Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is probably as close as we'll come to having an experimental film released in theaters nationwide. This is one of the most innovative, original movies to come out in years. It's unlike anything I'd seen before. And yes, it is good, very good. I could not stop laughing the whole time.

Onto the plot. Scott is something of a loser. He's socially awkward. He shares a mattress in a bunker-like apartment in Toronto with a sarcastic gossip king. He's in a band called the Sex Bob-Ombs, but they're really not that great. He also has a clinging, hyperactive girlfriend, "Knives" who's only 17- kind of a big deal when he's 22. All this changes when he dreams of a purple haired girl on roller blades. The very next day he finds out that she's real; that her name is Ramona flowers and she's the cool new girl in town. His first attempt to hook up fails miserably. His second attempt, although even more lamed brained, actually works, and they're soon an item. But now comes the bad news; to win her love, Scott must defeat her seven evil ex's. He also has an evil ex of his own. Plus, there's the matter of breaking up with Knives, and the battle of the bands is coming up!

That's the setup, what follows is a hilarious romantic comedy punctuated by a series of completely over-the-top video game style fight scenes. Stylistically, I'd have to call them a cross between Sin City, Street Fighter and Viewtiful Joe. Each of the ex's has their own unique fighting style and their own super powers, such as vegan-powered telekinesis or summoning an army of stunt doubles. Often you hear martial arts movies criticized because the action is obviously computer aided. Here, that's the whole point.

The movie's humor comes not only from the sheer ridiculousness of the situations, but also from the characters' reactions to them. After one of the ex's has flown in through a brick wall and battled Scott in the middle of a concert, everyone is just kind of weirded out. They don't act like nothing has happened, which would make it hard for the audience to suspend their disbelief, nor do they run screaming for the police, which would only complicate matters.

Comedic effect is also generated through the use of deadpan dialog. For instance, when Knives confesses that she's never kissed a boy before, Scott replies, with a straight face "It's okay, neither have I." Or the band's self-introduction, "We're the Sex Bob-Ombs and we're here to make you all sad and depressed and stuff.

The movie also pokes gentle fun at hipster subculture with the way that Ramona has thirty plus flavors of tea, or how Scott's roommate is always texting. There are also quirky touches like one girl who can bleep herself out, much to Scott's amazement, and a scene when the intro from Seinfeld plays after the characters enter the apartment, and canned laughter follows every line.

The editing and structure are highly non-traditional, with heavy use of dreams, daydreams, montages, animated flashbacks and asides, and chapter titles introducing segments. The visuals are impressive and very imaginative, such as the way that flashes of color accompany the playing of any musical instrument, allowing you to see the sound. Speaking of which, the sound is another high point, not only the energetic, rock fueled sound track, but also the sound effects taken from classic games like Mario and Zelda.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World succeeds in telling an offbeat story, providing interesting characters, and in producing lots of laughs. Other than a couple of too-obvious puns, I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this movie. I would highly recommend it to anyone in their teens or twenties. Four stars.

Teenager problems (find yourself, get real, etc.) might not give anything to people considering themselves mayor adults, but consider this is a movie built on arcade video gaming motifs, I don't think it concerns mayor adults at all in the first place. I for one did not necessarily long for dark moral drama in this particular movie at all, I think the story was just about right for this movie, but you decide, if this is childish watch Haneke.

Now for the rest: Surprisingly, Scott Pilgrim features the best martial arts scenes in years. Every fight is choreographed and executed in the most awesome ways and the fact that it's not Jet Lee pulling off these moves makes it even more fun to watch. And you get the fights absolutely frequently which is really, really satisfying. The editing is incredibly skillful as probably the most crucial element that makes this work. It gives the movie an incredible rhythm, reaching new levels of dynamism and the use of CGI and the visual design is plain fantastic. The amount of creativity put into this part is mind- blowing, resulting genuine and most original style. The cast is cool and I don't think anyone should look for academy material here. I liked these kids and they suit the movie.

So, all together I found Scott Pilgrim being one of the most original, exciting and fun productions I've seen in my life. As a huge fan of things like fighting games, comics, or martial arts anime I felt satisfied to a point of screaming 'awesome' out loud after 30 minutes into the movie. Though people who never played Street Fighter or kept crossing fingers for Goku and friends yelling 'kamehameha' as evil bosses get pulverized by energy beams might not really get what Scott Pilgrim is about, it's very hard to deny the originality featured and the creative and professional qualities of the way it's executed.

Fantastic! 8/10

"Scott Pilgrim" is one of the most creative, fresh and original films I have seen in ages, and because of that I was in absolute awe of the film. However, despite being a terrific film, I also understand that this is NOT a film that will appeal to everyone--in fact, it's probably one of the more polarizing films I have ever seen--you'll probably either love it or hate it. While I am NOT in the target demographic group (aged 15-30 and predisposed to loving graphic novels AND video games), I did enjoy it--and am probably the rare 40-something person who loved the film. What was different about me is that I am a geek (a definite plus), enjoy video games and have a rabid comic book fan for a daughter--so I understood many of the pop culture references throughout the film. But, if you are NOT a geek, hate video games and see graphic novels more as comic books, then the movie might be a chore to watch. Plus you might just feel ooky hanging out with geeks. Don't worry, they are almost all very nice people!

So what, other than originality, did I love about this film? Well, just about everything--and I seriously considered giving the film a 10--I liked it that much. Perhaps the best thing for me was casting of Michael Cera in the lead. Unlike the traditional super-hero, he is by far the geekiest and most likable main character I have seen. Seeing such a wimpy and unassuming guy become, out of no where, like a character from Mortal Combat was a wonderful juxtaposition--you just couldn't help but smile. And, despite his nerdy looks, he was winning as Scott Pilgram...and actually played the music his on-screen band played--now that's talent. Additionally, I loved the film's gentle sense of humor---I laughed harder at this film than any film I've seen in the theater in some time. I could try to describe these moments--you just need to see them for yourself. Odd references to games like DOA, Mortal Combat, Marvel Vs. Capcom and Zelda II were great--I caught on to those due to my own geeky background. And, my familiarity with anime/manga also made me laugh--as the hair, love for girls in school uniforms and style were often straight out of Japanese comics. And, I loved how the film made me love video games and was simply much, much more fun that the original "Tron" (which I always felt was too dry--perhaps the new version will correct this).

Clever, wonderful and strange, this film is the geek's dream come true...and not a film to be missed. However, if you aren't a geek or are perhaps too old to get the pop references, I say take along an interpreter--many comic book nerds and couch potatoes would be glad to go with you and help explain things...provided you pay for the tickets.

Among the nearly 9000 reviews I have now done on IMDb, this ranks in the hallowed ranks of a very small group of movies that transcended the pack due to its utter weirdness. It's surreal and weird--and I think this makes it very special. For other films that fall into this category, try "The Happiness of the Katikuris", "Delicatessen", "Yes Nurse, No Nurse", "Tatie Danielle" and "Tampopo"--all truly unique, surreal and fabulous films.

I came to this films with no preconceptions of it as a movie and I have to say I am glad. I guess I was expecting another Michael Cera movie about some dopey kid in love. And thats what it is ... but done in a unusually great way. For anyone under 25 brought up on gaming (I am 30 and not) this will be just brilliant. The style of the movie with its "end of level baddies", game-play set-up and visuals are a welcome and refreshing twist on what could have been a hum-drum movie. The music rocked, the comedy was fast, slick and laugh out loud ... I'd definitely recommend this to my friends looking for something that little bit special.

There is no other movie quite like Scott Pilgrim. It's like watching a comic book video game put to screen. The action is insane, over the top and super high energy with wonderfully creative framing and visual cues.

Going back and watching it again, it's amazing how many people are in this before they were huge. Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick just to name a few. The visuals still hold up, as does the pointed commentary on hipsters.

Great music, great action, great performances. It's all around a fantastic experience. The only real downside to me is that it's based on something with a lot of content and in an effort to put a lot in here there are some moments that feel... Off. Areas where the graphic novel likely went into great detail yet the movie has to just sort of pop it in and run with it. These are mostly minor but it still prevents this from being absolutely perfect.