As summer draws to a close and school is close to beginning again, teenagers make good with their last days of freedom by watching films that have so much appeal for them but little for anyone else. Recently, cinemas have seen Piranha 3D, which appeals to the teenage need for gratuitous nudity and gore, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which caters to those obsessed with video games, rock music and sex.
Several superhero movies, adapted from the most famous comics, have been making a presence on the big screen in recent years, such as The Dark Knight and Iron Man. However, superhero comics are not the only comics available, so comic book movies about superheroes are not the only comic book movies available. Scott Pilgrim vs The World is based on a series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley, and while it may not be a superhero story, it has the action and strangeness associated with that genre.
A League of Evil Exes
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is an awkward young man in his early twenties who plays with the nerdy band ‘Sex Bob-omb’. While he has been having a ‘fake girlfriend’ in Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), he finds himself falling in love with a girl he has seen in his dreams: the mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Unfortunately, there’s a challenge Pilgrim has to overcome before Ramona can be his; Ramona has ‘seven evil exes’ who have formed a league and are all out for Scott’s blood. All seven of them must be defeated.
While the story may be interesting in its own surreal way, it is, sadly, the type of story that works better in a comic than on film. Bizarre moments like a giant yeti fighting twin dragons in a battle of the bands, or a flamboyant warlock with attractive demon sidekicks are more forgivable in the colourful pages in a comic, but not really in a live action film. Most comic book movies alter the source material to work better on screen – Watchmen has no mutant squid and the Joker wears makeup – but Scott Pilgrim’s story will bewilder and confuse those who haven’t read the comic. The entertainment from this movie, however, mostly comes from wondering what magical powers Scott will go up against next.
The comic book sensibilities also mean that the movie’s story feels too episodic. There are loads of characters, but, especially with the breakneck pace the story moves at, they all feel underdeveloped and stale. If Scott Pilgrim were to be adapted, an animated mini-series may have been more appropriate than live action film.
A Mad World
Scott Pilgrim’s world is one that is revealed through style, which includes floating text similar to BBC’s Sherlock, video game scores and awards, and artistic backdrops. These stylistic touches are meant to celebrate the movie’s comic book origins and differentiate it from what else is showing, but it ends up being a mixed bag. Sometimes they are effective, like when Scott and Ramona are walking together in a snowy field shrouded by darkness, and Scott is given a warning about Ramona, sometimes they are unnecessary, like when the evil exes explode into a shower of coins, and sometimes they elicit eye-rolling, like when Scott urinates and a bar appears measuring how much he has urinated.
There are several characters in the movie, so there would be several performances to judge if the characters didn’t come and leave so quickly. Michael Cera doesn’t impress in the title role, giving his character a whiny voice that is occasionally funny, but is mostly annoying. His fellow band members are more entertaining to watch, except for Alison Pill, who is full of forced cynicism. The main females of the story, Wong and Winstead, are fine in their roles, but Kieran Culkin, as Scott’s roommate who strangely looks like Nick Griffin, is an intolerable person. All of the seven evil exes are gleefully over the top, and, combined with their strange special effects, help keep the film entertaining.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has been called ‘Twilight for boys,’ and it is not hard to see why. Like Twilight was a flat story that catered to teenage girl’s need for sentimental romance and attractive vampires, Scott Pilgrim is a flat story catering to teenage boy’s need for video games and sexual fantasies. Teenage boys will love this movie, but while their parents may find amusement in the joyful surreality, they will be unfulfilled.
* Scott Pilgrim vs the World
* Starring Michael Cera
* Written by Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright
* Directed by Edgar Wright
* Running time: 112 minutes
3/5
Gareth Barsby - I am a recent graduate and aspiring writer with a love of movies and a lot of drive. I specialise in reviewing film and television, but am ...
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