything to magically be the same when they return home, but much has changed-the quaint and unique bars have even become monotonous and commercialized. 
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The audience really isn't supposed to like King; he's more of an anti-hero, but Andy is incredibly likable, and he is the character I became attached to the most. He was also very dynamic, demonstrating significant character change throughout the film. 
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As for the other characters, they helped move the plot forward and added to the movie, especially at the final plot twist. Oliver's sister Sam (Rosamund Pike) also makes an appearance at the pubs and her blossoming relationship with Steven is a cute sub-plot to their adventures. 
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According to director Edgar Wright, the names of the 12 pubs all have interesting and symbolic meanings that correspond to the series of events that occurs in each of the spaces. 
For example, at The Two Headed Dog, they encounter twins who wreak havoc on the group. At The Old Familiar, the gang meets up with Oliver's sister Sam for the first time since high school. The final pub is named The World's End, and is where the ultimate action of the film occurs. 
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The World's End is part of The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy-a series of comedic films directed by Wright, written by Wright and Pegg, produced by Nira Park and starring Pegg and Frost. The other two movies in the trilogy are Shaun of the Dead (zombie comedy) and Hot Fuzz (cop action comedy). 
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Their names come from the company Cornetto Ice Cream, and each movie alludes to a different flavor. Shaun of the Dead is strawberry because of its bloody and gory content. Hot Fuzz is the blue original flavor in honor of the police theme. The World's End is mint chocolate chip, though the reasoning behind it is a plot spoiler! 
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All I can say about The World's End is that although it lagged a bit in the middle, the movie leaves you with a reflective thought about humanity through a clever, comedic pitch. It uses comedy and action to build up its inevitable final crash and that moment truly defines the production.