Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Review)

I’m still struggling exactly what to make of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. On the surface it’s a hectic little number with a lot of CGI effects that for some might dehumanize the experience. However, I found that the effects eventually became a vital part of the film that helps engage the audience in the story. This is the first movie I’ve seen that is able to successfully integrate video game visuals into the story without the movie falling apart. On the other hand the movie struggles from a few slow spots and is a good 15 minutes too long (at least). Either way, I think this is a movie that is going to achieve cult status and be around for a while.

When the story begins Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 22-year-old poor musician who is dating a 17-year-old Asain girl named Knives (Ellen Wong). He really likes her, but there is still a hole inside of him ever since he was dumped by Natalie, who now goes by “Envy”. She has gone on to great fame and fortune, and Scott is still stuck as part of Sex Bob-omb, his punk band which is struggling to get noticed. At a party he sees Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and he is convinced he has met the girl of his dreams. He wants to date her, but doesn’t want to break Knives’ heart, and for a while juggles both if his girlfriends. Needless to say, that all unravels. On top of that he is forced to fight all seven of Ramona’s evil exes in order to win her heart. These fights are action sequences that are incredibly dazziling, though they toe the line of being repetitive at one point. The movie could have benefitted by removing the Katayanagi twins.

I am one of the few people who is not yet sick of Michael Cera, because I find he is able to find projects that utilize his awkward kid tendencies well. Earlier this year he turned in one of his better performances in the little-seen Youth in Revolt, and he’s even better here. Scott Pilgrim is fully aware of the hero’s childishness, and when Cera curls up in a fetal position and whines that “everything is so complicated” in a baby voice it’s indicative of the kind of guy that Scott Pilgrim is. He prefers to live in his happy little shallow world without confrontation. When faced with a potentially awkward conversation he tries to deflect it to something more pleasant. Cera has played a lot of geeks, but this one is just a complainer, and it causes a lot of headaches for him and his friends.

The real star here, however, is Edgar Wright, known in the past for his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Here Wright completely commits to the absurdity of the proceedings and uses it to deliver sequence after sequence of energy and originality. No other film in existence could get away with an entire scene devoted to a Seinfeld parody. All the gags don’t always stick, but you have to give them credit for trying. That sort of sums up my feelings on the movie: I was appreciating this movie even when I wasn't truly enjoying every second of it.

This movie clearly has a deep admiration for comic book and video game culture, and at the same time is able to spoof it. Whenever Pilgrim defeats an evil ex, they turn into coins for him to pick up. Boxes similar to those you would see in comic book panels are there to describe the characters and set each scene. The tone of the film is set right at the beginning: The Universal logo is pixilated and the music sounds as if it is coming right out of an old Nintendo system. However, through all this frosting there is still quite a delicious, doughy center to the film. We feel for each character as the film goes on, and we cheer for Scott in his quest for Ramona, and ultimately some self-respect.

My final verdict comes down to this: I would rather take a slightly flawed original than an above-average but safe film. I can guarantee there is more energy, originality and ambition in every frame of Scott Pilgrim than any of the other movies that opened this past weekend (Eat Pray Love, The Expendables). For that we should be grateful there are people like Edgar Wright willing to make films like this. I had a similar reaction to Splice earlier this summer, but at times that film completely misfired. Scott Pilgrim pretty much accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. Sadly, not many people embraced Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in its first weekend, coming in at 5th place and bringing in $10.6 million. Some see this as a sad development, but Edgar Wright will have none of the negativity. He tweeted this after the box office results came in:

“For the record, am pretty damn happy to have a Top 5 movie and a top 5 album in the US. Never had either before.”

Now, isn’t that an attitude we could use more of? At the end of the day, Wright got his movie made, and no one can take that away from him. We’ll still see a lot more of him in the years to come.

Rating: (out of 4)