The World's End

I'm a stone Simon Pegg fan.  I consider Shaun of the Dead to be the funniest zombie movie yet made, and I've seen more than any sane man's share of zombie comedies.  So, as I often do, I entered the theater predisposed to absolutely love this movie. 

I quite enjoyed it.  I laughed a lot.  I found the touching moments at least somewhat touching.  If you're in the mood to laugh--and who isn't, really?--I recommend you catch it in the theater. 

I just could not quite love it. 

After discussing the movie with Kyle, who saw it separately, I've come to believe that the central problem is that the filmmakers could not quite commit to a single identity for the movie.  They weren't willing to make it a full-on gonzo comedy, nor were they willing to produce a comedic growing-up story.  The result of this lack of commitment was that the funny parts weren't quite as funny as they should have been, and the touching parts weren't quite as touching as one would hope.

A different take on the same basic evidence is that they tried to make a full-on gonzo comedy that was also a touching film about friends growing up, and they didn't quite succeed. 

I'll resist spoilers because the movie is good enough that I don't want to ruin any of it for you, but I will say that the last third is where the film's mixed ambitions are, predictably, most evident.

Check it out, because we should all want Pegg and writer/director Edgar Wright and the always amusing Nick Frost to make more movies, and because you will definitely laugh.  You may even love it.  I wish I had.