Movie Review – Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
“The book is way better than the movie”.
No statement enrages me more than that exclamation (followed closely by ‘they left so much from the book out of the movie). Books and movies are 2 separate forms of entertainment. In this case, one is a series of 6 fairly detailed books (graphic novels) and the other is a 2 hour movie that encompasses the general story of those books. So unless someone can read and retain the information in those 6 books in 2 hours, they probably shouldn’t expect the same amount of story from the movie adaptation. The books (which are awesome by the way) are books, and the movie is a movie. And an excellent movie at that.
Edgar Wright is the perfect fit for the film adaption of Scott Pilgrim. The comedic tone that was so well used in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the subtle understated joke/sarcastic wit type of comedy mixed with occasional over-the-top jokes works really well with Scott Pilgrim’s world. Wright’s style kinda plays with the audience and is the perfect fit for this movie.
Scott Pilgrim Vs the World is a very unique movie. It has a great, stylish look to it. Visually the movie is borderline brilliance. Bringing elements from comics and even video games into the movie medium really works well. Vibrant graphic representations of sounds, 16-bit computer graphic avatars, and animated flashbacks (based on original art from the graphic novels, as a nicelittle nod to the hardcore fans) all combine to produce a film that doesn’t really look like anything thats been made before.
The soundtrack for this movie also deserves special mention. From the high energy opening credit number and all throughout the film the music is not only great by itself, but is seemingly always paired perfectly with the particular scene. Any time a movie has an electric bass fight you know it’s going to be rocking a seriously good soundtrack.
Michael Cera has reached a point where everyone is concerned he’s going to play , well….the same character he’s always played in every movie. But he’s actually shown a bit of range lately. Starting with dual roles in Youth In Revolt and building on it here. While there is still some of that trademark awkwardness/nervous energy feel to his Scott Pilgrim, there is also a nice blend of cockiness and attitude.
Cera does a great job in this role, mixing the bit of vulnerability required to make the character actually likable with perfect comedic timing, which is key to many of the jokes in the movie. Cera is becoming a master at comedic timing and is likely what’s going to keep him making movies long after he’s passable as a 18-23 year-old.
The rest of the cast all do a great job in their supporting roles. In particular Kieran Culkin does an absolutely perfect job as the gay roommate Wallace Wells. The dry sarcasm he brings works perfectly against the sometimes insecure/sometimes cocky Pilgrim character.
It should also be noted that former superman Brandon Roth is in this movies as one of the evil exs. I say that should be noted because its the first time I’ve seen this guy in a action role (sorry, but I hated Superman Returns so much that I even need to take a shot at it in a review for a completely different movie). All jokes aside, Roth and Cera’s bass fight is awesome. In fact, many of the fight scenes between Pilgrim and the various evil exs are surprizingly action packed, adding another layer to an already throughly entertaining film.
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is a fantastic movie, simple as that. It has appeal the far exceeds the ‘target’ audience of fans of the books. Easily the funniest move of the summer and certainly one of the best overall movies of the year.
9 out of 10 coins.