Yesterday, I went to see Scott Pilgrim vs The World with The Physicist. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve read the comic books on which the movie is based and found them to be amusing, so I was interested to see how they would survive the transition to the big screen.
The plot of the movie is the same as that of the comic. Canadian slacker Scott Pilgrim meets space ninja delivery girl Ramona Flowers and, in order to date her, he must defeat her seven evil exes. Dorkiness ensues.
First, the good points. Not being a rabid Scott Pilgrim fanboy, I didn’t find the movie as uproariously funny as others did, but there were a number of witty lines that made me smile. Also, the casting director did a great job of finding actors who resemble their comic counterparts and the special effects were very impressive. I also admire the director’s ability to make each fight scene unique and interesting. I was worried that the ex battles would all run together, but each one of them ended up being distinct. Matthew Patel’s song-and-dance attack was especially cool, though in the comic Scott and his friends returned fire in kind, and it’s a shame that part didn’t make it into the movie.
The major flaw of the movie is that the love story at its heart just isn’t compelling. Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim like every other character Michael Cera has ever played. In other words, he’s bland and affable, which doesn’t make for a particularly inspiring lead character. His love interest, Ramona Flowers, drifts through the movie with all the enthusiasm of a Dell customer service agent, so it’s hard to see why Scott is willing to fight seven evil exes for her. It takes a lot of zingers and special effects to make up for ho-hum leads and, in the end, Scott Pilgrim can’t overcome them.
Scott Pilgrim also doesn’t know when to stop when it comes to its own cleverness. The old-school video game references are a case in point. They’re cute the first couple of times, but when they are repeated ad nauseam and they swiftly lose their oomph.
The final issue I have with the movie concerns the portrayal of Scott’s gay roommate, Wallace Wells. In both the comic and the movie, he’s your stereotypical catty, bedhopping gay with a penchant for quips and multiple partners. The catty slut stereotype has been done to death and it’s high time Hollywood buried it in the graveyard.
FINAL GRADE: C+
Codex Lochianus 