Unless you’ve followed his entire career since it started in the mid-90s you might have trouble seeing Simon Pegg as anything but a comedic actor that finds his way into a host of action movies where he serves a the comic relief at times. To be honest he usually plays a more complex character in his roles than people are led to believe since even Shaun of the Dead featured him as a guy that was going nowhere and had almost hit rock bottom in terms of his emotional stability. But all in all he’s portrayed his characters as people that evolve and learn to grow with the situations they find themselves in and somehow come out all the better for the adversity they have to experience. He’s the kind of guy that you don’t think much of at first but end up rooting for once he really gets rolling.
Here are a few of the best movies from his career so far.
5. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Buck is just a wild, crazy character that Pegg seems to have had a lot of fun with since despite his size and stature he’s the kind of fearless critter that doesn’t take guff from anyone and is, well, a little unbalanced to put it nicely. The fact that he takes on a massive dinosaur he names Rudy is a tall tale in and of itself, but the revelation that his story is true for the most part is just awesome. Of course there’s always a matter of perspective that needs to be dealt with, but in the matter of an animated feature it’s really better to just go with the story and be entertained by what you’re watching. Kids often get this a lot easier than adults due to lack of experience, and it makes for a great effect.
4. The World’s End
Gary is that friend you have that just never grew up since he had nothing in his life and no one to tell him that the party was over and that it was time to get back to the idea of having a life that didn’t revolve around booze and partying. When he gets his friends together, reluctantly, to travel the Golden Mile once again as they did in their youth, the group are obviously surprised when they’re confronted by the townsfolk who, due to an alien invasion, have been replaced by mindless automatons that look just like them and have the knowledge of the originals, but are under the control of a central mind.
3. Mission: Impossible-Fallout
Benji and Luther being in the same film is kind of odd since they’re both specialists when it comes to the technological aspect of the movie. But considering that this time the stakes are even higher and the probability of failure has risen exponentially it seems that having as many people as possible on the same team is the best way to insure that they stand at least a chance of success. As a character Benji is still kind of the comic relief but he’s also a valued asset since his skills and his ability to work with the others is second to none in that he will always stand with his team, for the most part.
2. Hot Fuzz
Nicholas Angel is the overachiever that has the skills and the ability to get the job done, but the problem is that he’s a perfectionist and isn’t always able to accept the excuses of those around him when it comes to the job. He wants everything to be done by procedure, following a carefully-set standard that a lot of people around him can’t seem to stomach at all times since he’s so overbearing. But when he finally comes back after nearly being run out of town by a host of conspirators that pretend as though nothing is wrong he’s following anything but procedure and is simply out to mete some justice to those that have eluded it for so long.
1. Shaun of the Dead
You could argue that in terms of his worldwide success that this is the film that really made him stand out. Zombie movies were experiencing a serious high note at this point and this movie was actually considered to be one of the more ridiculous but also one of the most entertaining movies of the era. In truth it is pretty ridiculous but it plays upon that premise so well that it just works without any real problem and the whole movie kind of goes along that same line as you sit there wondering how the characters can be so vapid and yet still survive. Well the answer is simple, zombies don’t care if you’re smart, stupid, strong, or weak. They’re coming for you all the same.
Simon Pegg is a man that’s proven his greatness in a very amusing way and continues to do so with every film he puts out.
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