Scott Pilgrim vs The World review

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

This latest offering from director Edgar Wright takes the phrase ‘Smash Hit’ to a whole new dimension. Writing this review moments after viewing the movie I find I must refrain from the over-arching compulsion to use vocabulary such as ‘kick-ass’ and ‘awesome’ to sum up a film that has not only pushed the boundaries of existing genre conventions, but has created it’s own category entirely. This energetic and insanely enthusiastic comic book adaptation has ambition and gusto in bucket loads from the get go. The story is simple: 22 year old mild mannered musician Scott Pilgrim falls in love with flame haired sarcastic temptress Ramona Flowers, but soon discovers that she carries with her some pretty hefty baggage. Ramona’s past comes back to haunt her in the form of seven ‘evil exes’. Scott must defeat each and every one of these foes to win Ramona’s heart. Sound a little far fetched? I must have forgotten to mention, Scott lives in a world where the physical boundaries echo that of your average video game. From the opening scene, the film firmly establishes itself in this computer generated microcosm, allowing the audience to feel as if they are watching a vintage Nintendo platformer; turning characters into players and the screen into a console. Gamers the world over will recognize and appreciate the level of effort involved in maintaining this level of video game detail in each and every scene. Pilgrim’s weird and wonderful computer-driven world has every element of your standard game: different levels, tokens, power-ups, combat bonuses and even each conquered foe bursting into rewarding gold coins upon defeat. Teaming a grunge rock score with fast paced comic book style editing, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is your ultimate geek-fest turned ‘super cool’. Each character is introduced with a text box appearing on screen, detailing their name, age and ranking. This spells just the beginning of a host of visual spectacles detaching the viewer from any sort of semblance of normality as we know it. Instead of following in the footsteps of time honoured Hollywood tradition, Scott Pilgrim brings a cartoonish edge to the big screen, firmly slapping the collective face of the audience in every cell and frame, breaking out of the bubble of film realism in favour of an incredibly daring and original approach to cinematography and post-production. We are taken on an action-packed journey following Scott’s romantic endeavor to get the girl. Jumping from location to location in a palpably dreamlike manner, opening doors to rooms that were once not there in a progressively swift and free-flowing fashion gives the film an interesting rhythm that is both fluid and stilted.

As each new evil ex crashes onto our screens, they become opponents in KO style combat. These fight mode scenes and the characters featured in them will of course seem entirely melodramatic and farcical if you choose to ignore the world in which they have been created. It must be said that the first time one of these sword-wealding maniacs bursts into frame they do indeed seem completely out of place, even in a world of make-believe such as this. (OK, granted the singing emo wizard pirate guy and his demon chick army was a little OTT) However, with six more to come, these events become absolute commonplace in a rather surreal environment. Instead, what you’ll find more alarming if the fact that wimpy Canadian Michael Cera actually manages to hold his own in brutal hand to hand combat!(Think Street Fighter meets Pokemon) Every teenagers dream, these fight scenes reflect more likely how well Scott would play them. The biggest hint of this imaginative mind-play being his immense capacity to survive being hurled through various brick walls and then proceeding to get right back up again and play some ‘gnarly’ riffs on his bass guitar. One can indeed entertain the thought that a large portion of the films plotline is occurring within the protagonists mind.

What makes all of this nonsense work, it the fact the film is incredibly self- aware. The script is expertly woven with tongue-in-cheek indications of the writer’s reflexivity. When bleeping out one characters swear words with a censorship box, Cera asks; ‘How are you doing that with your mouth?’.

Credit where credit’s due, Michael Cera demonstrates his trademark comic timing with minimalistic sarcasm and delivers every line with charming naivety. Cera lends to the phrase ‘The Meek will Inherit the Earth’ a poetic validity in his performance, creating a lovable yet nerdish and goofy protagonist who spends the majority of the film kicking some evil butt.

Overall I would say this is an incredibly creative film that re-establishes the point of absurdity. If you can see the dramatics of the constant evil glares and whiplash-inducing head turns as humorous rather than serious and really immerse yourself in this brave new world, you really will get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Scott pilgrim has just the right amount of randomness mixed with recognizable references to popular culture that audiences will no doubt appreciate from even before the film begins. I was pleasantly surprised to see the internationally familiar Universal Pictures logo hijacked and replaced by dodgy graphics and Super Mario style effect on it’s booming theme music. This let me know I was in for something special; something different. Not just your average regurgitated three-act structure, Scott Pilgrim should be celebrated for innovative and productive film-making. In an otherwise dreary world, that has arguably begun to grow a little bored of cinematic convention and predicable storylines, these tiny intricate touches serve to render this film an absolute breath of fresh air.

Review by Dale Barnett