"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" Review

In the post previous to this, I apologize to the film Salt for not covering it enough. Then I don't know what to say about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and our zero coverage of the film. I guess I'm going to try to redeem myself with this review. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (SP) is based on the wildly popular comic book of the same name. Since it was announced, fanboys across the country have been geeking-out about it. I never read the comics, but was rewarded early premier tickets by my favorite comic book store of all time, Brave New World. Brave New World is owned and operated by Atom! and Portlyn in Santa Clarita, CA. Check out their Facebook page here. Thank you guys for the tickets. Let's begin.


What I liked about the movie:
The Story
This aspect of the movie could have fallen flat on its face, but it doesn't. A lovable loser meets the girl of his dreams, but to be with her, he has to fight off her 7 evil ex-boyfriends? Huh? See what I mean? It could have been a disaster, but it wasn't! Writers Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright (who also directed the film) found a way to keep in the realm of possibility (minus all the fighting and flashy special effects). Which leads into my next "like".

Originality/Effects

When I left the theater I text FattMatt that SP was one of the most original movies I've ever seen. FattMatt was surprised by such a bold statement, but I encourage everyone to see the movie and let me know what they think. Visually the film is unlike ANYTHING you've ever seen before. Director Edgar Wright found the perfect way to literally bring a comic book to life. We've seen other directors try to translate the feel of reading a comic book (i.e. Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk), but Edgar succeeds. There are moments in the movie that feel like they've popped right off the pages of a comic-book.

The same goes for the special effects in the movie. Visually stunning to look at, and make sense as a translation from a comic book. Fiery swords, exaggerated fights, bonus points reminiscent of a video game are all brought to life with beautiful sound and color. A few times in the movie I thought to myself, "I have literally never seen this style of film making in my entire life." Which, yes, is a bold statement. But it's true.

The Cast

I'm a fan of Michael Cera, who was perfectly cast in this film. If I were to only comment on one positive of Cera's performance, it would be his delivery. His delivery is very unique. He comes off awkward, but his timing is just right. He's a loser, but you love him. He's uncoordinated, but can fight like a pro. He was perfectly cast.

The supporting cast was great in the film. Chris Evans, Jason Schwartzman and Brandon Routh are hilarious as 3 of the 7 evil ex's. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the love interest causing all this headache as "Ramona." She's great and the chemistry with Cera is believable. Oscar-nominated Anna Kendrick does well with what little material she has to work with as Scott Pilgrim's sister. Scene stealer award goes to... Kieran Culkin! That's the Home Alone star's little brother, if you were wondering. Culkin plays Scott Pilgrim's best friend and roommate and is hilarious in the film! His character is gay and the comedy that comes about from this is classic. Awesome to see him do so well.


What I didn't like about the movie:
Repetitiveness
This was bound to happen, considering our lead character has to fight 7 people. By the time SP reaches the 7th evil ex, (who he fights twice!), it becomes too redundant. Each of the 7 ex characters were funny and engaging, but when translating to film, it's just too much. Another dislike, which coincides with the repetitiveness, is the length of the film. At just under 2 hours, I'd say it was about 20 minutes too long for what it was.


This Summer started out with a lot of movies that were just bad, or disappointing at best. The second half is going a lot better... A LOT better. Inception, Salt and now Scott Pilgrim vs. The World are all skewing the results back towards the positive. I have to admit, if I wasn't given the tickets, I probably wouldn't have seen SP, and what a shame it would have been. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was a ton of fun and I would recommend it to anyone, young or old.