I’ve come close to reviewing Scott Pilgrim vs the World a number of times, but each time I’ve backed out because for me it’s a massive undertaking that I don’t think I’m ever going to be truly satisfied with. Since I saw the film for the first time in 2011 it’s held an illustrious spot in my favourite films of all time. But with the upcoming release of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off on Netflix I feel as though it’s now or never. So, why do I love Scott Pilgrim so much, and why do I think it’s director Edgar Wright’s greatest achievement to date.
Twenty-two-year-old man-child and bass musician Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is dating seventeen-year-old Chinese schoolgirl Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). Things are all peaches and gravy until Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a mysterious and exciting woman who’s recently moved to Toronto.
When Scott falls head over heels for Ramona he becomes aware that in order to date Ramona he must fight and defeat her seven evil exes. But as Scott prioritises his relationship with Ramona his life begins to fall apart around him, putting the future of his band and friendships at risk.
Maturity has definitely changed the way I look at Scott Pilgrim, as when I first discovered the film (and then subsequently the graphic novels it is based on) I was seventeen and my perceptions of the world, what was cool, and the person I wanted to be were of course different to what they are now. So, I’ll be the first to admit as someone who loves this story so much that some characters have not aged particularly well, and Scott in particular is a really awful person. But say with me here, that’s kind of a part of the charm.
Twenty-two-year-old man-child and bass musician Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is dating seventeen-year-old Chinese schoolgirl Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). Things are all peaches and gravy until Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a mysterious and exciting woman who’s recently moved to Toronto.
When Scott falls head over heels for Ramona he becomes aware that in order to date Ramona he must fight and defeat her seven evil exes. But as Scott prioritises his relationship with Ramona his life begins to fall apart around him, putting the future of his band and friendships at risk.
Maturity has definitely changed the way I look at Scott Pilgrim, as when I first discovered the film (and then subsequently the graphic novels it is based on) I was seventeen and my perceptions of the world, what was cool, and the person I wanted to be were of course different to what they are now. So, I’ll be the first to admit as someone who loves this story so much that some characters have not aged particularly well, and Scott in particular is a really awful person. But say with me here, that’s kind of a part of the charm.
The story condenses the six-part graphic novel series from Bryan Lee O’Malley into a two hour and twenty-minute film, and this is by far the film’s biggest problem because it’s trying to do so much. The first forty minutes is afforded to the first book, and it plays out as an almost perfect page to screen adaptation. But then books two through five are given anywhere between five and ten minutes each, and it moves at such a lightning pace that by the time you get to book six for the final thirty minutes you definitely feel like you’re missing stuff, particularly when it comes to the league of evil exes. Whilst the first three, Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), and Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), and Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh) get some half decent development, Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman) and the Katyanagi twins (Keita & Shota Saito) hardly get a glimpse of screentime, the twins don’t even have any lines! Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman) also doesn’t get as much development as Todd for example, and it’s weird because he’s the grand orchestrator of the entire thing. It also means that characters like Kim Pine (Alison Pill) don’t get the depth the script indicates they should do. Her and Scott’s brief relationship is a significant storyline in the graphic novels, with the majority of books five and six dedicated to it, but in the film, it’s given a just single mention in a line of dialogue referring to multiple previous relationships Scott has had.
Really this should have been two films at least, with each film coving three books, and then the finer details of characters and the plot could have been meaningfully expanded. But despite this the film does work as is for the most part.
The story is of course a coming-of-age comedy not only for Scott but almost the entire cast They’re all in their early to mid-twenties and just kind of stuck in the monotony of twenty-somethings the world over. Wandering without purpose, trying and failing to make something of themselves, falling for entirely the wrong people, and being generally crappy people themselves. Scott epitomises this by being a slacker, emotionally vacant, generally inept at just about anything, and of course he’s dating two women at the same time. Despite all this, he is a character who thanks to Cera’s incredible performance is incredibly likeable and sympathetic. He goes on a massive emotional journey throughout the film, and whilst the ending will forever be debated and whether he truly got what he deserved, the fact that he’s an awful person who does actually begin to realise this and change himself is admirable and one that the film can’t really do service to because of the cuts made to squeeze it all into a single film.
Ramona is the manic pixie dream girl through and through. This emotionally damaged hot chick who’s way out of Scott’s league that comes along and manages to fix all of his problems. For some that’s going to be a major turn-off, especially in 2023. But I do feel that Ramona undergoes a significant amount of self-improvement over the course of the film by addressing her relationship problems. Because of the ending she never gets an opportunity to properly change that aspect of her life, however it does leave things hopeful for her going forward.
I do think my favourite arc in the whole story though is that of Scott’s ex, Natalie/Envy (Brie Larson). She’s only in the film for a short time but her presence is felt looming over Scott throughout the first half of the story. Whilst the version we get in the film is significantly trimmed down in comparison to the source material, the scene where they reconcile is one of the films biggest emotional wins. All this hurt and pain that both of them carried is addressed and they both walk away better people because of it.
Really this should have been two films at least, with each film coving three books, and then the finer details of characters and the plot could have been meaningfully expanded. But despite this the film does work as is for the most part.
The story is of course a coming-of-age comedy not only for Scott but almost the entire cast They’re all in their early to mid-twenties and just kind of stuck in the monotony of twenty-somethings the world over. Wandering without purpose, trying and failing to make something of themselves, falling for entirely the wrong people, and being generally crappy people themselves. Scott epitomises this by being a slacker, emotionally vacant, generally inept at just about anything, and of course he’s dating two women at the same time. Despite all this, he is a character who thanks to Cera’s incredible performance is incredibly likeable and sympathetic. He goes on a massive emotional journey throughout the film, and whilst the ending will forever be debated and whether he truly got what he deserved, the fact that he’s an awful person who does actually begin to realise this and change himself is admirable and one that the film can’t really do service to because of the cuts made to squeeze it all into a single film.
Ramona is the manic pixie dream girl through and through. This emotionally damaged hot chick who’s way out of Scott’s league that comes along and manages to fix all of his problems. For some that’s going to be a major turn-off, especially in 2023. But I do feel that Ramona undergoes a significant amount of self-improvement over the course of the film by addressing her relationship problems. Because of the ending she never gets an opportunity to properly change that aspect of her life, however it does leave things hopeful for her going forward.
I do think my favourite arc in the whole story though is that of Scott’s ex, Natalie/Envy (Brie Larson). She’s only in the film for a short time but her presence is felt looming over Scott throughout the first half of the story. Whilst the version we get in the film is significantly trimmed down in comparison to the source material, the scene where they reconcile is one of the films biggest emotional wins. All this hurt and pain that both of them carried is addressed and they both walk away better people because of it.
So, whilst the story definitely has some ups and downs because of the restricted runtime, the rest of the film is borderline perfect. Starting with the writing, much of it is lifted directly from the graphic novels and the speed at which its delivered and the way the actors deliver them is spot on, making the film not only hilarious in almost every line of dialogue but insanely quotable too. The casting is spot on, and it’s also got a huge cast of stars right as they were on the cusp of becoming household names. Along with the previously mentioned names like Chris Evans, Brie Larson, and Jason Schwartzman; you also get appearances from the likes of Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, and Kieran Culkin just to name a few.
Everyone delivers their A-game here and for a few of them I’d actually argue that this is the best performance of their entire careers, which I would say is absolutely the case for Cera.
The music is also phenomenal. With Scott being in a band it should be expected that music plays a large role within the film, and Scott Pilgrim packs an awesome soundtrack. There’s a few original songs peppered throughout but the soundtrack consists of a number of licensed songs from artists such as Metric, Beck, The Rolling Stones, Blood Red Shoes, and The Bluetones as well as many more. They’re all used excellently, and frequently too carrying the film a real pulse of sound the entire time. It’s absolutely a film that you should crank up as loud as you can and get blown away by the incredible sound mix.
I think the thing that’s most striking about the film though is the visual style, and the way it interacts with almost every other element of the film. Wright is well known for his eccentric visual style, but here with Scott Pilgrim I’d say he genuinely outdoes himself and hasn’t come close since.
Every single transition looks like it’s pulled straight from a comic book with extensive use of panelling, animated wipes, visual representations of audio cues, and physically sliding new scenes in whilst sliding old ones out, and dynamic aspect ratios. It’s so over the top and crazy that it almost becomes overloading but that’s what I love so much about it. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched this film now and I still find new things in it, small details left in to give people like me a new experience every time.
Edgar Wright has made a movie for movie fans with Scott Pilgrim, and it’s criminal that it underperformed as much as it did at the box office. Whilst the story and some of the characters could absolutely have benefited from the film being split into two in order to allow the story to breathe a bit more, every other aspect of the film is practically flawless. It’s one of my favourite films for good reason and I always find myself coming back to it again and again. I think it’s also the film I own the most times, as I tend to purchase every version of the film I can find because the cover designs are awesome. If you’re yet to check out Scott Pilgrim vs the World then now is the perfect time before the long overdue animated series drops on Netflix, and if love Scott Pilgrim like me then there’s also never been a more perfect time to revisit it. I’m in lesbians with it.
Everyone delivers their A-game here and for a few of them I’d actually argue that this is the best performance of their entire careers, which I would say is absolutely the case for Cera.
The music is also phenomenal. With Scott being in a band it should be expected that music plays a large role within the film, and Scott Pilgrim packs an awesome soundtrack. There’s a few original songs peppered throughout but the soundtrack consists of a number of licensed songs from artists such as Metric, Beck, The Rolling Stones, Blood Red Shoes, and The Bluetones as well as many more. They’re all used excellently, and frequently too carrying the film a real pulse of sound the entire time. It’s absolutely a film that you should crank up as loud as you can and get blown away by the incredible sound mix.
I think the thing that’s most striking about the film though is the visual style, and the way it interacts with almost every other element of the film. Wright is well known for his eccentric visual style, but here with Scott Pilgrim I’d say he genuinely outdoes himself and hasn’t come close since.
Every single transition looks like it’s pulled straight from a comic book with extensive use of panelling, animated wipes, visual representations of audio cues, and physically sliding new scenes in whilst sliding old ones out, and dynamic aspect ratios. It’s so over the top and crazy that it almost becomes overloading but that’s what I love so much about it. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched this film now and I still find new things in it, small details left in to give people like me a new experience every time.
Edgar Wright has made a movie for movie fans with Scott Pilgrim, and it’s criminal that it underperformed as much as it did at the box office. Whilst the story and some of the characters could absolutely have benefited from the film being split into two in order to allow the story to breathe a bit more, every other aspect of the film is practically flawless. It’s one of my favourite films for good reason and I always find myself coming back to it again and again. I think it’s also the film I own the most times, as I tend to purchase every version of the film I can find because the cover designs are awesome. If you’re yet to check out Scott Pilgrim vs the World then now is the perfect time before the long overdue animated series drops on Netflix, and if love Scott Pilgrim like me then there’s also never been a more perfect time to revisit it. I’m in lesbians with it.