Sunday 28 July 2013

The World's End and The Wolverine



Having not been to the cinema for what seems like ages, Friday night called for something a little bit special; we sat down with the movie times and planned our double bill! First up was the much anticipated, last in the Pegg/Frost trilogy, The World’s End, which delivered everything that’s promised by the comedy duo.

Having lost contact with a group of friends from school, Gary King (Pegg) organises a reunion to complete their hometown’s infamous pub-crawl, The Golden Mile. However, plans start to fall apart when, after a brawl in the gent’s toilets, the five men realise that the town has been taken over by another kind…

Some might describe these movies as spoofs, but I like to think of them more as real-life fiction; what would be likely to happen if you and your mates found yourselves battling zombies, killers and robots. Of course Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are the stars, but the movies wouldn’t be the same without the all star supporting cast. You’ll see some regular faces pop up in The World’s End (Martin Freeman, David Bradley, Bill Nighy), but there are also excellent performances from some unlikely A-listers, Rosamund Pike and Pierce Brosnan. Of course this movie is primarily a comedy, but I have to say I thought the action scenes could easily compare to any big Hollywood blockbusters I’ve seen (a bit like the one I’m about to review!).

There’s lots of explosions, lots of laughs and lots of fence jumping. Finally! A movie trilogy that doesn’t have a rubbish one ;)



He’s back! But I have to admit, when I first saw the ad for the next Wolverine movie, I did think to myself… Really? Do we need another one? Still, I had The Wolverine on my to-watch list, as I’ve loved all the others, and was sure I would love this one too.

Logan (Hugh Jackman) is living alone in the mountains, still trying to come to terms with his own strength after killing his one true love, Jean. He is approached one day by Yukio, a young Japanese girl who tells him of a dying friend in Japan who wants to say his last goodbyes. Logan travels with Yukio, but all is not as it seems as Master Yashida has a proposition for him. Soon Wolverine is back to his old ways, protecting the old man’s heiress granddaughter, and accepting who he really is, claws and all.

Now, I’ve seen that a lot of reviews have given this movie only 2 stars, and I have to say, I just don’t know why. We’re talking about mutants here, people! Have some fun! Based on the special effects alone it should have had more stars than that. What’s more, like most X-Men movies, and unlike a lot of other sci-fi series, this had a storyline that held together and was interesting (despite getting a little crazy and laughable towards the end). I think what also sets the Wolverine movies apart from others is the acting. You can’t fault Hugh Jackman’s talent (with or without his shirt on!) and of course there are big handfuls of cheesy lines but, when Wolverine is telling a floppy-haired ninja to “Go f*uck yourself, pretty boy”, you can’t help but enjoy it.

With all that said, I’d rate The Wolverine four stars, and so would the two boys I went to see it with, so director James Mangold must be doing something right. One tip though, Marvel often have a cliff-hanger clip at the end of their films, so make sure you stay in your seats for a little while after the credits start rolling.

Let me know what you thought of either of these films, I’d be interested to hear!

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