Finally the movie adaptation to the cult graphic novel hit is here to rock our socks off. Releasing just in time to finish off the summer along with The Expendables, will this film be worth the tokens required to play, or will it be KO’ed by the new challenger? How will this hold up as an adaptation for a graphic novel that’s essentially an action-packed gamer’s wet dream? Click through for my take on the product of awkward Michael Cera and the crew behind the British zombie hit Shaun of the Dead.
This weekend saw the release of The Expendables, supposedly the action movie to end all action movies with an all-star big-name cast like no other, and Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, a Canadian romantic comedy with enough fighting to officially classify it as an action film as well. I had the opportunity to spend today watching both back to back today, and I can tell you between the two, Scott Pilgrim wins out with a 64-hit combo that Expendables just doesn’t have a combo breaker for. The Expendables had some ridiculous kick-ass action and a cast to make you shit yourself, but that’s really all it had going for it. Everything else was just boring and forgettable. Half the cast was even underutilized which made for a huge disappointment. That is a story for a different time, though.
Scott Pilgrim vs The World has so much fan service that it’s almost impossible for a fan to be disappointed in it. It has enough well-done fight scenes and varied battles as well as special effects that don’t disappoint to keep non-fans and new-comers interested and entertained. The work done on this movie really shows a love for its source material, as it stays VERY close to the source down to the very last detail, even if there were some changes int he story to make it more suitable for a movie. Speaking of story changes, this is honestly one of the few films where I can accept most of them without complaint.
One factor that had me skeptical about the film pre-release (even though I was still excited) was Michael Cera. He’s an awkward actor I just never could find to be funny or even entertaining. I’ve always found his character to be very shallow and simple, and frankly I always hated him. This movie slightly redeemed him thanks to Edgar Wright’s writing and direction. Most of the dialogue was lifted straight from the books, so this helped Michael immensely in really convincingly becoming the character. Scott Pilgrim himself is a very awkward and genuinely nice and sensitive guy, which is very similar to the type of character Cera’s been playing all along. Michael was actually just about made for this role.
Another worry I had was how they were going to fit so much action into one 2 hour movie. The books had about 11 action sequences, so it didn’t seem possible for all of them to make it into the movie and have them be satisfying or even all that good. Understandably, that was cut down to 7 so they could be as satisfying and incredible as possible. There were some changes in placement within the story so that it all made more sense. Two of the book’s battles were placed into the same scene, and this happened twice. It gives the viewer more action at one time and keeps the film within a reasonable running time. These changes also made for better pacing and kept unnecessary details out of the story. For instance, Mr. Chau’s pursuit wasn’t necessary to the story being conveyed, and the Honest Ed’s trial wasn’t really needed (though I’d have loved to see that, personally, as it was one of the funniest parts in the books).
The fight choreography was great, especially since most of the actors have had absolutely no experience in martial arts or action sequences and performed so well and convincingly that it kept me cheering and grinning the whole way. The special effects were anything but cheep and were done in humorous and visually striking ways. Between the Batman-style comic book words (“POW!” “CRACK!” “FWOOM!”) to the video game influenced pop-ups (combo hit-counter, experience points, special powers like fireballs and summons, River City Ransom-inspired coin drops from defeated foes, etc) to the direct comic references (Scott’s haircut story, Ramona’s evil ex stories, the black word panels thrown around), there was a lot of effects that really added to the experience.
Don’t get me wrong, this movie isn’t perfect. One of the things it lacks is character development. In the books, a few characters and up going through some changes that are just not in the movie whatsoever. Examples being, Stephen Stills goes through a huge change by the end of the 6th book, Scott’s living situation and employment status all change throughout the series, and Envy Adams is totally different from when Scott first meets her to when we leave her off in the series. I understand they had to fit a lot of action into two hours, but they could have found some way to add those details in. All good stories need character development, and this film lacks that.
Another thing I didn’t like was Ramona herself. I didn’t even really like her in the comics, but just seeing her in live action I felt like all I’d want to do is give her my 1-up mushroom and then leave her in another castle. In the books she ends up leaving Scott for personal reasons during the 5th book and Scott goes through a long depression until he wins her back in the 6th book. I didn’t like that she’d leave him after all he’s done for her, and I don’t like it now in the movie. The movie’s explanation for that was incredibly lame and felt like a huge cop-out. Besides that, I just didn’t like the way her character was acted out. It was understandable that the character feel flat and awkward during the first date, but for the whole movie she didn’t have to seem completely disinterested in anything that was going on. I couldn’t feel the chemistry with her at all, and it always felt completely one-sided.
That aside, as a fan of the books, I had a whole hell of a lot of fun watching this movie. I never found myself getting bored, and I always had something else to laugh and cheer at. Placed next to The Expendables, I was more impressed with this movie. The Expendables had way too much old people bitching and reminiscing about ancient history we know nothing about, and not enough of the all-star cast doing what they do best. At least Scott Pilgrim always had the characters doing something funny or awesome, and there was always an explanation for everything. All the explosions and semi-automatic shotguns with explosive rounds in the world can’t save you when you’re spending most of your time talking about war stories that nobody cares about.
Read the books, it’s not a long read. Go see this movie, you won’t be disappointed unless you’re a huge stickler for character development and can’t look past Ramona Flowers. When you’re done, go play the game. If you’ve ever played River City Ransom or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or any game like it) you’ll have loads of fun. I recommend this film to anyone and everyone. Let this be the movie that you round out your summer with.
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