Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (M.R.)

Poster taken from Shockya

I spent about two hours or so reading all six novels in the Scott Pilgrim series.  I loved every frame of it.  I cannot say I feel the same about the movie.  Sure, it was a great movie, but there was just something missing.  The acting and visuals were incredible, but I could not say it was as revolutionary as critics made it out to be.  Though the stylized violence added an extra layer of fun to the film.

Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim, a 23-year-old with no direction in life who is dating a high schooler.  He plays in a band and while at a party with his band mates, he meets Ramona Flowers, the girl of his dreams.  There's a catch: he has to defeat her 7 evil exes.  I thought Cera was absolutely perfect for the role, as if the novel had been written to be a movie with him in mind.  Although, the movie could have provided more back story to truly establish Scott as the schmuck he is.  The characters seemed not very deep, and the movie moved from battle to battle with no real flow.  The downtime between the battles was what made the novels so interesting.   Then again, it is difficult to condense 6 books into one 2 hour movie.

The visuals definitely kept me awake during my stomach-ache related stupor.  The incorporation of various video game motifs and having the Universal Studios sign all pixelated added to the fun of the movie.  The fight scenes were amazing and the fact that the actors did most of their own stunts was pretty impressive.  Sure, it was clearly video game violence, but at least the directors did not make the viewers feel as if they are playing it.

Overall, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was a fun ride, but there was just that character development that was missing.

Rating: 7/10