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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board  /  Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  /  Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Posted by: kev, August 23rd, 2010, 4:42pm
See this movie! I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World last night and was blown away, it's really a bummer this movie isn't making a dent in the box office, it's the best time I've had at the movies in a long time. I know the worlds getting a little sick of Michael Cera and his typecast of the awkward virgin but he really gives it his all in this movie and even the Cera haters of the world could appreciate this movie. The movie has a pretty lengthy running time for the type of film it is but it flies by, it's so fast paced and the way the story is told is brilliant. From a filmmakers point of view this is really one to see, it's original and the editing is amazing! I strongly suggest the SS crew goes and sees this one in theaters, it's definitely one that is fun with a crowd.  :)
Posted by: tonkatough, August 24th, 2010, 11:31pm; Reply: 1
Yep I saw this. fun times. The basic idea was retarded (boy meets girl, boy has to fight ex-boyfriends to the death to win girl) and the actual girl that Scott has to fight for is about as exciting as a plank of wood. But for sheer crazy ass style and originality this movie is light years ahead of most of the mediocre mainstream blockbuster so far this year.
Posted by: Heretic, August 28th, 2010, 7:01pm; Reply: 2
Brilliant cast with the exception of the normally lovable Mary Elizabeth Winstead -- "exciting as a plank of wood" is spot on.  Kieran Culkin borderline steals the show, and the Vegan police were a delightfully random bit of casting.

Great film.  One of, if not the, best blockbusters of the year.  Highly recommended for good old-fashioned (or, new-fashioned) fun.
Posted by: JonnyBoy, September 2nd, 2010, 6:09am; Reply: 3
Saw this yesterday - the most fun I've had at the cinema for a long, long time. Edgar Wright has probably established himself as my new favourite director - I loved Shaun of the Dead, thought Hot Fuzz was even better, but this was something else.

For sheer visual pizzazz and verve, I haven't seen something to equal this in a long, long time. The film I'd compare it to, in a way, is Sin City. When I saw that film, I thought "well, that's probably the definitive comic book film". And even though this isn't based on a video game, it's probably the definitive video game film. To some, it might seem gimmicky; but to me, it's a sculpture of pop culture, not full of references but built out of them. What also marks Wright out for me is his command of editing. He uses it brilliantly in Hot Fuzz, too - nobody else I know has the mastery of match cuts that Wright has.

I'd argue (and this might sound like defending the indefensible) that Winstead played it that way entirely intentionally. She was aloof and taciturn, not necessarily unexciting. It also helped further polarise Knives and Ramona. It didn't bother me, at any rate. Michael Cera is in danger of becoming a parody of himself, but by and large the acting was all great. Not that the performances were the main attraction here - this is, first and foremost, a visual feast.

So yeah, I loved it. Is it a great narrative? No. Will it win Oscars for its acting? Of course not. But is it actually an valuable piece of art? As ridiculous as it sounds, I'd argue: yes. Works by Roy Lichtenstein and his pop art colleagues hang in galleries around the world; if that was 'pop art', I'd say this is the cinematic equivalent. It won't get the praise I think it deserves from its contemporaries, and it's heading towards being a major financial disappointment for Universal, but I'm going to go out on a limb and make a prediction: this is one that will last. They'll be teaching this one on film courses in twenty, thirty years time.

And I don't think I can say that about any other film so far this year.
Posted by: rc1107, September 2nd, 2010, 7:02am; Reply: 4
Hmm.  When I saw previews for this a couple months ago, I said to myself that this is going to be a horrible, boring, wanna-be superhero movie.  (Which I don't even like superhero movies anyway.)  And I had no intention of even giving this movie the time of day.

Now, after seeing a couple reviews, I might have to rent it when it goes to redbox.  (I think I still need a couple more positive kick-ass reviews before I'll go see it in a theater.)
Posted by: Electric Dreamer, October 2nd, 2010, 9:36am; Reply: 5
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World makes me sad.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, but I think it will further damage "boutique comics".

Jonah Hex, Kick A*s & Scott Pilgrim violently underperformed at the boxoffice.
Hex cost $50 after fired directors and reshoots, it grossed $10 million.
Kick A*s broke even after the $15 million Lionsgate paid for distribution rights.
Scott Pilgrim is my favorite $80 million movie no one but the geeks went to see.

Edgar Wright put everything he had into Scott Pilgrim and it shows big time!
However, I'm worried that poor boxoffice could spell doom for obscure comics.
Posted by: Brian M, October 2nd, 2010, 11:40am; Reply: 6
In my local cinema, some showings are still selling out even though it was released a while ago. As for the film, I didn't quite "get it". Sure, there are quite a few laugh out loud moments, and it looked like a polished blockbuster film, but I found it tiresome and wanted it to end 20 minutes early. A little disappointed after reading  many great reviews.
Posted by: Old Time Wesley, November 11th, 2010, 10:57pm; Reply: 7
I actually didn't hate Jonah Hex... I'm starting to not hate films anymore. Megan Fox needs to OD already though because I hate that untalented twat.

Anyway, Scott Pilgrim was the shit. Period.

The blu ray release has four commentaries and a bunch of other stuff much like Edgar's other films and hopefully will make all that cash back on DVD & Blu Ray.

Where did all that money go though is what I wondered while watching this?

I don't understand as we move forward in time why effects films cost more and more when studios could in reality own their own and cut costs thus making films look kick ass and be true to a director's vision and be able to perform at the box office without being a flop when the movie is so well received.
Posted by: James McClung, December 13th, 2010, 8:58pm; Reply: 8
Just saw this. Completely surpassed my expectations. I'd already heard that it was surpassing everyone's expectations but I was thoroughly impressed, just the same. Completely different from either Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. Wright's actually got some genuine directing chops. Very Michel Gondry-esque but he does his own thing.

It got a little too cheesy at times and a little much with the hipster iconography but if you can make indie rock seem even remotely cool within five minutes, that's a feet. And where else are you going to see a goth lesbian orgasm to death and explode into gold coins with a neon blue +3,000 power up?

Most of all, it was a very sweet movie at its core, despite the comic book/hipster extravaganza. One of my favorite movies this year, for sure.
Posted by: MacDuff, December 13th, 2010, 10:52pm; Reply: 9
My second favorite movie of the year (behind Inception). Thought it was a breath of fresh air. Loved every minute of it and Edgar Wright is one of my favorite directors and it's got his mark all over it.

Top 3 movies of the year?

Inception
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
(500) Days of Summer
Posted by: Lon, December 29th, 2010, 1:56pm; Reply: 10
It took me two viewings to see this movie.  Fell asleep during my first attempt.

I'd label it style without substance.  I'm normally a fan of Edgar Wright's, but I don't see the appeal of Michael Cera.  No offense intended toward his fans, but how this guy ever became a movie star, and why, is beyond me.

The only thing I actually liked about it was his little stalker, the Asian girl.  Very cute.

Aside from that....pfffft.
Posted by: Tommyp, December 29th, 2010, 9:25pm; Reply: 11
I thought this film was silly and absurd.... in a bad way.

Too many random cuts and rubbish which didn't fit into the world of the film.

Annoying, after I heard so many good things about it.

3/10.
Posted by: Eric2nimrod, December 30th, 2010, 3:07am; Reply: 12
I have to admit that besides The Social Network, this was the only film I could actually pay attention to all the way through. Even though the movie is silly in its entireness, the music is incredible and I can relate to most of the characters, strangely enough...I liked it and I don't care what anybody says, it's a good movie.
Posted by: n7 (Guest), December 30th, 2010, 8:06am; Reply: 13
Just finished this, I was definitely impressed. After all the hoopla regarding this I was pleasantly surprised with how things panned out.

It wasn't exactly a laugh a minute as I had expected, but if you go into this with that perception you'll be be pleasantly surprised as how it plays out.
Posted by: DarrenJamesSeeley, December 30th, 2010, 7:36pm; Reply: 14
I suspect it went over many people's heads. It's a guilty pleasure though. Some winks, laughs ...a nice diversion from the norm. Do I love it and jump up and down in giddy excitement as some of my peers here (and elsewhere) do? No. But it deserved a better fate last summer to be sure.

Posted by: Shelton, December 31st, 2010, 4:25pm; Reply: 15
There's just too much geek stuff in here for it to appeal to a mass audience.  Case in point, Gideon's ring making the noise that Ming's did in Flash Gordon.  Not a whole hell of a lot of people are going to catch things like that.

A friend asked me about it before I had seen it, but I just sent him a text saying it was cartoony, but entertaining.  Kind of "Kung Fu Hustle x10"
Posted by: Andrew, January 2nd, 2011, 5:31pm; Reply: 16
Interesting film and one likely to divide.

In many ways, it feels like a companion piece to 'Kick Ass'. They're surely vying for the same audience. With that in mind, it was hard to remove the pollution that this would simply not match up to 'Kick Ass', which is one of my films of the year.

To begin with, it just annoyed me. The unnecessary text boxes felt too clever/cool for their own good (still think they were) and the visual style felt as though they were amping up the style in lieu of substance. Around the halfway point I began to buy into the notion that this was part-tribute to gaming, part-inventive, part-the-film-they-simply-wanted-to-make. That's when I really started to like this film and see it as a film not geared like 'Kick Ass' is. Once that disentanglement happened, it was clear that this film deals with insecurity and the idea of laying to rest the 7 exes was a nice way of addressing the baggage we need to rid ourselves of in order to move forward or to commit to someone/something.

Brandon Routh - as he did in 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' - gave a lovely little performance that was stand-out for me.

On another note, I have read that Cera was in the running for the role of Mark Zuckerberg and while he is a decent actor, it's clear to me that 'The Social Network' would've lacked something with Cera as lead. To me, it galvanised the thinking that as much a director may be talented, as much as the script may be terrific, as much as the look and feel may be perfect, it's the casting that can truly sink a film.
Posted by: Ryan1, August 28th, 2011, 5:34am; Reply: 17
Finally got around to seeing this and was majorly disappointed.  This seemed to be the ultimate attempt of style over substance(although Sucker Punch is right up there).  The clever editing, thumping soundtrack and flashy graphics just couldn't overcome the almost complete lack of story and painfully shallow characters.  I clearly see why it failed at the box office.  
Posted by: wonkavite (Guest), August 29th, 2011, 7:33pm; Reply: 18
Actually, this one grew on me.  

First time I saw it, I thought Scott Pilgrim was utterly boring and inane.  But Phil turned it on (repeatedly).  After awhile, it started to click.  (BTW - I can't stand Cera in general, but he works in this film.)

I'd say it falls into the rare range of films that really get their stride with repeated showings.  Rocky Horror, Repo the Genetic Opera...and Scott Pilgrim.  Is it perfect?  Nah.  But it's one of the more entertaining comedies I've seen in quite awhile...

Besides, the bit with the Vegan Police is absolutely hysterical..!  :)
Posted by: jwent6688, August 29th, 2011, 9:24pm; Reply: 19
I was a mild fan of this one. I like the video game referance throughout. Its annoying when you watch it a second time, but I admire it at first. I hate Cera. I don't understand why he gets so many roles...

James
Posted by: GerryBuilt, April 17th, 2012, 7:23pm; Reply: 20
[first post: be gentle] I just picked up "Scott Pilgrim..." in a store bargain bin a week ago - so came into this late; though I remember seeing the trailers and thinking "must see that - looks good".  I have watched it 5 or 6 times already! It is, without a doubt, one of the most visually striking films created in my (almost 40 year) lifetime (my 'angle' on filmmaking is Art Department/Direction). I was so impressed, I sought this post out.

The film builds deep, intricate characters; from costume and make-up, through to the stunning (though almost imperceptable) visual 'gags' and motifs that accompany each character (such as the snow melting under Romona's skates) and location (such as Pilgrim's "hole in the wall" home and the bathroom/school corridor) - without weighting the dialogue.  The viewer is given an impression of each character from their appearance - which is EXACTLY as Art should work; helping establish character and settings.  For me, this film is one of the greatest examples of why considered planning is so important to telling the story in any visual medium.

Whilst the script, of and by itself, wasn't overly strong - the layers and depth of the presentation in the visuals told much of the story (as it does in the original source material - which I'd never heard of prior) - and with the bias on this site being writing - I can see why this didn't appeal to some posters.  I liked the story enough, but I loved the presentation: it worked on every level, for me personally.

For the life of me, I cannot work out how this movie didn't do much better (though the budget/production cost just blows me away); however, I have a feeling that the subject, writing, characters and visual presentation resonnated strongly with me; as if somehow it was made for me (despite having 10+yrs on their obvious intended audience)... obviously it didn't resonate so much for wider audiences...

Personally; this movie spoke to me personally - at many levels - and is my current "go-to" movie as far as visual presentation goes... Especially with a short I am working on right now ("Henchman", which I will post when I have my draft complete)... Personally, I'd like to see more such artistic handling (where it is appropriate and adds to the story; as it did here).

If you haven't seen this movie yet; do see it... at least to see how it was impressively crafted (have a look at the production features too)... It won't be to everyone's taste; but then, no movie ever is...

Additionally:
-music was amazing
-casting was excellent (I actually think both Cera and Winstead worked perfectly in their roles)
-very clever editing troughout
-CG used to help add to the story (hardly ever seen, huh?)
-BluRay extras were worth the $10 alone
-strong use of metaphor
Posted by: Scar Tissue Films, April 18th, 2012, 4:41pm; Reply: 21
I enjoyed it as well.

The only thing I found is that, for me, the bad guys peaked with the actor...and I found it anti-climatic after that.

Still a fun movie.
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