The World's End (2013)
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Five friends embark on a nostalgic pub crawl in their hometown, only to discover they are being hunted by an alien invasion.
The story
Gary King, an immature 40-year-old alcoholic, decides to recapture his youth by inviting four boyhood friends to complete the 'Golden Mile,' a pub crawl encompassing 12 pubs in their hometown of Newton Haven. The group, who attempted the crawl as teenagers in 1990, failed to reach the final pub, The World's End. As they navigate the local pubs, the group begins to uncover a chilling reality: the town has been infiltrated by 'Blanks'—androids that have replaced the local residents. The friends must navigate the growing threat of the alien invasion while attempting to complete their journey to the final destination.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Gary King, an alcoholic, organizes a pub crawl for his friends in Newton Haven to complete the 'Golden Mile.' During the crawl, they encounter 'Blanks'—androids that have replaced humans to serve a galactic conglomerate known as The Network. After a series of skirmishes with these entities, the group learns that many of their acquaintances have already been replaced. The group eventually faces a large force of Blanks in a local bar. In the climax, Gary and his friend Andy confront the Network's leadership. Gary refuses to become a Blank, and the Network agrees to leave, triggering a pulse that destroys the local infrastructure and causes a worldwide blackout, plunging Earth into a new dark age. In the aftermath, the survivors must navigate a world where the remaining Blanks are now independent but shunned by humans. The film ends with a sober Gary and his friends in a post-apocalyptic pub, where he leads a brawl against the Blanks who replaced his old friends.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 109
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Edgar Wright
- Writers
- Simon Pegg · writer; Edgar Wright · writer
- Cast and characters
- Simon Pegg · Gary King; Nick Frost; Paddy Considine; Martin Freeman; Eddie Marsan; Rosamund Pike; Pierce Brosnan
- Genres
- science fiction; comedy
- Themes
- aging
- Tone and mood
- comedy; science fiction
- Premise and plot tags
- pub crawl; alien invasion; androids; midlife crisis
- Source material / true-story basis
- Crawl
- Franchise connections
- Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy
- Content notes
- alcoholism
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, with praise for the screenplay, performances of the cast, humour and direction.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · review count: 244; Metacritic · score: 81 · scale: 100 · review count: 45
- Awards and nominations
- Best British Film · Empire Awards · won; Best Comedy · Critics' Choice Awards · nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled Crawl in 1995.; The film was shot on 35mm and 16mm film.; The production used real pubs in Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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