There will be some more current reviews later today, but I had put off reviewing this lackluster comedy for weeks and decided to dive into it now…
What Works: I wish I could say the idea of an end-of-the-world comedy is inspired but this is the fourth end-of-the-world comedy in only the summer (It’s a Disaster, Rapture-palooza, and the only great one in the bunch, This is the End). I know that isn’t anything the movie has control over, but it doesn’t necessarily make me want to grade the movie strictly on sympathy points either. The truth is that a tale about five buddies who go on a pub crawl in their hometown but discover that it’s been overrun by aliens could have worked…
What Doesn’t: …but this film doesn’t work. The jokes become painfully repetitive (Simon Pegg’s character sure is a bastard, har har), four of the five guys are pretty much the same (really boring professionals with great jobs), and only the last ten minutes really pack any surprises. In that time, we’re watching an inventive, offbeat comedy…it’s just too bad the rest of the movie only thinks it is.
What I Would Have Done Differently: The fans of Simon Pegg/Edgar Wright’s comedies will probably eat this up, but I’m pretty sure that even they would admit that it’s the weakest of the trilogy.