Director: Edgar Wright
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman
Have I Seen it Before: Sure.
Did I Like It: This is probably the weakest of all the Cornetto films, but that’s kind of like saying that the third greatest thing to ever happen to you was kind of a letdown after the other two things. The energy of the filmmaking, the chemistry of Pegg and Frost, and the fundamental charm of British immaturity all come together once again into a pleasing celebration of genre—this time an alien invasion piece—that stands right along with the films its gently trying to satirize.
Beyond hitting all the things one would expect from the series, there’s something so refreshing about the notion of a story ultimately about the reuinion of childhood/school friends, where the majority of the friends would rather be doing anything else. Set aside Glenn Close whoring out Kevin Kline in The Big Chill (1983), my main complaint about that film is that I wish more of the gang didn’t really want to be there.
Where things don’t quite hold together for me is the third act of the film, where things happen that don’t quite gel in my head, leaving the film less satisfying than it could have been. The problem is that Gary King’s (Pegg) brand of self-destructive childishness is the only skill suited for the new world order, leaving his refusal to go along with the semi-altrusitic (if ultimately draconian) invading aliens.
And that refusal ends up ruining the rest of humanity. Maybe the film’s attempting some sort of reverse world view, but why leave things that way? Shaun of the Dead (2004) may leave the zombies still running roughshod over humanity, but humanity adapted. There’s only disaster here, leaving me with the same feeling I often got watching The Walking Dead, in those times that I decided to do such a thing. There’s enough about the world that’s crushingly depressing, I’m never overly fond of when it happens in my entertainment.