Edgar Wright’s long awaited adaptation of the much loved Scott Pilgrim graphic novels arrives in the UK today and at long last we can finally review it!After Inception, I think its fair to say that Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World has been the most anticipated film of the summer here at Casa de Eatsleeplivefilm as it has been at a great many other movie websites. Director Edgar Wright’s first American feature after having great success with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the build up to the film has been hot on the film blogosphere and arguably climaxed a few weekends ago with its multiple free showings at Comic-Con. These screenings only helped build the buzz but in yet another case of film website hyping, this buzz came to pretty much nothing when the film opened at the #5 spot in the US box office chart, making at $10 million around half what most box office predictions had figured. Is this a question of the quality of the film itself? Is it maybe not the great white hype that so many have already talked it up as being?
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a 23 year old slacker with no job, no real ambition but a varied love life and as the film starts, he is dating 17 year old Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), much to the displeasure of roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin), sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick) and bandmate Kim (Alison Pill). However, Scott’s attentions soon change when literal girl of his dreams Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) enters his life, causing Scott to ignore Knives’ increasing affection and instead chase her. Upon doing so though, Scott learns that if he is to have a chance with Ramona, he must defeat her 7 evil exes, including actor Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), Vegan band member Todd (Brandon Routh) and record label owner Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman).
Much talk on the net has been the reasoning behind why Scott Pilgrim has done so badly in the US but you can tell straight from the start just how this film could well have had trouble connecting with audiences. Opening with an 8-bit NES styled version of the Universal logo (which had people in my screening audibly weirded out) before launching into comic like text on screen, both in exposition and onomatopoeic describing of sounds and then launching into an opening credits sequence full of bright colours and bassy sounds, the film takes on a look and feel virtually all of its own and I think this alone could turn many people off. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is one of the most visually dynamic films I have literally ever seen, and in being so it reminded me of another film that was a flop with cinema audiences, Speed Racer. I think this comparison is apt, both films take a lot of glee with being surreal with its look but also its editing. Pilgrim will jump from scene to scene, mid-dialogue and the sheer non-chalance with which this is done requires the audience to both pay attention but also prepare for *hyperbole alert* a new kind of cinematic language as Wright moves his visual storytelling up a level to create something that feels genuinely new. It is fresh, it is exciting but for those who aren’t expecting it, or those who don’t want to submit to it, the film is going to come off as goofy, annoying maybe even slapdash in its construction. And if you think that, then *hyperbole alert number 2*, I don’t think you can claim to be a fan of new cinema. I have read this said before but agree entirely that this is the type of film that will inspire 12-24 year olds all over the world to take a plunge into the world of filmmaking and for that Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World truly is a gift.
As well as all this though, the film does just look very fucking cool. The battle sequences are perhaps the most engaging of the film and I can’t imagine how long it took to put them together. While Wright obviously took much from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s books, he also changes some things up, most notably in a battle late on when instead of the slightly more traditional (although it did include robots) fight, we get a literal sound clash where in a Battle of the Bands contest, Pilgrim’s band Sex Bob-omb create sound monsters to do battle with another monster created by a whole wall of amps. Its odd, it again will put people off but if you are open to it, its one of the most stimulating sequences you are likely to see in any film this year. As Wright had not seen the last volume of the book while making the film, he also had to create the final battle, along with co-screenwriter Michael Bacall, and while it takes an understandably less meta-physical approach than the finished book, what we have on screen makes sense in terms of how the film’s world has been set up and is exciting if maybe more traditional, flaming sword aside, than any of the battles that have come before. Overall though, Wright also knocks the film’s action out of the park and along with the video game styled look, creates scenes that will have you pumping your fist in the best way.
Saying all this it almost feels mean to point out some of the film’s misgivings and my score at the bottom of this review reflects how much I think the positives outweigh the negatives but there are some problems here and they all come in the traditional storytelling aspects of the film. Now, condensing 6 graphic novels down into a 112 minute film is always going to be a challenge, and especially when having the fight scenes is required by the very essence of the plot but this does have a detrimental effect on character. I have read all the graphic novels, and I am incredibly fond of them so for a newbie, this may not be a problem but for me, Scott and Ramona’s relationship feels very rushed. There is a hell of a lot more detail in the books as is expected but even in filmmaking terms, the two hook up very fast and kind of against what we have seen thus far and once they are together, the film focuses less on them and more on the fighting. The thread of Scott’s increasing discomfort with all the “baggage” is still there, but Ramona gets short shrift and comes off as more of a bitch than she ever did in the comics. There is a funny, made for the film, reason for this that essentially acts as a deus ex machina but it does also feel like a cheat. Evil ex’s aside, the relationship between Scott and Ramona is built on real, universally felt emotion and this is one of the reasons why it’s so relatable, but by having this certain device, the effect is certainly lessened.
While obviously a way of cutting down the screenplay, it would also be nice to see a longer cut with more of the characters surrounding Scott. One entire ex of Scott’s is cut out, and this is not really missed in terms of the film’s feel, but Kim gets short shrift here. My favourite character in the books, Kim essentially comes up with pithy one-liners in the film and we get barely a sense of the heartache felt by her as she still tries to resolve her feelings for Scott, her own ex, and while this is mentioned and also resolved in the space of a few lines, in the film this actually made my audience laugh and this feels like a great disrespect done to her character and while Alison Pill plays her pitch perfect throughout, I wanted more. There are also moments with Young Neil (Johnny Simmons) and Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) that are also very much missed and overall its a good thing that I wanted to live in this universe for longer, but the film as a whole just does not compare to the emotional, fully fleshed out world created by the book.
Michael Cera has been a huge talking point for this film pre-release, with many feeling burnt out on him and others worried about just what he would do with the character, but for my money he plays it well. Scott is a guy who is completely wrapped up in himself, to the detriment of those around him and Cera is able to do this very easily, and when it comes to the ass kicking he looks good in doing it and it’s certainly not the “same role that he always plays”. His stuttering over words and being seemingly self-conscious is all involved in the character of Scott, he is a dick, but he’s also someone who grows through the film and on an emotional level Cera does pull this off. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is all hair and eyes and is very cute, easily living up to the girl of Scott’s dreams and when she is required to play more damaged, she does so well. Her character is again slightly hurt by the screenplay but she hits the nail on the head. Kieran Culkin reinvents himself to play cool and suave and gets some of the film’s funniest moments, Mark Webber’s sheer sincerity impresses and made me laugh a lot, and as said before Alison Pill’s sardonic line delivery is perfect but much talk should go to the evil ex’s. Satya Bhabha gives good Bollywood and also has a nice sense of comic timing as Matthew Patel, Chris Evans dominates his scene as Lucas Lee, going all Christian Bale with his voice and also posing an intense physical threat, Brandon Routh plays otherworldly with ease obviously relishing the chance to chew on some very odd dialogue, Mae Whitman’s ferocity perfectly matches her comic counterpart, Keita Saitou and Shota Saito essentially stand and look very cool as they unleash sonic monsters and as the Big Bad, Jason Schwartzman is almost heroically douchey as Gideon Gordon Graves and very much lives up to being the last bad guy of the film. The ex’s all do terrific jobs and manage to combine well to not quite overwhelm the film while also making a great impression.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is without a doubt a special film. It’s not exactly the second coming that many of those who saw it (in very favourable circumstances) at Comic-Con, but it is a real marvel. One of the most impressive efforts of visual filmmaking seen in years, creating some exciting possibilites for the future, but also being engaging on a more emotional level, while it can’t quite match up to the close to perfect feel I get from the books, it remains a landmark film of 2010 and kicks off Edgar Wright’s Hollywood career in an astounding way. Go reward Wright and all involved in making it and have a blast.
9/10
