Ok, finally on to the movies. I watched Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) dir. by Edgar Wright, last week (don’t worry, it was nowhere near the first time) and it just keeps getting better. Every time I watch it there is something new to discover and enjoy. For instance, in the final battle pitting Knives, Ramona, and Scott against Gideon, when the combatants are being injured, they flash red in relation to how much damage they would be taking, very similar to old “beat ‘em up” video games. Neat little details and references like this are not always noticed on the first go around, and really add to the experience of repeat viewings.
As I do not have any experience in writing movie reviews, the first couple (at least) movies that I discuss will more or less be limited to what I liked and disliked about the film in question. I might also add in a recommendation about whether or not to buy, rent, stream, or skip the movie (to spare you the suspense, you should definitely own Scott Pilgrim vs. the World).
To start, here are some of the many things I like about Scott Pilgrim. First things first, the awesome 8-Bit Universal logo opener really lets you know right off the bat what sort of movie you are about to watch and what sort of references/humor you can expect. This is followed shortly by the amazing title sequence (a prime example of catching more and more on repeat viewings), that introduces us to the music of Sex Bob-omb. Not only does it look and sound great, but upon closer inspection, the animation used for each actor is specific to their character (even though you would not know it if you are first watching the movie and have never read the source comics).
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World also has a wonderful ensemble cast. While Michael Cera does fine as Scott, and I certainly never agreed with any backlash against him, it is really some of the supporting players that shine and standout. Kieran Culkin steals the show every time he is on screen as Wallace Wells, Scott’s roommate. His relationship with Scott, a surrogate parent of sorts, part of the time, is very funny to watch, especially when it involves a phone or the single bed that they share. Chris Evans plays a great member of the League of Evil Exes, expressing overconfidence and doucheyness in a way that is still somehow likeable. My favorite Evil Exe though, by far, is Brandon Routh, the vegan super-powered, bass playing, Todd Ingram. In this universe, being vegan gives you psychic powers, and it gives Routh a great way to riff on his most famous role, Superman. The fight between Scott and Todd, with all of the psychic destruction, jokes (“tell it to the cleaning lady on Monday”), and bass battle is possibly my favorite scene of the film. The resolution to the fight scene throws it even more over the top.
The songs and score for the movie also work very well. While the Beck penned songs of Sex Bob-omb are not the sort of music that I would normally listen to on my own, they fit the story well and work within the universe that has been created. I also enjoy hearing the other licensed songs for the movie that helped inspire Bryan Lee O’Malley (writer of the comic series that the movie is based on) to create these characters. The score, on the other hand, is something that I do enjoy listening to, even without the movie to go along with it. It adds a great layer to the fight scenes and the quiet, romantic scenes equally well.
While I could keep going on about things that I like about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (such as the inspiring editing), for brevities sake, there are things that I do not like about the movie. As mentioned above, the movie is based on a series of graphic novels (mostly, the movie was in production before the sixth and final volume was published), and while I have grown out of the knee jerk “the book was better” line, the comic medium obviously has the length available to better develop the characters. The other members of Sex Bob-omb are particularly short changed, especially drummer Kim Pine (my favorite character from the graphic novels). Even Young Neil, who does not have too much to do in either version, has a big personal moment in both versions that is pretty much blown in the movie adaptation.
Another problem with the movie is that they do not really handle all of Gideon that well. SPOILERS In the books, he is more than just a record exec, hipster, creep. He has power over subspace (the routes that Ramona uses to get around quickly), and also created The Glow, which is how he is able to “control” Ramona. He turns into more of a Bond villain in the end. In the movie, they only touch on this very, very briefly by having Ramona point to a chip on her neck that she claims allows Gideon to enslave her. Adding this scene in such a throw away manner and then never expanding upon it makes it jarring. It really does not seem to fit that well in the universe as is, and should either have been explained better or removed entirely. END SPOILERS
My biggest problem with the movie, and this is an issue for the graphic novels too, is the ending. SPOILERS AGAIN I do not like Scott ending up with Ramona. In the movies, Knives seems like such a better choice (Kim Pine is the better choice in the books; the movie just made Knives her stand-in). END SPOILERS
Related to the above, I do not like the character of Ramona Flowers. And having the main love interest/female character be an (in my opinion) unlikable character is not a good decision. She even says herself, she has dabbled in being a bitch. While Knives is younger than Scott (at an age when the difference is more meaningful), there does not seem to be a huge reason for Scott to ditch her for Ramona in the beginning. While I agree that seeing someone in your “dreams” and then again in real life would be persuasive, and that she is cute, throughout the movie, there is never really a point where I feel convinced that she is worth everything that Scott has to go through.
Dude... I'll chat up movies with you.... as long as I've seen them. This one is great. Here's where we differ thought. I did not like the graphic novels. I borrowed them from a friend before the movie came out and although it had potential, it did not grasp my interest. It was probably because all the characters looked the same and was too black and white. Not saying black and white is a bad thing, but usually a B&W novel has some sort of shading or the characters look so different (Sin City for example). I was reading it and was just having a hard time following who was saying what. I dunno, maybe I didn't give it enough time.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, that being said, the movie was fantastic. Entertaining all the way through, which is what a movie should be.
I thought Cera was good... he gets crap because most of his movies, he plays the same guy (quirky, quick to bat off one-liners, and usually battling esteem issues) He's been a little dry lately because Jesse Eisenberg does it better.
Ramona was OK. Not much character development, and playing a mystery card. The actress did OK with it, but I liked her better in Live Free or Die Hard
Didn't get the love story.... seemed more like an infatuation. But if you watched deleted scenes you'd see SPOILER Scott end up with Knives END SPOILER
Anyway, The flick had good pace, never really slowing down. The comedy is top notch and the fight scenes are entertaining in a campy way. I do own it. Got it for like 5 bucks at Best Buy
Infatuation definitely seems like a good word to describe how Scott feels for Ramona. I have seen the alternate ending, and I prefer that one story wise, although feel that the actual scene is not that strong.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your issue with the graphic novels, although I still enjoy them. There were definitely a few times when I first read them where it was very difficult to tell which characters were which in certain sections. You are definitely pulled out of the story any time you have to try to investigate which characters are talking.
Also, Sin City is awesome.
I did like all the video game references in the story... from getting coins after the enemy is killed, to the name of the band (Sex Ba-Bombs). Powerups. Extra life. Etc. All except for Nega Scott.... although it was funny when they left the building together as friends, I feel like it was just too out of the blue. There should have been some sort of previous development there.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love the video game references. All of the Zelda music, the pixelated "vs" and "ko", getting coins from defeating enemies, powerups, etc. As I mentioned in the review, the 8-bit opening really starts you off on a great mood and lets you know what cool things are coming.
ReplyDeleteI agree Nega Scott was not handled all that well. The introduction to nega fighters in the arcade was short, there was a large gap in between the introduction and then the actual "fight", and Scott really already had the personal revelation that is expressed by fighting Nega Scott, so he didn't really seem needed. Love that they make food plans for later though.