Nostalgia is a powerful force, giving our memories the ability to control our feelings by making us reminisce about places, people and events to a major degree. Such feelings are normal to feel, but for some, they take over lives, making a person’s entire goal in life to recreate some of the better moments of our lives.  That goal is at the heart of the delightful and somewhat surprising “The World’s End”.

For Gary King (Simon Pegg), he’s been trapped by memories of the greatest night of his life; the night he and his four buddies attempted to drink at twelve bars in a single night. For their 17 year old selves, it was magical, but they’ve all moved on in their lives; all except for Gary. The rest of his life has been a major disappointment compared to that night. That’s why he reunites all of his friends (including Gary’s past best buddy Andy played by Nick Frost) to return to their hometown, and complete their task of drinking at the towns taverns.  The only trouble is, the town isn’t quite as they remembered, at first in subtle ways, and then in ways that are way beyond what they were expecting.

We’ve seen hundreds of cinematic characters this summer alone, but Gary King is easily one of the most compelling I’ve seen in awhile. He clings to not just memories, but relics like old cars, maps and cassette tapes that were integral parts of their life changing evening as if his very existence depends on it. The fascinating thing is, his existence might just depend on it after all; as years later he has nothing but those memories and past friendships. He’s hardly a human being anymore, simply running on the joys of the past instead of trying to create new memories in the present.

The rest of the cast holds their own against Pegg’s beautiful creation of a character as well. Nick Frost continues to excel in his chemistry with Pegg (this his third movie with him) while Martin Freeman’s first theatrical post-Hobbit role allows him some unique comical opportunities. The other two friends in their gaggle are played expertly by Eddie Marsan and Paddy Considine, who each deliver some of the film’s funniest moments.

Sure the cast and characters are great, but this film’s main strength comes from its glorious script, one that gives all of these characters both depth and hilarious moments. It’s all wonderful, but the third act is really where the movie kicks into overdrive. The ideas and places it presents are jaw-dropping and giddily unexpected. This kind of filmmaking, full of personality and wit, is something I was not expecting from this film, but it’s superb to know these folks did put such attributes into this flick.

Nostalgia, in the right amount, can be great, allowing us to look at any given past situation with rose colored glasses. However, with Gary King, he’s allowed this nostalgia to overtake him as a human being and it has prevented him from achieving any positivity later in his life. Well, there is one positive actually; his story makes for one of the year’s best movies.  “The World’s End” is full of great laughs, perfectly developed characters and some of the year’s finest action sequences this year.  It’s the kind of a movie we’ll all be nostalgic for the next time we all have to suffer through a bland comedy that has none of the inventiveness and beauty of this film.