Cast
Michael Cera … Scott Pilgrim
Alison Pill … Kim Pine
Mark Webber … Stephen Stills
Johnny Simmons … Young Neil
Ellen Wong … Knives Chau
Kieran Culkin … Wallace Wells
Anna Kendrick … Stacey Pilgrim
Mary Elizabeth Winstead … Ramona Flowers
Chris Evans … Lucas Lee
Mae Whitman … Roxy Richter
Brandon Routh … Todd Ingram
Jason Schwartzman … Gideon Gordon Graves
This past weekend, I finally got around to getting to the movies and had the daunting task of deciding between Scott Pilgrim and The Expendables. I decided to go with Scott Pilgrim in order to do my part in helping it move up the box office ladder. Before I get into this review, I want to say that it is unfortunate this movie has not been as successful as it should have been. While understand that the movie isn’t for everyone, it is disheartening to see it place a paltry 5th and drop to 10th this past weekend. Let’s get into this review shall we?
Unlike Ant’s review, I will not go into the inner workings of the movie simply because Ant did a great job in breaking it down and I honestly have no desire to repeat things you may have read elsewhere. I will start off with the lead actor/hero and say right off the bat that I dislike Michael Cera immensely, and he was one of the reasons I didn’t lose my mind over this flick. At the surface, Scott Pilgrim is yet another awkward young man (that you’ve seen Cera do before) but over the course of the film I saw small flashes of brilliance from him that showed he is expanding his acting chops and making characters his own.
Scott Pilgrim’s strengths are the perfect mixture of video game references, witty dialogue and excellent fight choreography that made the film a true must see. As an action film buff I was very impressed with the tightness of the punches and kicks delivered in Scott’s fights with Patel and Gideon in the final act. Fights that bordered on the insane were believably done and made you watch in utter disbelief. Edgar Wright did a great job in showcasing the physicality much like he did in his previous films Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead.
I think if I watch the film a second time on Blu-Ray without loud annoying kids and shitty popcorn I may look past my Cera-hate and enjoy the movie more than I did. I feel that Cera’s co-stars were fantastic and in some cases stole the movie, especially Chris Evans who really did an awesome job as Lucas Lee and Brandon Routh who continues to grow as an actor and is a natural at playing the smug comedic bad guy. Ellen Wong really impressed me the most as Knives Chau simply because there were instances in the film where she didn’t need to speak and her mannerisms did the comedy for her. Jason Schwartzman did an awesome job as Gideon and really made you hate his smarmy prick character which is a testament of how well he embraced the role.
I really can’t stress how much you guys should see this movie. Not only as comic fans, but in support of unique films that go beyond just comic origins and provide a new style of film making. I would almost go as far as saying that Scott Pilgrim is a perfect “comic” film simply because of the fan service and the mantra of sticking as close to the source material as time allows was apparent from start to finish.
My Take: A must see
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ATTACK HUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Short and to the point. @Ant: You had to be there to see the disdain in his face – I am surprised at his take on the film having seen that and I am glad he enjoyed it deep down. The rest of the MTR squad was losing their minds over the flick. You might say it “knocked our highlights out.”
Love your take on it. Complements my review so well and goes into the details I lacked. Good to see you didn’t hate it because of Cera.