Why I Saw It: I really liked Shaun of the Dead and thought I should've liked Hot Fuzz more.
Cast: Simon Pegg. I all hinges on him and his ability to play against character and be an complete jackass and he absolutely nails it. He's stupid but quick witted, an asshole who you can't turn away, the friend we never want to see again but wonder what he's up to. I can't say enough about how great he was in this. That's not to say the rest of the cast wasn't nearly as superb. Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan may not have been as individually spectacular (ok, maybe Frost was) but they all fit in to this group of friends very well and were all rounded out by the end much better than I expected. Oh, and Rosamund Pike's in there too. It was nice of her to show up. The script wasn't too dense for her though, so she gets a pass for not sticking out.
Plot: It starts with a pub crawl and ends with The World's End. That's purposely vague wording because I don't feel like ruining how any of it plays out. I will say, however, the plot is not what will determine if you like it or not. What will get you is the writing and, much to my surprise, the actions sequences. The writing is what you expect from an Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg script: it's dense with jokes and brilliantly put together. I don't remember Shaun or Fuzz very well, but this struck me as being a lot more filled with punchlines. Now, the action, as I said, is quite good. For all the overt-Action movies out there that fuck things up, it's funny to see a Comedy-first movie staging some of the best planned and executed fight scenes I've seen in a while. One scene in particular when Pegg is trying to drink his beer in the middle of a fight was especially impressive (or at least it struck me).
Elephant in the Room: Wasn't there already an end of the world comedy this summer? Fuck you. Quit asking things you know the answer to. It makes you sound like a jerk. Both movies are about the end of the world and they are comedies. That's where the similarities end. Ok, both are about friendship too. I swear, they are very different though. I loved both and I'm not sure which, but the comedy comes from different places. The World's End is far more clever. That's for sure. There are numerous conversations that I imagine Pegg and Wright had to map out to make them work. This Is the End is much looser and pulls more comedy from that.
To Sum Things Up:
I've been on a streak of movies lately that I've liked, but this is the first one since, well, This Is the End that I've wanted to go up to people and tell them to see it now because 1) I want all of it to go into pop culture vernacular immediately and 2) it depresses me to think this won't be a bigger success that in will be. I can see how this may not be for everyone but I will judge you if you don't. It is so smart, funny, and fairly touching. I forgot to mention that. For all the jokes and fights, the core story of friendship and the dangers of living in the past is effective as hell and carefully handled.
Oh, so good.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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