On a whim, I decided to see Scott Pilgrim vs The World yesterday to determine whether it was the movie that defined our generation(or is it the one following me since I am now officially “old?”) as some fans have proclaimed or if it was “the most obvious exploitation of geek culture as a shallow fashion trend for posers if there ever was one” as I have stated before.
The answer is… both.
This sadly is a movie that defines a culture of twenty-somethings and high schoolers that are guided by social networking, image boards, and Hot Topic stores on what “cool” is. They grew up on videogames, superhero movies, and Cartoon Network and they kind of dig comic books, anime, and”retro” stuff as they are told to on a regular basis.
And yet, they have no real passion for any of those things. They like them on a superficial level, which is enough to be accepted by social circles that are similarly into those things more as a passing interest than anything else. They are an apathetic bunch that feel disenfranchised by a society that they never worked hard to build or change. Moreover, they ironically feel entitled for society to hand them many privileges while they give little back.
Yes, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is for those people and the morally bankrupt and always douchey Scott Pilgrim is their champion.
Despite the hype, the word of mouth, and the viral marketing, this movie bombed. Some claimed that it debutted on the wrong weekend against manly powerhouse The Expendables; however, this movie would have failed anyways.
Michael Cera should never have a lead role in a movie. He was best as a character that would show up once in a while in Arrested Development to remind Michael Bluth what a terrible father he is. Other than that, he has always been labeled as the “awkward kid” in everything he does as the way he has acted has never changed.
Character traits of Scott Pilgrim promote the Hot Topic lifestyle that have ideas like “it’s okay to be a pedophile”, “shitty, heartless indie music played by guys who look at their feet and not at the crowd is actually good!”, and “the douchier you are, the cooler you look to the people around you” running rampant.
Scott Pilgrim is a character whose chest I wanted to punch a hole through during the entire movie. Just so I could rip out his lungs and shove them back down his gullet. He was not only annoying but absolutely fake. He is the kind of prick that would go to conventions that I go to to prey on dumb, under-aged girls who don’t know any better, whether it be while dressed a Johnny Depp character, sporting a giant, fancy camera to get attention of cosplayers, or giving insincere promises of sharing booze in his hotel room with no consequences. His intentions are less than noble and he does not care whose life he ruins. Scott Pilgrim is the kind of person I would point out and say “that person is scum!”
The other thing we learned is that outside of this SMALL geek- or rather poser geek -culture that exists, nobody gives a shit about the culture this movie relates to. They do not care for the videogame references, the ironically bad music, or the terrible fashion and hair prevalent in this movie. This movie may be based on a comic book and comic book movies tend to be smash hits, but there was something missing from the Scott Pilgrim formula.
While superhero movies have dominated summer box offices year after year, it had nothing to do with comic books or the geeks that worshipped them. Rather it was because characters like Spider-Man, Batman, and Iron Man had DECADES to build themselves up as American icons that inspired millions of people to flock to theaters to see their movies.
Scott Pilgrim is no super hero. He has no concepts of self-sacrifice or justice like many heroes do. He is a character that represents the vile hipster lifestyle that only sparse numbers of people can relate to and appreciate. For that reason and because of who was playing him, this movie could never be a success.
So what was Scott Pilgrim vs The World about? It starts off with his terrible indie band, the Sex Bomb-Ombs, trying to make it big and entering a battle for the bands tournament. Scott is their 22 year old bass player and he has a new girlfriend that is a 17 year old catholic schoolgirl that thinks their band is the greatest thing ever. Nobody else is amused.
At some point, Scott meets a new girl named Ramona Flowers, who happens to be an anagram of every girl I tried to go out with in 2009. Not only is she shallow, fashionable, and the devil, but she is also vindictive, manipulative, and brings out the worst qualities in any guy that desires to be with her. He strings the naive 17 year old girl around while he tries to date and perhaps bang Ramona.
The problem is, it’s not that easy. Since Ramona is a cunt(and embodies the reasons of why I tend to not trust women anymore), she has severe baggage in the form of seven exes that are driven mad with revenge as they feel they have been wronged by her. So they from a group called League of Evil Exes that vow to crush Scott simply because he wants to date Ramona. Yeah.
In order to hook up with Ramona, Scott must defeat all of her exes. Now these fights are truly fun to watch and where the movie shines. All of a sudden, these characters are super-powered like they ripped off Dragon Ball Z and have some very visually exciting fights with over the top and creative special effects. There are uppercuts into the sky, psychic powers, beam swords, and even manifestations of mythical animals that come out of amplifiers. Good stuff that nobody else will understand!
The videogame inspiration that this movie and the comics draw from becomes very apparent. There is always a “vs” intro for each fight and multi-hit combo counters similar to fighting games. When Scott beats an evil ex, he gets points and coins appear from each destroyed body as seen in beat em ups like Double Dragon and River City Ransom. At one point, Scott gets enough points to receive a 1-UP, or extra life, that he uses as a deus ex machina in the movie’s climax to atone for his poor judgment and constant douchebaggery.
Even for little things like the playing of instruments and the ringing of phones, sound effects flow out of those objects visually to drive the point “hey, this is a comic book movie” home. It is these nice touches of cinematography that should be remembered for years to come. In spite of the fact that the rest of the movie was a nonsensical disaster, the use of visual effects in this movie should be studied as they made scenes that would have been horrible(like any musical performance) much more tolerable.
Every fight that Scott Pilgrim goes through is rather brutal. After minutes of taking retarded amounts of punishment from a vegan psychic that included being mind thrown, Scott was able to finish his opponent off with a headbutt that even The Expendables was lacking. (Not gonna lie. How the tide turns in this fight was actually pretty funny.) The battles left some critics to wonder why Scott would go through such efforts to try to win the affections of a cold-hearted bitch that would never give him the time of day.
I can answer that. I was there. Many times. They are like war stories, looking back on them. While Ramona looks like a bitch to the audience, to any guy who catches her eye, she is like an angel delivered from the heavens. She is good at telling Scott the things he wants to hear, and making little, trivial things like sharing a bed seem like an experience Scott should feel thankful for. The kind of manipulation that Ramona uses to make herself feel good works well on guys who have never known what it is like to be loved by another person.
There is one more thing though: the aesthetic of Ramona’s fashion sense. For guys who grew up in a lifestyle filled with videogames and anime, hair colors such as purple, pink, blue, green, bright red, gothic black, orange, or any combination of those colors teamed up with knee-high boots and short black skirts will increase desirability of a female tenfold and ultimately ruin such a guy’s judgment.
Yup, Scott got duped because he is unquestionably shallow and desperate and refuses to accept the reality of the situations he finds himself in. Just like the audience that admires him!
(To be honest, bad habits started to become prevalent again as I ALMOST fell in love with Ramona a couple times. Luckily, I was able to keep my wits about me and maintain my icy cold heart.)
If it wasn’t for the over the top fight scenes in this movie, Scott Pilgrim vs The World would have been a waste of time to see. They were inventive and stylish and were an interesting contrast to a bland love story that was never believable. At the end of the movie, Scott does indeed get Ramona but their relationship has as much depth as a hookup at an anime convention. Neither of these people are good for each other, nor are they even good people.
Was this movie supposed to teach us that it’s okay to be a douche if it gets you a terrible woman in the end? I don’t know. Were the characters intentionally ugly and unlikable on the inside to show how ultimately repulsive the poser geek culture is? There are times that this movie feels more like a social commentary than it does entertainment since half the movie is painful to sit through, as I have seen some of these events transpire in one form or another.
Unfortunately, there is no resolution to this movie and there is nothing that inspires the audience to do anything after. What the hell was the point to this movie? Years from now, when everyone wearing Legend of Zelda sweaters with their skinny jeans moves onto something else, we will know the real answer.
Honestly though, was a good translation of the comics. I agree with you on the fact that the whole idea of the love story was completely unbelievable, the characters were ugly, and most of the movie was just taking what is ‘in’ right now with the whole geek culture superfluous enjoyment, but at the same time, since when do people play video games or watch anime or read comics or see movies to see what would really happen in real life? The movie was attempting to take a comic book and recreate 6 volumes in 2 hours. There is a lot missing from it that the comics explain, and honestly do better. But I think you may have missed one of the key points.
Spoiler Alert: At the end of the movie, Scott does gain the power of self respect, gaining a stronger sword than the power of love, and ultimately defeating Gideon. In the comic, that didn’t happen. I think this was attempting to portray that after all this childish, douchey attitude that Scott was acting on, after he found that he needs to face his past, and start looking at things from a new perspective, that he can ultimately live better. While the movie didn’t portray this in the best possible way (having a future look where he has a job and is actually acting like a man and an adult would have helped) I still feel that there was enough there to say to the audience “Hey, while you are acting like a douche and trying to remain a child, you are missing out on other things in life, and people are gonna walk all over you or not like you at all.” Granted, this is my personal take on it.
Also, I agree that Michael Cera was not the best person to play Scott Pilgrim, but the rest of the cast worked and portrayed the characters pretty well. However, as I’ve been saying for many years, several times in front of you, that people need to stop just doing things because others are doing them (such as watch anime’s like Bleach and stuff) and start going out, taking risks, and really learning what a fad is before they say they are die-hard fans and make it apart of their life to the point to asinine absurdity (best example is Caramella Dansen, and you know why Kent (and for anyone reading this that doesn’t, look up Popotan. Then understand why that dance supports pedophilia.)
To conclude, I’m not going to say that you are wrong Kent, because in all actuality, you are right about this movie. However, while the movie is pretty much just another mark on the “geek culture used to be uncool, but now is cool” calendar, I’m still going to enjoy Scott Pilgrim for it’s awesomeness in using so many references in one movie that us old-school geeks have to analyze it’s concentration. Also, the fight scenes were ridiculously awesome.
The final fight with Gideon has a couple notable parts. However, I still don’t buy it. On what grounds does Scott have the love needed to obtain such a power when trying to rescue Ramona the first time?
Maybe in the script or in the mind of the director, it looks like a solid idea. But in the movie, we see no real feelings develop in how Scott feels about Ramona. Everything he likes about her is superficial.
The power of self respect is another thing that bothers me. I think its somewhat admirable that he gives sincere apologies to both Kim and Knives and acknowledges that his former band will be fine without him. However, the power of self respect comes when he wants to fight Gideon for himself. Why? The only thing he did “wrong” was take Ramona away from him. So what reason does he have to still fight Gideon? It makes no sense. It feels more like “I am going to fight you because that’s what is supposed to happen in movies.”
After that, any self-respect he supposedly gained is thrown out the window when he still decides to go for Ramona yet again. There could have been better ways to portray the sudden change in Scott’s character at the end of the movie. However, it was done poorly and in a way that emotions would be conveyed in videogames almost 20 years ago. Movies were already more advanced in conveying emotions back then and even videogames have evolved in that respect.
Jane, you magnificently, ignorant slut.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7S_XWuKpHc
FIrst of all, good job for watching this movie and giving it a shot before it comes out on DVD, in about a month and everyone cosplays as Scott and his buddies. I, in turn, have not yet watched The Expendables; which I understand you are fond of. You see, I did want to and all but then I saw this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZcw9jn0Qz8
A mother farking MANGASM as the result of watching a bunch of half naked, sweaty, old men running around? Now it’s the 21st century and I’m not going to judge, but umm…not exactly running out to see it.
imdb.com has an interesting take on top action movies ever.
http://www.imdb.com/chart/action
I’d brag about how Scott Pilgrim made the list when The Expendables didn’t, but I’m too perplexed to figure it out.
Oh and by the way: Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Michael Jai White, Ong Bak, Matt Damon, and Wesley Snipes disagree with your opinion on their not being any action heroes under sixty. I’d add John Cena but…zzzzzz
Sorry about that, onward to the counterpoint to what I called “how a comic book movie should be done”. Well I’ll amend that and say it worked for this movie. Yes, I read the comics.
Issue 1, I was with you man. I couldn’t stand this dweeb Scott Pilgrim and how he brushed off any sense of responsibility, had a 16-year old sycophant (even if it’s legal in Canada), and was content to be a mediocre sloth. I couldn’t help but notice, in the movie as well, all the other characters pointed this out. I was content to toss it aside as soon as I finished it…and then the fight with Matthew Patel happened.
“What the f,” I didn’t quite say out loud. My friend said, “ahh you must be at the battle of the bands part.” Suddenly this humdrum, hipster, Gen-Y book had a damned Space Channel 5 sequence in it! Then it turned into River City Ransom.
Now if they did this in the movie, it would have been excruciating. It’s a concept I called 1970’s movie pacing. Watch “Taxi Driver” or “Shaft” or “Deathwish” and you can see why “Star Wars” was as big a deal as it was in 1977.
Scott’s evolution is slow, and painful to watch. It’s supposed to be. His friends barely put up with him. In fact they say a lot of the things you are. He chases after a girl he has no business chasing after, and he’s morally corrupt.
Well kind of. I think Scott knew deep down that dating Knives was wrong, and he was using her to show that somebody at least said they loved him. Which is why he didn’t do anything with her. Scott admits to himself he’s screwed up, works to fix that (albeit he takes his sweet time) and eventually goes from a coward, to a reluctant hero, to someone charging into battle.
Remember Iron Man 2?
In it, Tony Stark is a narcissistic drunk who throws caution to the wind, and Hammer under the bus. His friends point out how he’s a jackass at every turn and barely put up with him.
Meanwhile their’s a pissed off Russian after him.
Throughout the film, Stark checks his blood toxicity which shows him getting drunker due to the very thing that saved his life.
Therein lies my problem. The alcoholism, the excessive partying, his poor judgement…all not his fault. Rather than own up and be responsible for his actions the writers thought it would be better to write an alcoholic’s wet dream.
Scott, at least, figured out it was his fault. He owned up and took a risk.
Now, as far as video games being not superficial. Look, I was happy when I was literally the first kid on my block to not only beat Ganon but Mike Tyson. This is without reading those paperback books that explained how you beat those games came out. However, if you’re going to find deep, philosophical meaning in the quest Mario goes through to save-a the princess…sorry, knowledge and wisdom are in another castle.
“I’d brag about how Scott Pilgrim made the list when The Expendables didn’t, but I’m too perplexed to figure it out.”
I just looked at that list and there are A LOT of movies missing. The omission of Enter the Dragon burns me the most. I am guessing that these are determined by user ratings?
“Oh and by the way: Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Michael Jai White, Ong Bak, Matt Damon, and Wesley Snipes disagree with your opinion on their not being any action heroes under sixty. I’d add John Cena but…zzzzzz”
Dammit, are we calling Matt Damon and action star? Well I liked Bourne but…
I’d love for Tony “Ong Bak” Jaa to make it over to here and do some movies like Jet Li has(but not like Jackie Chan has) because I don’t know if I would call him a star yet. Does the average person know who he is?
The Rock and Vin Diesel need a comeback after their family movie flops. Actually, I’d be okay if Vin Diesel would stop appearing in movies altogether. (I liked Pitch Black but that’s about it.)
I have yet to read the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels and it was way cheaper to see the movie. So the review focuses on that and the culture the hype attracted. I certainly believe that the movie is trying to say things about a small culture the rest of the world does not get or care about. These things don’t seem positive but they are there.
As for Scott’s growth, it seems like the movie spent a lot of time on Scott’s phase as a “mediocre sloth” as you worded it and his initiative to take charge came in way later than it should have and it wasn’t too convincing. It really felt like that desert scene after Gideon fell him was more or less “oh, I should be an adult now.” Even though that is not what he said it sounded just as forced.
I am willing to read the graphic novels if I can be assured that they pace Scott’s growth a lot better than in the movie. I’m already sold on the notion that I won’t have to see Michael Cera’s face while reading it.
Um..so I hear their doing Black Dynamite 2? You down?
OK I’ll keep this short but sweet, fist off Scott is 24 making him even more of a loser than he was before,
You are the first person who agrees that Michael Cera was bad for this(it should have been this guy http://popcesspool.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/hipsters.jpg)if anything Michael Cera should have played young Neil.
Yes Kent they are terrible people to you and I who grew up with morals and a code of honor.
Also, regrettably, I assure you that Bryan Lee O’Malley (http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/3297194.bin?size=620×465)does not think that there is anything wrong with the charters he has created, nor do the target audience of this comic.
As you have not yet read the comic, I will fill you in on what you missed. you get to know more about all the characters, and you find that everyone in the entire comic is a total douchebag who is cheating on someone in some way. You are also forced to read through about 200 pages of what hipsters, IN CANADA, days are like, which mostly consists of arbitrary things like, going to local hipster joint and drinking(paps), making “vegan shepherd’s pie”, not reading your mail, stringing along one girl while DATING another, eating gelato, working at vegetarian restaurants,”wins the party”, and holding shallow conversation about how sad they they have made themselves(See first verse of ADMIT IT! by say anything) And just when you are about to reach your limit and grab this piece of garbage manga knock off(Seriously! why isn’t this in color? It’s not classy noir style detective story or sin city. Even through away stuff has color in America folks) by its spine and tear it to shreds the cool fight happens (except for in book 2, you know the one that is actually called “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”. That’s not even a fight! book 2 is a waste of time!) and you are again forced to read it is because you now feel that this book owes you something awesome for what it put you trough, then just rinse and repeat 5 more times and, there, you have the rest of the comic. I’s like it was written the same way Linkin Park writes songs.
1. I’d disregard that list entirely, as several of the movies on that list are a very loose term of action and actually should be put under another category entirely. The Incredibles should be under animation rather than action for the most part. Also, the fact that a movie that just came out got top slot shows that the entire list was fabricated. Whether it was for money or publicity is unknown, but that list was not done using any kind of scientific research. Also, there are some movies on there that are older than my grandfather. While they may be great movies, I don’t think they are able to stand the test of time and age like Star Wars did. A movie from 1924 probably doesn’t have the appeal now as it did when movies were still a new thing. Give it a fresh review now, and you’ll prolly notice a lot of things wrong or boring.
Also, give me a call when you are available Kent. I will bring you all six books to read. Also, yes, the pacing is better in the comic as the events take place over the course of a year, while the events in the movie take place over a week or so.