Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: (August 13th, 2010): PG-13
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #5 with $10,609,795
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $10,609,795
Gross Revenue: $11,609,795
Budget: $60 million
Director: Edgar Wright
Given the unique nature of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the marketing campaign for this summer blockbuster targeted both video game and comic book fans, which represent a staggeringly large potential audience. Director Edgar Wright has had significant success with some off-beat films (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being his most famous), so this newest project seemed like a perfect fit. The Scott Pilgrim comic book series is relatively obscure compared to everyone’s favorite superheroes, but when trailers showed visual effects-laden battles with a clear video game inspiration, that’s enough to motivate even the most casual fan to go to the theater. In addition to these factors, even though I’m not a fan, Michael Cera still has a pretty big following, and when you add the increasingly popular Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a love interest and a diverse group of antagonists comprised of some well known Hollywood actors (Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwartzman), the appeal for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World just keeps increasing. Though I was initially hesitant when I saw the first trailer, as I considered all the elements of the film and the hype building from early reviews, my prejudice against Michael Cera began to soften; by the time the release date rolled around, I was intrigued enough to see all that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World had to offer.
Set in Toronto, this summer adventure follows 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) as he and his band, “Sex Bob-omb” compete in several battle of the bands competitions in the hopes of winning a recording contract with the mysterious high-end label executive G-Man. As the film begins, Scott is dating high-school student Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), but he soon meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), becoming so enamored that he soon dumps Knives and relentlessly pursues Ramona. As soon as Scott and Ramona begin dating, Scott is confronted by The League of Evil Exes, seven of Ramona’s ex-flames who engage Scott in battle in an attempt to control Ramona’s love life. Each of the battles takes on a video game setting similar to old-school arcade machines, evoking audience memories of Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, and since each of the evil-exes has a special power or ability, Scott has his work cut out for him. With the help of his band and his eccentric roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin), Scott must endure all of these unique opponents, and if he hopes to continue dating Ramona, he has to find a way to defeat each member of the League of Evil Exes.
Though the plot can at best be described as off-beat, it is brought to life with some truly unique cinematography and visual effects. Borrowing from both the comic book and video game universes, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World makes strong use of diegetic and non-diegetic inserts throughout the narrative, which are devices that appear on screen that the characters of the film are not necessarily aware of. Some examples of the devices that the characters are unaware of include the profile boxes that appear next to characters when they are first introduced and provide necessary information to the audience, or the onomatopoeia text that appears to describe some of the sounds that occur during the battles (think of the BOOM or POW text that is prevalent in comic books and re-runs of Adam West’s Batman movies). However, there are some of these unique devices that the characters are fully aware of, such as when Scott grabs a 1-up mushroom to gain an extra life during a battle. It would be much easier to describe these effects if my readers actually see the film, but suffice to say that I haven’t ever seen anything like this on screen, and it’s so uniquely absurd that it’s brilliant. Other positives include the evil exes themselves, each of whom have diverse and humorous personalities (Brandon Routh is easily the funniest, way to go Superman) that provide for enjoyable battles, though I was disappointed by how easily Chris Evans was defeated…hopefully he’s tougher as Captain America. Aside from the exes themselves, the strongest performance from the main cast comes from Scott’s roommate, Wallace; Kieran Culkin more than steps out from his Home Alone older brother’s shadow with a thoroughly humorous performance. Unfortunately, despite these positive aspects, there are still plenty of things wrong with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Though the cinematic devices are unique enough, I feel like their execution was a little overdone, which resulted in a confusing film that abandons any form of logic and actually over-stimulates the audience. I’ll put it to you this way: I didn’t find Inception this hard to process. Given my strong preference for video games and comic books, I should have loved Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but in the end it was just too weird, whether it was when the exes burst into coins when defeated or Scott instantaneously transforms from wimp to master ninja whenever confronted. As expected, I absolutely hated Michael Cera’s performance, as he was at his whiny and neurotic worst, only making his martial arts battles all the more awkward. As for the relationship between Scott and Ramona, there was an obvious lack of chemistry, making the pairing insultingly unbelievable, especially when their romance is supposed to be the motivator for the entire film; Mary Elizabeth Winstead gave an entertaining performance, she just doesn’t fit with Michael Cera. Overall, I am shocked by the amount of praise that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is receiving…it had potential and is visually one-of-a-kind, but by the time the end credits roll, the entire experience feels like a missed opportunity of an off-beat story that is just too unconventional to appeal to anyone but hardcore fans of the original series.
Forgetting that I was disappointed in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, I still expected it to perform better at the box-office. Given the hype that surrounded the film and its dual appeal to comic book and video game fans, opening in 5th place with just over $10 million is insulting. Universal has had an up-and-down summer season; successes include Despicable Me and Get Him to the Greek, but I think that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World more aptly fits with disappointments like Macgruber and Charlie St. Cloud. There are positive aspects to this most recent summer film, and its worth seeing if you want to witness the unique cinematic devices employed, but the negatives are simply too strong to ignore or forgive.
Overall Recommendation: Low
