1-UP: "Scott Pilgrim Vs.The World" Review

     This is a very very unique film. One that combines a mundane romance story with the frantic action of a video game. Based on a graphic novel this movie was tasked with cramming six books into 112 minutes. With a lot of visual flair, and a hint of indie-retro style, this film is does a good job at making the screen very eye catching, unfortunately the plot falters slightly in it's attempt to bring the series to the screen.

     Michael Cera is Scott Pilgrim, a 20-something bassist in the garage band "Sex Bob-omb" (That's just one of the many game references in the movie). Scott falls in love with the mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) after he sees in her in a dream. Things get crazy quickly when Scott finds out that to date Ramona he must defeat her 7 evil exes. That is really the extent of the story, but it is executed very well.

     If you can't tell there is a lot of fighting in this movie. The fight scenes are packed with constant action and it all maintains a very comic/video game feel to them, even to the point where Pilgrim gets a combo meter fighting an enemy. Each fight is entertaining in it's own way, and there isn't that much repetition. The scenes without fighting are pretty good to, thanks largely to the talented cast.

    While the film does have a very good cast, there are so many people in the film that it seems like some of the best characters are barely on screen. The main actors are great Cera and Winstead play off each other well. Scott's roommate Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin) does a good job of playing the character to call Scott to action. Scott's other friends/band mates Kim Pine (Alison Pill) Stephen Stills (Mark Webber) and Young Neil (Johnny Simmons) are about as accurate to the book as you could ever get.

Just a few of the characters

     The only problem in with the story is that the 7 evil exes, while still fairly enjoyable in the movie, were much more fleshed out in the books. Each villain (except exes 5&6,the twins) got a whole book, this allowed for bigger roles. Two of the exes (my favorite ones), Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh) and Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), encountered Pilgrim several times before actually being defeated. This is a minor complaint though, because when they are on screen they are very enjoyable to watch.

    Speaking of watching, like I stated before, this movie is visually captivating in a way that I haven't seen in a while. From the crazy opening credits to the final battle, everything is full of color. The effects are pretty much cgi, but it is not a downfall of the film. The world is mashed up with pixelation and fights that defy every law of science.

Like this, except crazier

  Sometimes movies have and alright right soundtrack, and sometimes movies are like "Scott Pilgrim" and have one of the best soundtracks of the year. The music for the band "Sex-Bob-omb", a very garage band style, was created by Beck, and it's some of the best stuff I've heard from him in awhile. Mixed in with this is some indie music and even a brief piece of classic "Legend of Zelda" tunes. To make matters even more awesome the film's score is great too, mixing intense fanfare of action movies with the bleeps and boops of video games.

    This movie is so close to being perfect it kind of sucks that it falls victim to the problem most "books to movies" face, there's just too much to put into one film. There are so many characters, places, and scenarios in the movie that it feels overloaded, and it doesn't even get everything onto the screen. If the film could maybe be split in two it might have work, but alas the one will have to do.

    That is not saying that it isn't everything it could be. "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" is the best condensing that could ever be down to a great graphic novel. It gets just enough of the books in it to make it very very appealing. So if you enjoyed the movie, check out the books! They are quite an enjoyable read, and there's more to enjoy.

    From the visuals to the music to the actors everything works well in the movie. It all fits together like some big crazy indie-videogame-comic book homage that guarantees to entertain. The movie knows full well how absurd it is and embraces that fact and takes it full force. If you like video games, comics, and/or Michael Cera check out this movie! It's not perfect, but it's a pretty good 4 outta 5!