In some ways, THE WORLD’S END is the most interesting of the films retconned into a thematic trilogy by Edgar Wright and company. Dirtier, more melancholy and more poignant than either SHAUN OF THE DEAD or HOT FUZZ, this concluding collaboration is a blackly humorous look at grown men desperately trying to relive the hijinks and pop culture of their youth – as everything around them becomes more homogeneous and sanitised. It’s almost a comment on Wright’s own career to date and one that may have benefited from a dissociation with its more knockabout brethren.

Pegg stars as Gary King, a recovering addict whose unhealthy wish is to relive the glory days of his youth with four childhood friends. Making up the quartet are Steven (Paddy Considine), Peter (Eddie Marsan), Oliver (Martin Freeman) and Andrew (Nick Frost). The latter is the most reluctant participant, as Gary convinces them to re-attempt one glorious sepia-tinged memory of his: visiting all twelve stops on The Golden Mile pub crawl through their hometown of Newton Haven, all the way to The World’s End. Upon their return, however, the town and its people seem strangely different – yet somehow the same.

That uncanny familiarity can equally apply to the script. Going in, one might expect THE WORLD’S END to affectionately mock sci-fi invasion films just as HOT FUZZ and SHAUN OF THE DEAD mocked macho action films and undead horror. However, this film wants to be more measured and satirical at its core. Its need to hark back so directly to the so-called ‘Blood & Ice-Cream Trilogy’ holds it back from the black comedic heights it could have hit.

“… Gary is a man whose past glories weigh him down like some scuffed plastic trophy …”

This hindrance by past recognition is mirrored to some extent in the film’s story – Gary is a man whose past glories weigh him down like some scuffed plastic trophy. The film is by far the most interesting and mature of Wright and Pegg’s collaborations, but for some fans, it may be too light on the expected type of laughs to occupy the same space in their heart. The obligatory Cornetto is crowbarred in, and Pegg somehow finds room for a hedge trip alongside the slapstick fence jump. However, both in-jokes feel out of place. The film draws its humour from satire and resignation, with a grace note of real conflict, not the font of confection offered to great effect in SHAUN OF THE DEAD.

Lurking under the surface of THE WORLD’S END is a damning indictment of chain-pub Britain and the anonymity and blandness that can arise in the face of globalisation. All this is delivered with the wit and self-deprecation that has made Pegg, in particular, a household name. However, unlike Wright’s other work (including the under-appreciated SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD), the deferential aspects don’t quite fit, and the tone is more biting and satirical – one might even say cynical.

“Perhaps THE WORLD’S END should have been unshackled from the homage-comedy box set instead of deferring to the fans…

Perhaps THE WORLD’S END should have been unshackled from the homage-comedy box set instead of deferring to the fans. Pegg has already stated at Comic-Con 2013 that the group’s next collaboration “won’t have to abide by [the trilogy’s rules].” There seems little need to include Pierce Brosnan, for instance, beyond evoking memories of another former Bond – Timothy Dalton in HOT FUZZ. The sublime build-up to the genre mayhem of SHAUN OF THE DEAD is not here, nor is the situational absurdity of HOT FUZZ, and the result feels more rushed.

With fewer light laughs and a more significant element of sadness, the tone shift will be too great for some. THE WORLD’S END will still be revisited in future years, but rather than reliving your favourite one-liners, you’ll be teasing out the dense layering of messages Wright and Pegg have hidden below the cult-film gift wrapping.