Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Movie Review - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - ****



Directed by: Edgar Wright

Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anna Kendrick, Kieren Culkin, Jason Schartzman, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh

Review: Why do they always make alt/hipster girls in movies so irresistible?  I suppose in the cases where that happens, there wouldn't be much of a movie if they weren't (see: '500 Days of Summer').  In this case, there wouldn't be a movie at all if she weren't as the whole movie is based on the idea of one irresistible dream girl who is still sought after by every ex in her past, no matter how evil they might be.

In the case of Scott Pilgrim, in order to win the affection of Ramona he will have to defeat all of her evil exes, of which there are seven ("Seven? Yes, seven").  We know from advertising that this is the basis of the movie, but obviously Scott Pilgrim has no idea that this will have to happen.  Scott, as played as only someone like Michael Cera can play him, spots Ramona at a party and instantly wants to know everything about her.  The more he finds out, the more he wants to know, the more he wants to date this irresistible girl with the pink hair (it might actually be more maroon, but that's beside the point).


Once Scott finally asks out Ramona the courtship begins and unfortunately for Scott, so does the weirdness.  After fighting off the first evil ex Scott and Ramona have a talk about what exactly is happening.  This is where Ramona explains what happened with her exes and since they are dating Scott he will have to fight all of them, which is awesome cause that means he and Ramona are dating.  However, after Scott goes through a couple exes, he is not as excited as he once was.

Despite the revelation and taxing nature of fighting through 7 evil exes, Scott continues with his desire for a relationship with Ramona.  This is where the movie justs gets nuts, in a good way.  From here on out the movie is chock full of explosive awesomeness.  Perhaps you have to be a dork/nerd to appreciate, I am not sure (since I am one, it's hard to tell if it's a prerequisite) but the fight scenes are incredible.  The movie is based on a series of graphic novels by the same name and therefore takes a very comic book like style.  Done incorrectly, this can be distracting.  If the director tries to make it a true movie, but installs comic book elements, it usually detracts from the overall experience.  However, if a director completely embraces the style you end up with something great and original like Scott Pilgrim.  I assure you, no matter how many movies you've seen or comic books you've read or video games you've played, you've never seen anything quite like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

What makes the movie great is that beneath all the surface level coolness and fight scenes, there is a very sharply written script and well acted film.  Every actor nails each of their characters and is note perfect with their delivery of each of their lines.  There is also a solid storyline with some depth to it.  It is fun and flashy to try and defeat all of these evil exes, but it's the underneath that makes it so poignent.  Who has not been haunted by a past relationship?  Who has not been haunted by relationship mistakes and had to find a way to get over them?  Most of us have and have had to deal with that in our current or future relationships, and that is not easy.  It's a difficult prospect to deal with having to overcome such things, but the crux of this movie is that you can get past your past, but you have to get past yourself first.  Past issues are not all about them, you have to look inside yourself to truly move on, and that's what this movie is about.

I haven't had this much fun watching a movie in a long time and I would say that it is definitely worth your time.

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