Scott Pilgrim vs The World

[j_u_d_a_s]

Thanks to being lucky I've gotten to see this twice.

Ok first off, if you're a fan of the books like I am you'll love it. I talked to someone who had never read them but saw a preview last week and they said it felt a bit empty which is a fair comment really as I shall explain now...

The best thing they've done is use the books as a springboard for their own take. The first half of the film is essentially the first 3 books condensed, the second half where it spins off into its own thing loses a bit of confidence on the way but essentially the core storyline between Ramona and Scott is intact.

Visually this is some truly stunning stuff. There's some amazing comic-syle flourishes which project a load of kinetic energy to the screen. Some interesting use of light too. The fight scenes are where it really comes alive though, amazing how what could have so easily been an indie mess does videogame fights so much better than videogame movies. Stylistically this all comes across like a massive blender filled with dvds. There's elements of bollywood, kung fu flicks and music videos from scene to scene.

Spoiler alert

Including a great little riff on Seinfeld!

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Castwise this is pretty much perfect. I really can't think of a duff performance at all, everyone pretty much nails their part. The 7 evil exes really ham their parts up and it works brilliantly. Chris Evans as Lucas Lee is one of the highlights of the whole film though.

Sacrifices had to be made though. Ramona herself doesn't get expanded on too much and she doesn't have the same emotional journey as Scott. Also the backstory with Scott and Kim is brushed over too, and Kim Pine herself is underused. Tonally it's all over the place and makes it a little inconsistent. As mentioned before, it loses a bit of confidence in the second half when it steps out on its own and rushes towards its own conclusion a bit.

But overall there's a brilliant rock and roll vibe to it which glides it along nicely. It's not as tight a film as either Shaun or Hot Fuzz but it has a lot more energy than both films and is more enjoyable for it. Having seen it twice so far, I'd definitely go see it again. It's the best adaptation of the original you could have hoped for and works because it's not as slavish as Sin City enough to carve out its own identity.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I couldn't get that in to the graphic novels, and I read a lot of comics so it's not as if I haven't seen this type of thing before. It was funny in places, but I found all the characters to be pretty vapid and so never got round to reading the rest. Still, they're sitting on my hard drive so I may do so one day.

That all said, I'm willing to give the movie a go as I've read a lot of really positive reviews. I watched Youth In Revolt tonight and it proved that Michael Cera can act when he wants to, and I'm hoping he'll remind me again why I loved him in AD.

[sirhenry]

Hugely enjoyed the comics, was surprised at how much of the trailer is straight from the original, and was looking forward to it being my top movie for the year.

But I just found out about The Illusionist - I'm in love.

[Glebe]

Looks a lot of fun, some quite witty lines in the trailers. Haven't read the books, but I may just check this out.

[Lyndon]

This looked dire on the trailer. I did burst out laughing at the start though as it zoomed in on Michael Cera's face and his wide-eyed innocence engulfed the screen in what seemed to be self-parody of his Bambi-channelling act. Alas not.

[SavageHedgehog]

I smiled throughout the trailer the first couple of times I saw it, but whenever I've seen it with an audience it's always gotten a notably bad reaction, even when I saw it in front of Kick-Ass, which was surely its audience.

I have to admit the usual "the film event of a generation!" hyperbole bollocks from the AICN etc. crowd have put me off this a bit, but I'll probably enjoy it if I do see it.

[j_u_d_a_s]

I smiled throughout the trailer the first couple of times I saw it, but whenever I've seen it with an audience it's always gotten a notably bad reaction, even when I saw it in front of Kick-Ass, which was surely its audience.

I have to admit the usual "the film event of a generation!" hyperbole bollocks from the AICN etc. crowd have put me off this a bit, but I'll probably enjoy it if I do see it.

Oh christ speaking of AICN, I read neckbeard-prine Harry Knowles review which made me almost punch my screen off in disgust over what he'd done to the English language.

Like I said above, I really enjoyed it but didn't love it as much as I wanted to. It's a fun film in its own right and the best that could have been done with the source material.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Oh christ speaking of AICN, I read neckbeard-prine Harry Knowles review which made me almost punch my screen off in disgust over what he'd done to the English language.

Heh, I always feel that when I read his reviews, the talkbacks are vicious as well with 75% laying in to his writing style. His review of The Expendables is another agonisingly painful piece of prose which praises it to the high heavens.

[Nik Drou]

Since we're shitting on Harry Knowles here, it'd be a good place to link to his frankly embarrassing Toy Story 3 review that says far, far more about himself than the movie.  Warning: Massive Spoilers for Toy Story 3.

Anyway, I had a hunch that Scott Pilgrim wouldn't really find an audience in the cinema.  It was going up against The Expendables, which would get a far larger share of the casual cinemagoers.  I think it'll do all right in the long term, though; I'm looking forward to seeing it.

[Artemis]

I'm not a big fan of comics so I don't particularly care how it relates to all that. It looks ok, and let's hope Michael Cera does more than his standard acting schtick this time - it's getting a bit tired. It does look interesting conceptually and visually so I'll choose it over Salt as something to watch this week.

[SavageHedgehog]

Since we're shitting on Harry Knowles here, it'd be a good place to link to his frankly embarrassing Toy Story 3 review that says far, far more about himself than the movie.  Warning: Massive Spoilers for Toy Story 3.

So the movie pissed him off basically because

Spoiler alert

he has two housefulls of action figuresand he can't understand why anyone wouldn't

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. I mean, I understand him up to a point because I also have (possibly rather silly) sentimental attachments to a lot of things

Spoiler alert

and often find the sight of kids giving toys away at car boots etc. rather sad

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but to dislike the movie on those grounds is just bizzare.

Spoiler alert

And he "loathe(s)" the concept of "giving your toys to the next generation"? Yeah, watching kids enjoying the same toys I did, it makes me sick!

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I think the film just brought forward a lot of his insecurities about his self proclaimed "geeky cool" life. Still, I guess at least he's being genuine.

Anyway, I had a hunch that Scott Pilgrim wouldn't really find an audience in the cinema.  It was going up against The Expendables, which would get a far larger share of the casual cinemagoers.  I think it'll do all right in the long term, though; I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I suspect it might do a little better over here where "from the director of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead" really means something, and we have more of a traditon of humourous comics. I also suspect it will go down well in some parts of Europe, where they might consider Pilgrim the new Asterix or something. Plus I believe the French consider Micheal Cera a genius [nb]Not really[/nb]

[MojoJojo]

I suspect it might do a little better over here where "from the director of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead" really means something, and we have more of a traditon of humourous comics. I also suspect it will go down well in some parts of Europe, where they might consider Pilgrim the new Asterix or something. Plus I believe the French consider Micheal Cera a genius [nb]Not really[/nb]

I'm not sure; one of the things that puts me off the comics[nb]I've only read the first one so far[/nb] and from the trailer looks that it's been transferred to the films is a sort of forced hipness. Almost every film Cera's been in has it a lot, but in SP it's very self-aware- it's not a bunch of dorky kids, it's a bunch of kids acting dorky cos it's funny/fashionable.

They're all too self-confident and cocky, which I don't think europeans like very much.

[sirhenry]

It sounds like I'm lucky - I'm not coming to it with any baggage about Cera as I've never seen a film with him in.

In other news, I was right. L'illusioniste is absolutely gorgeous! Probably as polarically opposed to Scott Pilgrim as possible, slow, sad, almost silent, hand drawn and painted - an exquisite epitaph to a lost world.

[Phil_A]

It sounds like I'm lucky - I'm not coming to it with any baggage about Cera as I've never seen a film with him in.

In other news, I was right. L'illusioniste is absolutely gorgeous! Probably as polarically opposed to Scott Pilgrim as possible, slow, sad, almost silent, hand drawn and painted - an exquisite epitaph to a lost world.

Now there's a film I really want to see, but according to Cineworld's website it's currently only showing on two of their screens, both in Scotland. Hopefully it will get a wider release.

[Funcrusher]

I really need to ditch my Cineworld pass. They rarely show anything I want to see these days.

[Marty McFly]

Just got back from the cinema. Mind blown. This is based on the film alone, because I haven't yet read the comics, but now obviously I do plan to.

Of course, if you're not a videogame/movie/pop culture geek, or you don't enjoy Michael Cera, it will not be your cup of (sleepy) tea. I was expecting something a little more, shall we say, mainstream? And I can understand why it hasn't done as well as expected in the USA, because it's definitely an acquired taste.

The cast is flawless, and the performances are all in that deadpan 'yeah, we know this is totally ridiculous' way. Special mention has to go to Chris Evans (no, not that one) as Lucas Lee, who nearly stole the film, I don't think I laughed harder at any other bit.

For what it's worth the cinema I was in was almost totally packed out and there did seem to be a lot of laughs, so fingers crossed the film will do better over here, though I would imagine a lot of people expecting another Shaun/Hot Fuzz will come out rather confused.

[Penfold]

saw it, loved it.

I was always going to though.

I still wish Michael Cera was capable of grinning as Scott's big daft grinning face is one of my favourite things from the books.

[Jack Shaftoe]

Just seen it. Spent the first twenty minutes thinking 'hmm', then really got into it after that. I loved the books though, and the three people I was with have never read the books and loved the film from the start, so I reckon that's partly me reconciling the two versions in my head. Although Wright's need to have every scene have whistles and clangs and augmented text is a bit much - would have preferred the non-fight scenes to feel more realistic, so you knew what rules were in play at what moment so to speak. When it doesn't work, it's exactly like that bit in Spaced with the Matrix fight that was just confusing and sort of 'off' tonally - but when it does work (which is the other two thirds) it's lovely and funny and properly thrilling.

Lots of great lines that weren't in the comic though, and yet very much in the right spirit, so that was nice.

[Glebe]

I started off not being terrible interested in this (it does look aimed at the teen/early 20-something crowd), but having seen the trailers, I'm sold. Haven't even seen it yet, but the apparrent wit, inventiveness and sheer feelgood energy it seems to contain makes me sad it flopped stateside. Plus, it features Frank Black's I Heard Ramona Sing! Just watched Kick Ass the other night (very funny and quite violent), it references the Scott Pilgrim books at one point.

[madhair60]

I've read the comics many times and I enjoyed the film very much, which surprised me.  However, I did think it went a little overboard with the videogame effects in the last twenty minutes.  It was almost embarrassingly overt at times.

[Marv Orange]

Thanks to being lucky I've gotten to see this twice.

I talked to someone who had never read them but saw a preview last week and they said it felt a bit empty

This is what I went away with. I had seen the trailers and it looked like an interesting watch but the film felt soulless. Style over substance unfortunately. I hate the shoegazing gen x'er zooey deschanel style of acting that cera employs in this. Make me care.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Just saw this and absolutely loved it.

It's not perfect. I didn't really feel all that invested in the central relationship between Scott and Ramona. Frankly, she didn't seem worth all the bother

Spoiler alert

and I was actually rooting for him to get back together with Knives

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. Also, I don't know if it's just the typecasting, but I didn't buy Scott as any sort of ladykiller type. And Coke Zero can fuck off.

So it's style over substance, then. However, when the style is this exhilarating, I can forgive that. It's the most straightforwardly fun film I've seen in ages. The supporting cast are pitch perfect (with Kieran Culkin and Brandon Routh being the two standouts, I thought) and for once the fights seemed well choreographed and shot without loads of crappy shakycam and choppy editing. It reminded me a lot of Kung Fu Hustle - to which the fight against the Japanese twins seemed to be a direct nod. There's so much energy coursing through it and love for comics, games and, in Wright's case, making films, that I can't agree with the criticisms of it lacking heart. Its heart is just in a different place, is all.

[MojoJojo]

I did enjoy this... but it definitely is a bit hollow. The core of the problem, is, I think, that Scott doesn't develop as a character throughout the film at all. He learns nothing. I don't expect every story to be Apocalypse Now, but without some sort of character development, it's just a bunch of random stuff that happened. About the only character who showed any development was Knives. It also didn't help that Ramona didn't come across as very attractive, and it never really felt that he was in love/infatuated enough to justify getting in all those fights.

I'm glad that managed to cut it down to manageable length, instead of going in for the 2hour plus runtime that many films seem to do these days.

Spoiler alert

From what I've heard, in the comics, Gideon's hold over Ramona comes because he found a subspace door into her head much like Ramona did into Scott's. This adds a bit of meaning - Scott is infatuated with Ramona because she got into her head, Ramona is infatuated with Gideon becaue he got into hers. Scott eventually wins because he has more than just infatuation by the end of the film. Of course, I haven't read the last three books yet, so this might all be bollocks.

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I should perhaps make clear that I did enjoy it a lot, and I might watch it again this weekend.

[sirhenry]

Just saw this and absolutely loved it.
So it's style over substance, then. However, when the style is this exhilarating, I can forgive that. It's the most straightforwardly fun film I've seen in ages.

And Coke Zero can fuck off.

My review, prewritten. Cheers Claude.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I did enjoy this... but it definitely is a bit hollow. The core of the problem, is, I think, that Scott doesn't develop as a character throughout the film at all... It also didn't help that Ramona didn't come across as very attractive, and it never really felt that he was in love/infatuated enough to justify getting in all those fights.

I don't know, actually. Upon reflection, I think there may be a bit more substance to it than I initially thought (though still not necessarily a massive amount). He spends the film being clobbered and criticised because he thinks his infatuation is worth it, but in the end it proves to be inadequate. It's not until he gains the power of self respect that he prevails and even then it's less an ending and more an uncertain beginning (shades of The Graduate there) as represented by the "Continue" countdown.

I'd still agree that the infatuation wasn't portrayed all that well (and I certainly didn't realise that the "Subspace" line was supposed to be anything more than a throwaway quip). However, you could say that it is deliberate choice, to show how silly his crush on her is. That would contradict what I've read about Scott being an unreliable first person narrator, though.

[MojoJojo]

I don't know, actually. Upon reflection, I think there may be a bit more substance to it than I initially thought (though still not necessarily a massive amount). He spends the film being clobbered and criticised because he thinks his infatuation is worth it, but in the end it proves to be inadequate. It's not until he gains the power of self respect that he prevails and even then it's less an ending and more an uncertain beginning (shades of The Graduate there) as represented by the "Continue" countdown.

Well, on the only viewing I've had...

Spoiler alert

him pulling out the self respect sword instead of the love sword was just a label - there didn't seem to be any linking of that with anything he'd learnt. He could of just of easily have pulled Excaliber or "Respect for women" sword out of his chest and it would have made as much sense. Again, if Gideon has got Ramona infatuated with him through going into her head like Ramona got into Scott's, you could pull a sort of sense together from it - in learning that Ramona has been degraded in the same way he has, he can accept it and reclaim his self-respect. I suspect I'm wriitng an ending to the comics which isn't actually there though. I should probably read the rest of them to stop myself doing that.

Yeah, I was surprised by how thoroughly the subspace stuff was crammed into a tiny little corner. It's one of the weirder, more interesting parts of the comic. If there was something the film could have done with from the comics that was cut, it's either bringing back the subspace stuff or Ramona's fight with N.V. - which would have given her a desperately needed bit of personality.

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[Icehaven]

I really really enjoyed it, and I wasn't expecting to after seeing the trailer, which made it look a bit corny and OTT. Trailers really can do more harm than good. Anyway, I agree with points above about not really being too bothered about the central plot, I just thought it looked fantastic and the pace and mood made it great fun. I've never read the books but I read a lot of graphic novels/comics, so suppose I was already halfway there on the style.

[thugler]

It was okay. I felt a little confused as to why they had made it into a film though. The spinny flashy fight scenes bored me, as they usually do. While the rest was fine, I couldn't really see anything that great about it. Maybe a cartoon would've been better. The cast and jokes and everything were good. It just felt a bit hollow after an hour and a half or whatever. I think the problem was perhaps that I didn't particularly like the flashy comic book fantasy stuff, even though the video games stuff would seem right up my street.

[Vitalstatistix]

The problem for me was the central relationship was a pair 'a knobs. Plus everyone was far too cool, confident and sexy for the characters to have any genuine geeky resonance. How can I sympathise with Cera's character, every female in the film is throwing herself at him! Also, the fight scenes were boring.

On the other hand, there were some great laughs, some tight, inventive direction and absorbing visual set pieces. Overall, about what I expected. If Cera doesn't start playing some different characters soon my patience WILL RUN OUT CERA

[Famous Mortimer]

The reviewers over at the AV Club tried to argue that the central relationship was meant to be unimportant, that the real story was Scott coming of age. I don't agree with that, particularly since he doesn't really change from the beginning of the film to the end. He

Spoiler alert

breaks up with Knives

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fairly early on, which could be seen as the most mature thing he does all the way through.

I laughed at times, and thought it was alright, but it was nowhere near as good as it could have been.

I'll give an example of something minor which narked me a bit. The fight scenes. It seems fairly obvious that they're computer game fight scenes...but they're all filmed in tight close-up, so you can't really see what's going on. No computer game has fight scenes like that, and as big a fan of them as Wright is, he must have realised that. Anyway.

I liked it, like I said, but there was something missing about it for me, that I couldn't put my finger on.