22 year old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) has a new high school girlfriend, but he's still obsessed with his ex-girlfriend who's now in a successful rock band. Scott's own band (where he plays bass) constantly struggles to get a gig. He meets Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party and becomes instantly smitten, but unfortunately, if he's to become her boyfriend, he has to physically fight her 7 evil exes video-game style . . .
The premise is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. The film turning into a video game (complete with wire-fu stunts) several times works better than you'd expect. In the extras on the Blu-ray, director Edgar Wright compares the "fights" to musicals where the emotion is so strong, people break into song without ever acknowledging it. The "fights" are made fun of while they're happening and benefit from Wright's knowing tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. The last fight with Jason Schwartmann goes on way too long and the first fight (with "Matthew Patel") gets entirely too wacky. But the Chris Evans and Brandon Routh fights were funny and inventive.
The stuff between the fights us consistently challenging and hilarious with Wright's strong, clear vision bursting through every performance. Cera's straight-faced, deadpan delivery is perfect; he's the best he's been since Arrested Development. Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza are terrific in small roles. Kieran Culkin steals every scene he's in as Pilgrim's gay roommate. All of the unknown actors are great which points back to the director. The film is fast with unique transitions and and an unrelenting jokey atmosphere.
But the film successfully navigates away from too smug and ironic with the character of Ramona. Amid all the silliness, Pilgrim's longing for her is so honest and sincere, you can't help but root for him. Winstead plays into Wright's style, but her eyes draw you in and gives the film much-needed depth. Beck's music perfectly captures what young love feels like. Indeed, the alt-indie soundtrack is perfectly chosen and placed throughout the film. As a bonus, the film wisely and subtly shows the effect people have on others (whether they know it or not).
Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel, the film would have been disastrous in another man's hands, but Wright's sensibility aligns perfectly with the ridiculous plot by keeping a playful atmosphere. The effects go overboard from time to time, but as a whole, it works like gangbusters. B+
Updated 2010 Top Ten List
1. The Social Network
2. Inception
3. Black Swan
4. The Ghost Writer
5. The Fighter
5 1/2. The Secret in Their Eyes
6. Toy Story 3
7. Let Me In
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
9. True Grit
10. Shutter Island
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - B+
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5 comments:
as much as i enjoyed this the first time, i liked it way more the second. for one, i didn't waste the opening 20 minutes trying to figure out if i bought into the premise. plus, when you know the ending (and a decent grasp on the gamer vocab), every line has a two meanings. For me the most enjoyable film of the year. An A for me.
Hopefully I'll get around to a second viewing soon and the first and last fights are more tolerable. I don't play video games and never really have so I may have missed out on the dual meanings. Loved the vegan police.
This just looks terrible to me. Video games?
Doc- how does the humor/sensibility differ from Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead?
It's not a comic genre deconstruction like Wright's prior films. The fast pace is there, but the characters are more in the moment and there aren't recurrent jokes and long set-ups. The humor is younger and less reliant on your knowledge of film. There are less screenplay tricks. You can tell the same guy made it though. I can't see myself sitting through the first and last fights again or it would be an A-.
I love that it's Priest's #1. It might help that he's around more college kids than me. I like Hot Fuzz better because of all the classic film references. You should probably check out Hot Fuzz if you haven't, Priest.
I love Shaun of the Dead, but the ceiling for zombie films is a B for me, which it reaches. I've watched nearly half of all of Wright and Pegg's Spaced TV series. And it's more of the same great stuff for those interested.
Are you implying Hot Fuzz has a fast pace? That final 45 minutes with the town conspiracy was some of the draggiest film I've seen in a longtime.
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