Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

[Lizhawkins]

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is released in UK cinemas on 25 August.

TF's review is on the website. Here's the intro:

Scott Pilgrim is a weakling, doesn’t drink, rarely gets a haircut, only wears his favourite T-shirts. If you just read your own bio, this is your new favourite movie.

Here's a link to TF's 4 star review of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

Write your own review, or comment on ours...

[MovieMan234]

An entertaining and fun movie, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Funny, clever, and ridiculous, this movie makes for a fun time at the theater. See it, but don't go in expecting an Oscar contender.

[Zippykins1]

I enjoyed it (and I'm having a little listen to the soundtrack now) but its good rather than great.

[Grinch11]

This is Scott Pilgrim’s precious little film, or should that be Edgar Wright’s finest hour? Because lets not wait until level 5 of this review to reveal its end credits; Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a superb genre melding oddity that aches with original inventiveness from the first frame to the last and will easily find its way into the upper echelons of most peoples Top 10 lists.

The biggest VS battle it will face though is getting said “people” to look beyond the uninspiring trailers and misleading poster, and into a world of extra lives, telekinetic vegans, and chameleon haired muses, because if they do they will be rewarded with more bonuses than a lap on Mariokart and some enjoyably scorched retinas.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a twenty-something loser, how he has any friends is a minor miracle; childish, insensitive, and unemployed, he is an icon of the disenfranchised youth of today. Based on Brian Lee O’Malley’s brilliant six novel opus, this charts Scott’s challenging relationship with Ramona Flowers (Winstead), a dangerous liaison with a future dependant on Scott defeating her seven evil exes.

From the moment the Universal logo appears rendered in crappy 8-bit computer graphics with the familiar signature tune reduced to basic “beeps and boops”, the geek inside you knows that you’re in for something very special. The uninitiated might have to wait twenty minutes before getting to grips with the films language of pithy dialogue and sound effects from games they may never have heard of, let alone played, but once they embrace this Toronto fused environment that’s bled through the memory chip of a Nintendo console, they cant fail to enjoy this boy meets girl, fights girls exes, rom-com.

Staying faithful to the monochrome panels of O’Malley’s world (bar a twist on a couple of the boyfriend battles), fans of the graphic novels will be elated at how strictly Wright has adhered to the page.

And that is what makes the Shaun of the Dead director’s achievement all the more remarkable. He has taken a uniquely niche source and manifested it as his own vision. There is no denying that this is his tightest, most technically accomplished piece of filmmaking yet. From the smaller touches, as newly disposed bad guys crumble into a pile of Mario style coins, to the beauty of a post-break-up montage that’s accompanied by T-Rex’s superb “Teenage Dreams”, this is what Spaced would look like with a $60M budget, and its unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Casting is nigh on perfect too; those of you sick of Michael Cera’s geeky shtick should find that there is enough of an emotional journey for Pilgrim, as well as his likeable stupidity, to root for him. Winstead is also excellent even if she doesn’t truly capture the mysterious allure of Ramona from the novels. Kieran Culkin gets to steal all of the films best lines as Scott’s gay roommate, Wallace Wells, and everyone from Anna Kendrick to Aubrey Plaza, get their moment to shine. And without revealing too much about any of the showdowns, both Brandon Routh and soon-to-be Captain America, Chris Evans, do a stand out job of sending up their superhero credentials.

Boasting a must-own soundtrack and the potential for repeat plays, only the harshest of critics would highlight the rushed ending, Scott Pilgrim is not only versus the world, but also the average cinema goer, here’s hoping he defeats you all.

[MrSilly]

Too much crammed into a 100 minute film. It has six action sequences, and it technically isn't even an action film. That should tell you everything.

The fights are good, yes. But there's little time to develop the villains as being any meaningful threat, so potential emotional connection is thrown out of the window, instead favouring a very pretty but shallow aesthetic. Yet at the same time the fights distract from the central romance that is key to the plot, hell, to the entire film. So Scott Pilgrim loves Ramona Flowers, why? He seems to have only known her for about 3 days, and two thirds of the time he spends with her is devoted to fighting off the exes. There's no depth to the relationship as there simply isn't time to concentrate on it whilst simulataneously delivering some vivid smackdowns and tonnes of geek references.

But then Scott is also in a band, and has a previous girlfriend, and another before that. So there's just more and more being stacked onto the pile, and nothing gets truly explored. The cast is strong, but none of the characters get much room to expand, instead remaining one-note (obsessive ex, cynical band member, gay roomate, list goes on). Really speaking it's ill-suited to film, a one-off telly series would have allowed for some character development and narrative growth. Or better yet, change one teensy little thing:

Instead of Scott defeating the exes in order to continue dating Ramona, simply have him defeat them in order to ask her out. There, boom, all lack of depth to the character of Ramona is dealt with, and the lackluster ending can be replaced with soemthing far more apt.

Looks cool though.

[Zippykins1]

Spot on Silly. What I was too lazy to write.

[pinkdegu]

I loved Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Every second was a clever little homage to a video game, right down to the opening sequence where they snuck in a quick tribute to guitar hero.
And I defy anyone not to smile and cheer as the Universal company logo comes on at the start. I won't spoil it but those of you who have seen it will know what I mean.

I'm not expecting it to get any major awards but for us geeks who got every tiny reference and every tiny in joke it's already got a special place in our hearts.

[Lizhawkins]

Originally Posted by Zippykins1

I enjoyed it (and I'm having a little listen to the soundtrack now) but its good rather than great.

I'm with Zippykins...