This trailer was taken from: “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” Trailer 2 HD (Video). June 22, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_RrNCqCIPE
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Written By: Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall
Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a hard film to describe. Its part romantic comedy, its part comic book adaptation action film and part love letter to video games. Overall it’s perhaps the strangest and most visually out of control and exciting film I have seen all year.
Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim, a 20 something slacker who falls for Romana Flowers an Amazon delivery girl who changes her hair colour every week. In order to go out wit her however he must defeat her seven evil ex boyfriends (and girlfriend)
Let the gloriously over the top video game stylized battles ensue…
The best part of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is its visuals; the film is one of the most visually exciting and inventive films I have seen all year. It ultimately mimic’s the visual style of a video game, hit combos, points gained etc. all pop up on the screen in the style of a video game. There is no other way to describe the visual style of this other than…video game. There are countless visual details that cannot all be fully appreciated and understood on one viewing with the visuals being uncompromising in their speed and invention. The special effects are also well done with the films fight scenes fully displaying them.
Edgar Wright is without a doubt one of my favourite directors, with his previous two films Shan of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being two of my favourite films of all time. With this he shows again why he is such a visually gifted, talented and exciting director who can clearly deliver films that on the visuals alone warrant multiple viewings in order to see what subtleties lie within. While I do not think this film is as good as his previous, it still demonstrates what a talent he is and I hope this film helps launch his career.
In terms of references (something Wright is famous for) this film riffs on the clichés of video games, music, films, comic books and even a particular TV show. If you are a fan of any of those then there are things within Scott Pilgrim that you will appreciate and enjoy. In terms of performances Cera is fine in the leading role although he does nothing he hasn’t done before, the stars of the film however are the evil exes. Chris Evans is fantastic as Lucas Lee; Brandon Routh is also amusing as the bass-playing vegan with super powers while Jason Schwartzman is fantastic as the sleazy Gideon.
This film is quite crazy and all over the place, this quirky and wacky aspect of the films visuals and narrative both work to the films favour and work against it. Sometimes elements of the film can become a bit numbing, the final fight scene is drawn out slightly to long and some of the films quirkiness might be a bit to wacky and offbeat for some people. It is a film that is without a doubt an acquired taste. It takes a while to get going and I think could definitely have lost some of its running time. While this is not a film that should be judged on terms of substance, after almost two hours you don’t really feel like you know these characters, more that you just had fun spending time with them. The lack of any real substance and the films quirky out of control narrative and visual style may off put many people.
Ultimately Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a film I enjoyed, mainly for its fantastic visuals, good performances, sense of fun and I appreciated all its references and jokes. I do not think it is perfect by any means and as I mentioned it does have its flaws but overall is a film I enjoyed but I realize its not for everyone but contains some elements that I loved and some I could do without. A mixed bag, but an incredibly enjoyable, well made and well acted mixed bag with great fun details for all the video game geeks out there.
One Sentence Summary: Visual invention and good performances help this quirky film overcome some of its flaws to be one of the more enjoyable films of this year.
Rating: 7+/10
Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim, a 20 something slacker who falls for Romana Flowers an Amazon delivery girl who changes her hair colour every week. In order to go out wit her however he must defeat her seven evil ex boyfriends (and girlfriend)
Let the gloriously over the top video game stylized battles ensue…
The best part of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is its visuals; the film is one of the most visually exciting and inventive films I have seen all year. It ultimately mimic’s the visual style of a video game, hit combos, points gained etc. all pop up on the screen in the style of a video game. There is no other way to describe the visual style of this other than…video game. There are countless visual details that cannot all be fully appreciated and understood on one viewing with the visuals being uncompromising in their speed and invention. The special effects are also well done with the films fight scenes fully displaying them.
Edgar Wright is without a doubt one of my favourite directors, with his previous two films Shan of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being two of my favourite films of all time. With this he shows again why he is such a visually gifted, talented and exciting director who can clearly deliver films that on the visuals alone warrant multiple viewings in order to see what subtleties lie within. While I do not think this film is as good as his previous, it still demonstrates what a talent he is and I hope this film helps launch his career.
In terms of references (something Wright is famous for) this film riffs on the clichés of video games, music, films, comic books and even a particular TV show. If you are a fan of any of those then there are things within Scott Pilgrim that you will appreciate and enjoy. In terms of performances Cera is fine in the leading role although he does nothing he hasn’t done before, the stars of the film however are the evil exes. Chris Evans is fantastic as Lucas Lee; Brandon Routh is also amusing as the bass-playing vegan with super powers while Jason Schwartzman is fantastic as the sleazy Gideon.
This film is quite crazy and all over the place, this quirky and wacky aspect of the films visuals and narrative both work to the films favour and work against it. Sometimes elements of the film can become a bit numbing, the final fight scene is drawn out slightly to long and some of the films quirkiness might be a bit to wacky and offbeat for some people. It is a film that is without a doubt an acquired taste. It takes a while to get going and I think could definitely have lost some of its running time. While this is not a film that should be judged on terms of substance, after almost two hours you don’t really feel like you know these characters, more that you just had fun spending time with them. The lack of any real substance and the films quirky out of control narrative and visual style may off put many people.
Ultimately Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a film I enjoyed, mainly for its fantastic visuals, good performances, sense of fun and I appreciated all its references and jokes. I do not think it is perfect by any means and as I mentioned it does have its flaws but overall is a film I enjoyed but I realize its not for everyone but contains some elements that I loved and some I could do without. A mixed bag, but an incredibly enjoyable, well made and well acted mixed bag with great fun details for all the video game geeks out there.
One Sentence Summary: Visual invention and good performances help this quirky film overcome some of its flaws to be one of the more enjoyable films of this year.
Rating: 7+/10
