Critic’s Pick: ‘The World’s End’ caps summer with a fun pub crawl

Natural and supernatural forces go haywire in the male midlife hysteria of “The World’s End,” starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine and others of the fab and fabled “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun of the Dead” crews. The comic blast follows five fortyish friends who reunite 20 years after they failed to make it to the World’s End, the final pub on their hometown’s infamous crawl. Directed by Edgar Wright and co-written with Pegg, the movie begins as a cheeky reflection on boys who grow up, and the ones who don’t. Of course, it all spins completely out of control, as things tend to do when Pegg and Wright collaborate, i.e. “Fuzz” and “Shaun.” The crawl soon morphs into existential arguments about technology, alien invasions, kids, cloning, whether doing shots counts as drinking, recycling, love, sex and possibly paintball. The film is insane, and yet smart in the way the friends reflect on adulthood and what’s been lost in the growing up. Contemplating “The World’s End” is utterly and appropriately absurd, which makes it a perfect wrap for the summer of 2013.