Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

If you thought you’d seen everything that Hollywood has to offer, think again. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World dishes up a style of film that is truly unique and a one-of-a-kind, with a tribute to just about every 1980′s video game out there, toss in a love-story, and you’ve got yourself a film that is quite an experience. As with everything that is a one off, however, it’s not something that everyone will enjoy and just like a new toy, this film is fun in the beginning but soon loses it’s appeal.

Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is still mourning after a break up and is trying to ease the pain by dating a high school girl (Wong). When he comes across Ramona (Winstead), first in a dream then at a party, he knows he has met his soul mate. Problem is this: she has a League of Evil Exes that he must defeat in order to date her.

Even knowing that this film is based on a graphic novel can’t prepare you for the ride this film takes you on. It doesn’t waste any time in getting into the thick of things and we quickly meet the first ex. While there are rather blunt hints at the video game influence in the opening moments of the film, when the first fight scene hits, it is still quite a surprise to see the direction of the film. When you break the story down to it’s basic elements, it is quite a traditional love story, but you have to do a lot of breaking down to get there. It is well written and well acted, but the problem is that it is too much of the same thing throughout the film. It quickly loses its luster and charm and just plain gets old by the time the film ends.

Michael Cera, most known for his role in Superbad basically picks up where he left off from that film, playing the same type of character. Having said that, he delivers his lines with ease and impeccable timing and is a great pairing with Mary Elizabeth Winstead who plays her part quite well. The one who stole the show was Kieran Culkin. Yes, he is the brother of Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, but he clearly got the acting skills of the family. He handles his lines with skill and ease, with a surprising talent for comedy. I would like to have seen more of Chis Evans, as his character was pretty intriguing.

The cinematography for this film is both the good and the bad on this film. As I have mentioned, there is a very strong influence of 80′s video games with this film, with the many fight scenes being based on those games, from the quirky sound effects to the bad exploding into coins when they are dead. After the first battle, you can’t help but smile at how cool it all looks, but after the seventh fight scene has been forced on to your senses, you are over it and ready for another surprising element that never comes. Not saying it isn’t cool, but it just becomes too much by the end of the film.

Scott Pilgrim is a fun film that is very well written with some laugh out loud moments. It shows off a whole new style of action film but ultimately the shiny new toy loses its giddy up and you find yourself looking for something new to hold your attention