The World's End (2013)

Gary King is still wearing the same black coat he wore as a teenager, and the movie treats that as a warning sign instead of a punchline. Simon Pegg plays him as the friend you love and dread at the same time, all grin and no brakes, and it’s the bravest work he’s done. Nick Frost flips their usual act as Andy, the sober, furious one, and their arguments carry real hurt. Edgar Wright stages the brawls like dance numbers, with every punch landing on a cut. The ending is where it trips. Once the town’s secret is fully out, the movie swaps its sharp little story about growing up for a loud, talky finale that can’t decide what it’s trying to say. Rosamund Pike and Eddie Marsan deserved a lot more to do. It made $46.1 million worldwide on a reported $20M. A 7.6 because the friendship hits hard and the ending wobbles. $6,141 says you pitch a reunion to your old crew this week, and the group chat goes silent within the hour.

What works: Simon Pegg’s sad, funny, exhausting Gary and the fight scenes, which are choreographed like a dance troupe in sneakers.

What doesn’t: The finale piles on noise and speeches and loses the small, personal story that made the first hour land.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has gone back to their hometown and felt like a stranger at their old hangout.