Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Edgar Wright's latest movie - a loose adaptation of the cult Scott Pilgrim comics - is a gift to movie reviewers everywhere.

After all, there's nothing a critic likes more than riffing on a theme,  and with its video game visuals and everyday-superhero vibe Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is easy prey. Wright has clearly powered up since 2007's Hot Fuzz, and with his new platform he looks set to become Britain's highest scoring director... you get the idea.

To give Wright some credit(s), though, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World manages to rise above all those easy puns, and actually offers us one  of the funniest - and most visually exciting - movies of 2010. Not bad  for an 8-bit romantic comedy.

Michael Cera plays the eponymous Pilgrim with his usual offbeat charm, creating one  of cinema's vaguest heroes in the process. Pilgrim plays bass with the  (frankly awful) rock band Sex Bob-Omb, and is dating a 17-year old  Chinese Catholic girl called Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) while enduring his  nihilistic gay roommate Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin, in an eye-opening  performance). Sex Bob-Omb are taking part in a battle of the bands to  try and win a recording contract, and we follow them from the heats to  the finals.

At the same time, however, Scott Pilgrim is suffering a crisis of the  heart. He cheats on Knives when he meets pink-haired Ramona (Mary  Elizabeth Winstead), the girl of his dreams. But in order to date  Ramona, he is shocked to discover, he must first defeat her seven evil  exes.

It's here that the fun really begins, as Edgar Wright gives his video  game subtext full rein. The first evil ex, a Bollywood-dancing wizard  called Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), leaps through the air in a hail of  fireballs during the band's live performance, and when Scott finally  defeats him he disintegrates into a shower of coins. To most viewers  this will look like a particularly bizarre trip, but anyone who grew up  on Mario, Sonic and Zelda will appreciate the video-geek references.

Things only get weirder from there, too, as Scott stumbles through his  complicated love-life while battling the League of Evil Exes, fronted by  the surprisingly debonair Gideon (Jason Schwartzman). There are bass battles, levitating vegans (a hilarious Brandon Routh), vanishing lesbian ninjas... and that only just scrapes the surface.

What saves all this visual tomfoolery from lapsing into incoherence is  the sharp and witty script, which never takes its eye off Scott Pilgrim vs. The World's  comedic heart. The perfectly dry performances help too, from Cera's  clueless everyman to Culkin's snide man-slut and Chris Evans'  self-obsessed action movie star. The characters are enjoyably quirky,  the dialogue stays just the right side of surreal, and the timing is, on  the whole, flawless.

The main problem with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the plot  itself, a rather straightforward affair that lumbers from one evil ex to  another. Mundane outsiders like you and I have very little emotion  invested in the outcome, and once the dust (and coins) have finally  cleared you'll be hard pushed to say what the movie was actually about.

Frankly, though, most of us won't really care. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is all about visual excitement and offbeat humor, and it scores at  every single wacky turn. As long as you don't expect much of a plot, or  much emotional investment - and let's face it, most classic video games  are happy to abandon those too - then Scott Pilgrim may just be the funniest, sassiest film this year.

The bad news is that it didn't perform well at the box office, so a  sequel may be out of the question - but with a growing cult following on  DVD anything is possible. Continue? 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5...

4/5

Michael Cera is a lucky guy.  He's one of the dullest actors you'll ever see on screen, and he pretty much always plays the same part. Not to mention, the parts he plays are exactly how he is in real life.  Yet he has been lucky enough to get cast in some pretty good movies (Juno, Superbad, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist).  He may think he's stretching a little in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World because he gets to fight in it, but he's still playing the same shy, awkward, nerdy guy.
The movie is based on a comic book series in which the main character must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes to win her heart.  Cera plays Scott Pilgrim, and he actually meets a really nice girl (named Knives ironically) at the beginning of the movie who's very into him.  He makes her his girlfriend but in a short matter of time he could care less about her, especially once he meets the purple-haired Ramona Flowers.  In fact, he asks her out without even remembering that he has a girlfriend.  He still does it in typical Michael Cera awkward fashion though.  Soon enough, he finds out he actually must defeat the new girl's exes in order to keep her (remember, this is based on a comic book).  He rises to the challenge and winds up defeating them one by one as the movie progresses.
It's the casting of Cera that keeps the film from rising to its potential.  Sure, Scott Pilgrim outsmarts a couple of his opponents but he also defeats many of them with pure fighting skills and physical strength.  If you've seen Michael Cera and you see what most of his opponents look like in the film, you would know he really has no chance against them.  One of the exes is a girl, and she would easily kick his ass in real life.  I know the story is trying to say that his love for Ramona is what guides him to victory.  But let's not forget, he has just met this girl.  Is there really that much motivation for him to fight and defeat these evil exes yet?  Maybe if he had to do so after a longer time period of getting to know her, then it would make more sense.  She kind of starts off as a bitch anyway.  The craziest thing is that Scott Pilgrim is also supposed to be a ladies man.  We're supposed to believe that this guy has won over many girls in the past with his boyish shyness and acting like a complete pansy 24/7.  Go try that method with some girls in real life and see how that works out for you.  This may be based on a comic but they don't need to alter the reality-based parts that much.
What makes up for the fact that you might want to punch Michael Cera in the face yourself are the cool visual graphics and the way the story is told.  There are tons of cool eye candy splattered throughout the film to make it feel like you're watching a video game.  The fight scenes are shot in an arcade style reminiscent of Mortal Kombat or Tekken.  There are many other little video game references as well such as seeing a "pee bar" appear on screen when Scott relieves himself, and receiving an extra life or a "1-up" after one fight.  The supporting cast, especially Kieran Culkin as Scott's witty gay roommate, all do a great job rounding out an eclectic group of characters too.  The movie offers a different film experience than we've seen before, and we get a little of everything from comedy to action to romance.  But it would be nice if Michael Cera gave up his day job and tried something else.

http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-philadelphia/danny-porcaro

/</gih3/>/giScott Pilgrim vs The World: review</h3>


A game geek's wet dream

You won't see anything else like it this year, or until Hollywood tries to replicate this film x100 and fails miserably.
There  is only one director who springs to mind when it comes to parody and  pastiche-Edgar Wright, creator and director of cult TV show Spaced- and  comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
And who else to play the role of Scott Pilgrim, the quirky and aloof game geek perfectly played by Michael Cera?
Pilgrim  is besotted with new girl on the block Ramona Flowers, but before he  can date her she informs him he has to defeat her seven evil exes.
Those  of us who were born in the 1980s, who grew up playing the SNES,  Nintendo 64 and wore our thumbs out on Game Boys will lap up this film  thanks to the numerous references to gaming. You'll hear all sorts of  8-bit sound effects from games such as Super Mario and the Legend of  Zelda series-yes we are in game territory here, a wonder land all boys  sink into and have their hopes and ambitions erased from their minds.
Scott  Pilgrim's incredulity at learning he has to engage in seven battles to  the death with the exes of Ramona Flowers provokes some hilarious one  liners from Cera matched with his endearing sweet-guy- mojo. He is  panicky and self conscious (look out for his constant worries about his  hair) and manages to surprise in a more physical role.


Its  a big departure to see him engaged in lightning fast expertly  choreographed battles to the death accompanied with arcade game  animations. Cera pulls it all off with aplomb and further cements  himself as the Canadian everyman.
The supporting cast is  impressive too. Kieran Culkin (yes, Home Alone's bed- wetter Fuller and  Macaulay's younger brother) steals nearly every scene he is in as  Scott's gay roommate and Twilight's Anna Kendrick adds on-screen  gravitas as Scott's sister.
There's also a hilarious turn from  Superman himself Brandon Routh as one of Ramona's vegan exes. Mary  Elizabeth Winstead is a good choice as Ramona, despite her ill-fitting  wig that sits on top of her head as comfortably as a pancake.
The  first half of the film fares a lot better than the second, which suffers  pacing issues as we approach the final fight between Scott and Gideon  (Jason Schwartzman). Which is a shame because the bottom line is that Scott Pilgrim vs The World is an immensely enjoyable mix of comedy and epilepsy-inducing flaming lightsaber and kung-fu fights.  
It  hasn't fared well at the box office though, despite positive reviews  from critics across the world. This probably stems from a narrow target  audience; there's little for women here, but those rare female gamers  will of course find it as exhilarating as the male.

<big>☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆9/10</big>

Directed By: Edgar Wright

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman

What It’s All About:

Scott plays guitar in Sex Bob-bomb, shares a bed with his gay roomate  Wallace, dates a highschool girl named knives and doesn’t have a job.  Then he meets the girl of his dream Ramona, but in order to be her  boyfriend he is going to have to fight off her seven evil ex-boyfriends,  dump his current girlfriend and pull his life together.

The Final Verdict:

Manic cuts, blistering effects, stunning visuals and enough pop culture  to last any nerd a lifetime is what really makes Scott Pilgrim vs. The  World stand out as one of the more unique and entertaining movies to hit  the cinema in 2010. Staying true enough to the source material to keep  the die hard fans of the graphic novel happy, but accessible enough for  the average movie goer, Scott Pilgrim has something to offer everyone.  Great performances from the cast, witty dialogue and stunning set pieces  make this a must see film.

4/5

Last updated: 2010-08-22 18:48:41 by hellerphant

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has no rules.  It can do whatever it pleases.  If the movie felt like giving us a giant frog that attacks bridges then everyone would say how clever and innovative it was because it appeals to a crowd of movie goers that just want to see something different.  They don’t care about an explanation.  Well I do.  This is a frustrating film.  Now I didn’t hate it, but I certainly didn’t like it all that much.  I think there are elements here that could work.  The problem though is that the movie is cluttered with quick cuts, annoying sight gags, and pop culture references that come out of nowhere.  There is a good story going on, but everything is so damn distracting that I just stopped caring 30 minutes in.

Let me get the really annoying stuff out of the way first.  The absolute worst part about this movie are the quick cuts.  What do I mean by this?  The movie goes to 7 locations in the span of 3 seconds.  It was infuriating.  We are in a record store.  Then suddenly Scott Pilgrim moves his arm and we are at a party.  The he moves his head to the side and we are back in his apartment.  The director (Edgar Wright) thinks he is being really clever and slick, but it’s just distracting and annoying.  I couldn’t absorb any information because of this crap.  I really hate when directors do this.  It’s gimmicky shit that a lot of people just eat up.  I can’t fricking stand it.  Just let a damn scene play out.

The sub-plots were also distracting.  The main story going on is actually really funny.  This soft spoken/smart alec guy has to fight these deranged exes in order to keep dating this girl.  And all the exes he has to fight were really amusing.  I wish the story just focused on that.  But instead there is this sub-plot with Scott’s current girlfriend (Ellen Wong) who constantly stalks him.  Whenever the movie starts to get interesting, she has to show up and ruin everything.  Or another plot is Scott’s band trying to win this contest that I really just didn’t care for.  The ads were selling me on Scott confronting these eccentric exes, but the movie is constantly throwing you back and forth between all this other crap.

What saves the movie is the acting.  Let me be the first to tell you, I am not a Michael Cera fan.  He’s a one trick pony and we all know it.  He was at least tolerable in this film.  Anna Kendrick as Scott’s sister was really funny and I enjoyed Alison Pill as Kim who plays this really dead paned friend/ex of Scott who is also the drummer in their band.  But the man who steals the show is Kieran Culkin, Scott’s gay roommate Wallace Wells.  First of all, great name.  But secondly, this guy was hysterical.  Every time he spoke I cracked up.  Even his facial expressions had me in stitches.  This guy literally saves the movie.  I want to see Kieran Culkin in more movies.  He can deliver.

Unfortunately I couldn’t appreciate the acting as much as I wanted too.  It goes back to the central problem of the film; it’s cluttered with too much crap.  Edgar Wright feels the need to put something gimmicky and “clever” in every fricking shot.  Whether it’s the phone ringing and you get the word “ring” in bubble letters float out of the phone or its some random animation clip that comes out of nowhere, it just all distracts from what’s going in the story.  There is so much of it that you just become numb.  So when the last big action scene the movie has been building up to arrives, I just didn’t care anymore because I was filled up with so much bull shit flying at the screen. 

I think Scott Pilgrim has some solid entertainment value.  Like I said, I laughed at some of the performances and the exes he fights were funny.  But watching this really makes me appreciate something like Inception so much more.  That’s a movie that’s so well structured and is boggled down with so many rules, it’s heart pounding to experience the characters having to fight through those rules.  Here everyone can just do whatever the hell they want.  Where’s the tension?  They can get 1-ups, have magical powers, and fight with animated swords for the hell of it.  If Edgar Wright wanted to keep this a video game world, then okay.  But it switches from video game to sitcom to animation, and eventually I just lost all sense of what the hell I was looking at.

Rating: 5 out of 10 (Passable Entertainment)