Forgive the lateness of this review but there comes a time when you see a movie that is so completely different and which refuses to follow any type of convention that the simple writing of a review is a near-impossible task. You find that words can't do it justice. A film that you have to experience in order to actually get it. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is such a film. Edgar Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's independent comic book is a cinematic orgasm of all things geek.
Mr. Wright made a name for himself by directing Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Two films, that in this reviewer's not-so-humble opinion, are perfect films. He already had a very frantic style to his editing and his visuals so the decision to follow those two masterpieces with this comic adaptation seemed like a great fit. He's a comic fan, a music aficionado and already has shown an incredible talent for balancing both style with substance. His talent has made Scott Pilgrim vs. The World into one of the best movies of the year and one of the most endlessly entertaining in recent cinema history. I dare you to watch this film and not have a smile on your face for 95% of it.
At it's heart is a deceptively simple story. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). It's the epitome of a schoolboy crush. Ramona is the very definition of the cute "pixie" girl. Scott pursues her even though he's still in a kind-of relationship with a 17 year old schoolgirl named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). Knives is a little obsessive with Scott and his pretty crappy band, Sex Bob-Omb. But she's not the only thing standing in Scott's way towards a relationship with Ramona. Her seven exes have formed a League of Evil Ex-Boyfriends. In order to be with her, Scott has to fight and defeat each one. But it isn't as easy as it sounds. The world Scott and the rest of these characters inhabit is a world where anything is possible. People shatter into coins when defeated. Pee status bars appear when relieving yourself. Where people have super strength and fighting styles straight out of Street Fighter. Vegans have telekinesis. Instruments produce gigantic id monsters that fight above concert audiences like the world's most insane light show. Instead of trying to ground the movie in reality, Wright fully embraces it unrealistic stylings and turns it into a living, breathing comic book.
Michael Cera brings a nice semi-grounded sense to Scott. He's a bit of a jerk and selfish but he doesn't do it out of malice. He just doesn't know how to go about things. Ramona, as played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, is a beautiful cypher. The type of girl you so want to figure out but you're ok with knowing that you never will. As long as she's by your side, anything is possible. Ellen Wong is able to keep Knives Chau right on that precarious edge between being annoyingly clingy and adorable. Her character's arc is simply delightful. All of the actors portraying Scott's friends do great jobs. The standouts being Johnny Simmons as Young Neil. He's the quiet member of the group but one that is always vigilant. His aloofness is offset by his heart. Go see this movie and make an effort to just watch him during some scenes. You'll see that he's does so much with very little. Kieran Culkin does an amazing job as Scott's gay roommate, Wallace. Loyal but brutally honest when he has to be. He drags Scott back down to reality for his own good. Culkin has so many stand out scenes and has an unique ability to seduce straight men in record time.
Now we come to the ex-boyfriends. Each one is different from the other and each fight is it's own little set piece. It would have been boring if each one was a simple hand to hand fight. Matthew Patel is Ramona's first evil ex-boyfriend. His fight is more traditional but includes an uncomfortably hilarious Bollywood musical number. Chris Evans gives his evil ex-boyfriend/skater/actor character Lucas Lee just the right amount of douchebag-ness. The kind of typical fratboy dick that you love to hate. To make matters worse, he makes crappy movies. Except for "Action Doctor", I'd pay to see that. Brandon Routh's Todd Ingram is a total blank minded "him"bo. A vegan who doesn't even know the definition of the word. Then we have Roxy, Ramona's one evil ex-girlfriend. Just a tiny little ball of fury who just can't stomach the fact that Ramona went back to men. And she does not appreciate being punched in the boob. Kyle and Ken Katayanagi constitute Ramona's 5th and 6th evil ex-boyfriends. Their characters don't really do much but they're able to instill a hatred for them with a few simple cocky looks. And now we come to Gideon, Ramona's seventh and final evil ex-boyfriend. Jason Schwartzman has always been able to give us memorable smarmy rats in his films. Gideon may be the ultimate one. A petty and jealous man who decided to form the League simply out of his desire to keep Ramona for himself, he is the last and most difficult obstacle Scott has to face. Their fight is equally epic and emotional. The stakes are never higher when they finally face off. When they do, it's epic. Needless to say, Scott has his work cut out for him.
A good test for a film is to turn the sound off and still be able to follow the story and have an emotional investment in it. Scott Pilgrim passes that test. There is so much happening on screen at any one moment that every frame is like it's own self-contained comic book page. Literal representations of sounds, whip-pans, scene transitions without edits, multiple focus points within the frame that tell their own story, each one a tool used by Edgar Wright to pull you into story.
From the characters to the acting to the editing and the fights and the music, this is filmmaking at it's purest. There is not one bad moment in this film. It moves at a breathless pace and yet never forgets to keeps us interested in the characters. We want to see a happy ending for them cause we can see ourselves in them. The film speaks to us, a generation of young people and young adults raised on video games, comic books and anime. Not with random references made to elicit cheap laughs but with an actual respect for it's viewers and the material. General audiences are simply not getting it. But I can say with confidence that this movie will live on forever. It's a standout and while the box office isn't all that impressive, years from now we will still be talking about it and won't even be able to remember which movie beat it on it's opening weekend.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. It's a world that I hated to leave and that I wish actually existed. Cause having my own pee status bar would actually be incredibly helpful
10/10
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