Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) Reviews

• A Delightfully Offbeat Comic Book Comedy

  williampsamuel2015-01-15

  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is probably as close as we'll come to having an experimental film released in theaters nationwide. This is one of the most innovative, original movies to come out in years. It's unlike anything I'd seen before. And yes, it is good, very good. I could not stop laughing the whole time. Onto the plot. Scott is something of a loser. He's socially awkward. He shares a mattress in a bunker-like apartment in Toronto with a sarcastic gossip king. He's in a band called the Sex Bob-Ombs, but they're really not that great. He also has a clinging, hyperactive girlfriend, "Knives" who's only 17- kind of a big deal when he's 22. All this changes when he dreams of a purple haired girl on roller blades. The very next day he finds out that she's real; that her name is Ramona flowers and she's the cool new girl in town. His first attempt to hook up fails miserably. His second attempt, although even more lamed brained, actually works, and they're soon an item. But now comes the bad news; to win her love, Scott must defeat her seven evil ex's. He also has an evil ex of his own. Plus, there's the matter of breaking up with Knives, and the battle of the bands is coming up! That's the setup, what follows is a hilarious romantic comedy punctuated by a series of completely over-the-top video game style fight scenes. Stylistically, I'd have to call them a cross between Sin City, Street Fighter and Viewtiful Joe. Each of the ex's has their own unique fighting style and their own super powers, such as vegan-powered telekinesis or summoning an army of stunt doubles. Often you hear martial arts movies criticized because the action is obviously computer aided. Here, that's the whole point. The movie's humor comes not only from the sheer ridiculousness of the situations, but also from the characters' reactions to them. After one of the ex's has flown in through a brick wall and battled Scott in the middle of a concert, everyone is just kind of weirded out. They don't act like nothing has happened, which would make it hard for the audience to suspend their disbelief, nor do they run screaming for the police, which would only complicate matters. Comedic effect is also generated through the use of deadpan dialog. For instance, when Knives confesses that she's never kissed a boy before, Scott replies, with a straight face "It's okay, neither have I." Or the band's self-introduction, "We're the Sex Bob-Ombs and we're here to make you all sad and depressed and stuff. The movie also pokes gentle fun at hipster subculture with the way that Ramona has thirty plus flavors of tea, or how Scott's roommate is always texting. There are also quirky touches like one girl who can bleep herself out, much to Scott's amazement, and a scene when the intro from Seinfeld plays after the characters enter the apartment, and canned laughter follows every line. The editing and structure are highly non-traditional, with heavy use of dreams, daydreams, montages, animated flashbacks and asides, and chapter titles introducing segments. The visuals are impressive and very imaginative, such as the way that flashes of color accompany the playing of any musical instrument, allowing you to see the sound. Speaking of which, the sound is another high point, not only the energetic, rock fueled sound track, but also the sound effects taken from classic games like Mario and Zelda. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World succeeds in telling an offbeat story, providing interesting characters, and in producing lots of laughs. Other than a couple of too-obvious puns, I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this movie. I would highly recommend it to anyone in their teens or twenties. Four stars.

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• Fun Film

  adw-957012018-07-28

  Very fun film with loads of story lines, adventure and fantasy. This is one rare creative film that almost has it all. For something different check this out!

• Fun Fun Fun

  lua-314542018-08-20

  Action, beauty, women, comedy, scenery, special effects and hilarious zaniness coupled with imaginative modern and contemporary zeitgeist. What a film

• Terrific!

  Imdbidia2011-04-15

  Scott Pilgrim versus the World is a Canadian romantic comedy and musical based on the comic books by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Scott Pilgrim is a 22y.o teen-age-looking insecure guy and guitarist who plays in a rock band called Sex Bom-omb and is going out with a minor high-school Chinese girl, Knives. He seems content until he has a dream about a girl. She happens to appear in his real world in the form of Ramona, the ever-changing-hair-colour American recently moved to Toronto. Scott is over the moon, but he has to face his own personal demons, break up with sweet Knives and fight for Ramona's love against her seven exes. Scott Pilgrim is one of the most refreshing teen-sophomore movies produced in the last years, and one the best movies of 2010. The movie is cute, funny, entertaining, has great characters, a terrific soundtrack and stunning visuals. The story is presented as in a video-game in which the main characters are the players, and their lives is the game. The issues regarding relationships are masqueraded by the video-game approach, but they have depth. Unlike many other movies focusing on the emotional challenges of very young people, sex is not the focus, although it does not avoid it either. The movie focus on how difficult is to make a relationship work when you fall in love whit people who already have an emotional baggage and you are insecure about yourself. Scott's fights against Ramona's exes are just a metaphoric way of putting it. Moreover, the emotions of the girl are not the focus here, but the emotions of a young man who is not obsessed with sex. How do you get a girl who has an emotional baggage when you are not an over-confident guy, your dream girl is uber-cool, and her exes were brilliant guys? The good thing is that any of this is boringly presented. On the contrary, the movie is lots of fun and does not take itself seriously. All the actors are great in their roles: Michael Cera as Scott, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers, Ellen Wong as Knives Chau; Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons and Alison Pill as the other band members Stephen, Young and Kim. Kieran Culkin is Scott's confident grounded gay Wallace Wells, Anna Kendrick as the know it all Scott's sister Stacey, and Jason Schwartzman as the revolting Gideon Graves. However, Cera really shines in this movie, in part because his physique really portraits the character from the start. The visuals of the movie are stunning, the camera's movement, the video-game and comic use of the screen adding to the freshness and originality of the film. The fights wit the exes are extremely funny and witty. I specially liked the fight with the Vegan ex-boyfriend, which is hilarious. Also visually stunning is the musical competition between Scott's rock band and the techno Asian twins band. The music is truly terrific. An extra bonus to a great script. Scott Pilgrim vs the Wold movie is not only well done but done with passion, a project cherished by the whole team and by director Edgar Wright. The movie has freshness, soul and a special something that stays with you longer after you've seen it! It is miles away from any other young people romantic comedy lately made.

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• Epic indeed

  Crys383-32010-07-24

  The tagline for this film is "An Epic of Epic Epicness" and I couldn't agree more. After waiting in line for 3 hours after last night's Comic-Con and finally being sat in the gorgeous Balboa Theater, I didn't know what to expect. I loved the comics and the previews looked faithful. The moment the movie starts (literally; the Universal logo and theme are 8-bit) you are thrown into a comic book atmosphere with video game references aplenty. The plot revolves around Scott Pilgrim needing to defeat the 7 Evil Exes of Ramona Flowers in order to date her and it is a harrowing sequence of battles. Each fight is crazier than the last and some are used purely for comedy, not excitement. Almost every other line is a punchline and they all work. References to TV shows, video games and comics (just like a 20-something's life would include) are everywhere and if you accept the concept of the plot, it all feels natural. While the audience might've been biased (we held a 10-minute standing ovation for Edgar Wright when the movie finished) there's no denying that it's an excellent film. Edgar Wright has an uncanny sense of comic timing with edits and sound cues to make the picture tight and focused when it's looking for laughs. I can't imagine a mainstream theater erupting in applause and laughter like ours did but make no mistake; this a crowd pleaser and the MOST enjoyable film I've seen in years. Don't hesitate to watch this masterpiece in a theater near you.

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