Unreal Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
A few years ago, a film was released called Speed Racer. It was from the directors of The Matrix, and promised to push visual styling in film to a new level. Even in a time before 3D was all the rage, the movie was simply eye popping in every way, and I’m not sure it’s spectrum of used colors has ever been or will ever be, matched.
But people hated the film, saying it was like a rainbow had sex with a strobe light, and the offspring was constantly punching them in the eyes and ears for a sensual overload. It was just too much to take in, but at the time, I predicted that the film was simply ahead of its time.
Now Scott Pilgrim vs. the World comes along, and it’s the first real film to follow in Speed Racer’s hyperstylized tradition. It’s as if the film combined that movie with Diablo Cody’s cleverly (and sometime’s annoyingly) scripted Juno. In other words, this is the hippest movie you could possibly make right now.
Drawing heavily on old school video games, it’s unlikely that Scott Pilgrim will be appreciated by anyone under thirty. This is not a movie for adults, as much like in Speed Racer, they will probably walk out of the theater with their head spinning and ears bleeding.
But for those who “get it,” Scott Pilgrim should be a mostly enjoyable experience. An average dude named Scott (obviously Michael Cera) meets the hipster chick of his dreams named Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead who couldn’t look less like her usual sexy self if she tried here), but discovers that he must first defeat her seven evil exes in battle, in a kind of tournament structure that closely resembles any fighting game you’ve ever played, sometimes even complete with a VS. indicator, life bars and a combo hit meter.
There’s a little 1960s Batman in there too.
The rest of his life involves his band, the Sex Bomb-ombs (yet another sly video game reference, the film is so full of them you’ll be picking them out of your brain for days), who have entered into a battle of the bands contest in order to land a record contract. Unfortunately, quite a few of Ramona’s evil exes are present in said contest. Meanwhile, Scott has to deal with the prospect of eviction from his gay roommate (Kieran Culkin) and being stalked by his high school age girlfriend, the awesomely named Knives Chou (Ellen Wong) who accidentally becomes the most sympathetic character in the film.
Without a doubt, you cannot question the visual originality of this film. Even with the Speed Racer comparisons, you’ve never seen anything quite like it, and each of Scott’s fight scenes with the exes are pretty stunning sights to behold. But combine this flashy, colorful imagery with director Edgar Wright’s (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) signature fast scene cuts, and you often feel like the film is sprinting from scene to scene and you, the audience, must physically exert yourself to keep up.
The way the story is presented keeps the introduction and explanation of Ramona’s exes from being tiresome, as at about number three, you could start to feel fatigued seemingly knowing what’s ahead. And when there isn’t fighting to be had, the film mercifully gives some of the supporting characters some screen time, and the banter between Scott’s bandmates, his roommate, his sister, Knives Chou and other various players probably include some of the best lines in the film.
Can’t really deny this is awesome.
The main problem I had with Scott Pilgrim was Scott Pilgrim himself, and also the object of his undying affection, Ramona Flowers. Even for a Michael Cera character, Pilgrim is weak-willed, bumbling and an all-around tool, not to mention just kind of a total ass (as Ramona accurately puts it later), as he cheats on his poor adoring girlfriend Knives, to get with this new girl who offers…what exactly?
Ramona may have the same effect on the eyes as most peacocks with her constantly changing, brightly colored hair, but other than that, she constantly spouts sarcasm, rolls her eyes, and is intermittently interrupted by her exes who burst through walls to wipe the floor with Scott. Why exactly is he so enamored with her?
I guess the only common thread is that Scott and Ramona are both intensely unlikable characters, and therefore I suppose they belong together. Yes, much of the film is about Scott’s redemption from being such a douche, and that is actually the climax of the film in many ways, but to get there, we have to deal with him being annoying for 90% of the film, which doesn’t exactly create a sympathetic lead. Rather, our hearts go out to poor Knives Chou, who loves Scott deeply and risks life and limb to earn his affection, despite him not giving anything close to a shit for her for the vast majority of the film. We also feel sorry for Scott’s band, often left behind in his pursuit for Ramona, and his sister and roommate, who constantly have to deal with his seemingly unending deadly girl drama.
Sure, you deserve each other.
Michael Cera should probably retire after this film, and I’m only half joking when I say that. This is the Cera role to end all Cera roles, as his film catalog has been jammed full of episodes where he must do outlandish things to win over a girl who is far too hot for him (Superbad, Nick and Norah, Youth in Revolt, even Year One), and you really now cannot get more outlandish than epic video game-style battles against said girl’s evil ex-boyfriends. There really is just no topping that.
As for the rest of the film, it’s quite clever in parts, but not as smart as it thinks it is, and though the frantic pace suits the style, that can often wear thin too at times. Originality is wonderful to see onscreen these days (yes, it’s from a comic, but the film’s style is all its own), but that alone is not enough to make a great film. Scott Pilgrim is good, but needs more than nostalgia, CGI and clever one liners to really be excellent.
3 out of 5 stars
Get it? Like from Donkey Kong?
the Thomas Jane cameo was awesome.
If you were born in the 80’s to early 90’s, you loved this film in every way possible. Simple as that. Every five seconds you got blasted with something that brought back good memories. Even the credits where you find out that the narrator was freaking Bill Hader was awesome. Not to mention the awesomeness of Chris Evans and Jason Schwartzman.
And the Vegan Police. That scene alone earned the price of my ticket.
This has been a surprisingly entertaining year for movies. For all vastly different reasons The Losers, Inception and Scott Pilgrim have been among the most enjoyable movies I’ve ever seen.
Nothing compares to the visuals in Scott Pilgrim. I think it’s a superior aesthetic experience to Avatar.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead is drop dead gorgeous in this movie. The scene on the bus after Scott breaks up with Knives, the look Ramona gives into the camera, stunning. ( I like the changing hair color, but the green did not look that good on her)
I enjoyed Kieran Culkin in this movie, yah he did the stereotypical gay stuff but his delivery was hilarious.
Being Canadian I like that the exes disolved into piles of Loonies and Toonies. I found also that the movie ran a little long…it took too long to get into all the exes and when they finally started I found myself thinking ‘Dear God, this is going to take a while if the start of this movie is any indicator’
I haven’t seen this movie, so i can’t tell whether or not this review was accurate. However, one little detail compels me to complain to a nonexistent audience.
Physically overwhelming visuals is NOT the same thing as stylish visuals. The opposite is more often true.
Compare http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MD__dsOYzrA/SRG56ZERBhI/AAAAAAAAAuk/Asj1MzJZBwU/s400/stalker.jpg with http://www.yowazzup.com/blog/images/speed-racer-movie-01.jpg
If you think the second image is the most visually stylistic, i will have no choice but to revoke your snob license.
Dude, at least google how to spell Knives Chau. And it’s just Sex Bob-omb, not The Sex Bob-ombs. AND STOP TRYING TO MAKE THIS MOVIE SPEED RACER. I actually didn’t hate that movie, but these are VERY different films. Just because they’re both glittery doesn’t mean that they’re otherwise comparable. The Juno comparison is also wildly inappropriate, considering that the style of dialogue is based pretty strongly off of the novels, the first of which came out in 2004, well before anyone had even heard of Diablo Cody. I do agree with you that the Ramona/Scott relationship is pretty weird, and having Scott combo with Knives to fight Gideon at the end is a weird touch that makes the main romance feel even more tenuous. I think your Michael Cera perceptions colored Scott’s character way too much though. He’s not bumbling so much as he is just lazy and is actually one of the most competent fighters anywhere, within the SP universe. Scott being a tool is definitely a theme, but that’s one of the biggest factors in the story. You’re supposed to see things through Scott’s eyes as he learns new things and eventually becomes a better person. I don’t know, I feel like you kind of missed the point with this movie.
I didn’t find scott pilgrim to be very likable, but the thing is, I’m not sure he was really supposed to be. I got the impression that he was supposed to come off as a typical 20 year old guy that didn’t know what he wanted. I really have to disagree with you about ramona flowers though, chick was smokin’
as far as adaptations from a comic book to movies go…scott pilgrim was absolutely perfect in every way. all of the characters (especially cera and wong) got their characters down to a T. the style, feel, tone, mood, characters…everything translated from the books to the movie screen. i’ve never seen such an accurate adaptation in any genre.
Interesting to read – how come you’re so “late” to review the movie?
I can’t wait to see it but I’m also a bit concerned. I mean it’s a 6×200 pages story, which takes place mainly inside or in front of apartments or club locations. I’d say the movie is just a bit longer than it takes you to read one of the books and there is only one relativly short “boss fight” per book. I’m not sure if it can be a good idea to do all opponents of a 9 hours to read comic book at once. “Scott Pilgrim” is about a lazy 23 years old, Son Goku-like (i.e. more or less stupid) but very cool guy, who always gets the girls. He has romantic trouble with more or less every female character in the book. So if you take all of Ramonas exes into a single one and a half hour film, is there time left for the characters?
I’d guess the Knives viewpoint of the story alone would take at least 15 minutes. Btw. is the Knives+Kim kissing scene in the movie? And do they put in the other fights as well?? Like Knives vs. Ramona or Knives Samurai like father character? And I’d also guess that that Cera isn’t quite cool enough to play Scott. Mary E. Winstead on the other hand probably fits her character perfectly. Well, I hope there is enough of wallace’ nagging and characters complaining about Scott in general ^^
also
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/8/13/146abbc2-4ad2-4079-93ed-a3a43af91839.gif
“… to get with this new girl who offers…what exactly?”
I saw the movie last night and this is what has been bothering me about it. I enjoyed the visuals and the constant hat-tipping to video game (and nerd) culture and I laughed at all the right parts, but in the end, I didn’t really care if Scott ended up with Ramona or Knives or just alone.
Also, the last ex looked too similar to the first ex.
Oh, and did you realize:
The “prepare to die, obviously” girl is George Micheals Christian girlfriend!
(And why doesn’t Unreality my name anymore, I still have my cookies)
@Lagrange
Hah, yeah it was nice to see Egg again. I mean Ann.
I’m posting this late because I was on vacation all last week.
We just changed servers, not sure if that would effect your name showing up.
@Josh
You are absolutely wrong. 1988 here, and I hated this movie with every fiber of my being in so many ways. From the “I’m so bored with everything” girl drummer to the pandering video game references, this movie sucked. The only person worth a damn was his gay roommate, and that’s only because he seemed to realize how shitty the movie was.
@Alex
I was born in 83. I think this is one of the greatest movies ever made.
I’m sorry you didn’t like it.
He punched the highlights out of her hair! – Classic
Funniest scene– When he jumped out the window.
I almost passed out laughing.
I don’t care what anyone says, this movie was awesome!
I bet this film would have gotten five stars if their had been more StarCraft references.
Who’s Ann? (sorry)
Loved, loved, loved this film. I enjoyed Speed Racer as well. Both required one to suspend disbelief and embrace the fact they were based on comics/cartoons, a fact too many just can’t get past. Both films have an extremely small audience, so its poor box office performance didn’t surprise me much.
I thought it was a fun film, and Ramona was definitely smokin’. And I can’t get the song “Black Sheep” by the Clash at Demonhead out of my head (It’s by Metric, btw).
@Lagrange
Her?
The Review imo was pretty spot on, and yeah I thought Ramona was pretty unlikeable my self both physically and attitudely (made up word).
Really wish that the Band vs. the Twins scene was longer though.
I’m in my 40’s and I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for a while and I was not disappointed. It’s one of my favorite movies of the year and I have watched it a couple times.
I’m a teen and I got it. Then again, I’m a bit of a nerd. I loved this movie, but thought it starteda little slow
I loved the movie. and I am not a fan of the comic (never bothered, nor do I intend to, read it).
one issue is. the band is JUST Sex bob-omb not ‘the sex bob-ombs’
If anything I thought the movie kind of wrapped up too fast. but then, they had to fit 7 fights into what? an hour and a half? So can’t have TOO much time left over for alot of character stuff.
either way this is about the only movie i’ve seen where I like michael cera so it’s def a movie worth seeing.
@AngryMan
Or more Pokemon references.
I don’t understand why anyone who enjoyed the 90’s would not enjoy this film. It was simply amazing. My only complaint was Kim Pine who’s actress was horrifically ugly and her acting which was completely flat (though I’m not sure if that was her or a directorial decision). Kim Pine is a great character in the book, I was sad to see her reduced to a one note joke in the movie.