Michael Cera kicks an unprecedented amount of ass as Scott Pilgrim

The first thing I need to tell you about Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is this: The book is better. Yes, everyone says this every time a movie based on a book is released. Yes, it’s an entirely different medium. But seriously, the book is better. The film cuts out too much of the book’s depth and breadth to compare. Whereas the series is about not just Scott but Ramona, their friends, the rest of their universe, and growing up, the film is really just about Scott.

So that’s the bad news. The good news is that Edgar Wright’s film version has a vibrant energy of its own that makes it a spectacularly good time at the theater. In other words: Holy shit, it’s fun. Wright’s shown a knack for combining wacky and sweet with pop culture inside jokes as far back as Spaced, and he takes it to the extreme here. The result is exhilarating, a film that looks and feels like nothing else you’ve ever seen before.

For those of you who don’t know what Scott Pilgrim is– although I’m guessing that if you’re reading my review, you do– it’s a film based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s successful comic book series. The titular hero is a goofy 20something who falls in love with the alluringly mysterious Ramona Flowers, only to learn that he has to fight her seven evil exes before he can date her. (Think Mario fighting lesser villains until he can defeat Bowser to rescue the Princess.) If that sounds zany, it absolutely, unapologetically is. It’s difficult to imagine that too many people over the age of 40 would appreciate its manic energy, or its abundant pop culture references. But for the young adult demographic– of which I myself am solidly in the middle– it seems like an action-romance made just for us.

Wright stays mostly faithful to the novels, but manages to put enough of his own stamp on the film that it feels like a cinematic achievement, rather than a slavish book-to-film adaptation. Even when he’s recreating entire frames from the comic, the way he films them in motion add a dynamism that you just can’t get on the page. As a result, Scott Pilgrim feels delightfully fresh. In Wright’s hands, it seems perfectly logical that the words “DING DONG” would emanate from a doorbell, or that characters would be introduced with a pop-up box explaining their stats. The pitch-perfect casting helps bridge the gap between page and screen as well. Allison Pill, Ellen Wong, and Kieran Culkin do an especially good job of bringing their beloved supporting characters to life. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is lovely and seductive as Ramona, although I wish she’d been given more to do. And Michael Cera, whom everyone was so worried about, acquits himself nicely here. He’s affably dorky, as always, but for the first time shows some spine.

The movie is not without problems, mainly stemming from the fact that six books’ worth of plot is an awful lot of story to cram into just two hours. Likable as the cast is, we don’t spend enough quality time with Scott or Ramona to invest a whole lot into their romance– to say nothing of the secondary players, who get even less time and attention. With such an impressive array of young Hollywood talent, it’s a shame each of them doesn’t get more to do. What we do get is all seven epic battles, but despite Wright’s efforts to keep them interesting, they begin to feel repetitive by the time we reach #5 or so. The intense momentum of the first half hour starts to flag by the middle of the film, and never quite gets back on track. It doesn’t help that the action seems to take place over the course of a week or two, either. Certain plot developments don’t make as much sense when you have to rush through them so quickly. On the whole, the film feels more crowded and shallower than you might hope. I suspect it might’ve worked better over two films, a la Kill Bill or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Since that’s obviously not a realistic option, I do think Wright & co. did what they could with the time they had.

Perhaps my least favorite part of the movie, though, is something that probably could’ve been helped– the ending. Without going into spoilers, I’ll just say that it’s a bit of a mess. Twists come out of nowhere, and the climactic battle doesn’t put all of the involved characters to good use. IIRC, Bryan Lee O’Malley helped out with the script. I know the sixth book wasn’t completed at time of shooting, but I can’t help but be disappointed that this alternate ending feels so uninspired.

But if these flaws stop this movie from being truly great, they don’t stop it from being pretty darn awesome. It’s a thoroughly entertaining film, from the first Universal Studios logo all the way to the closing credits. It’s hilarious, clever, charming, and appealingly original. The soundtrack– which you can listen to here– is epic. And Michael Cera is surprisingly convincing as a fighter. It’s 80 degrees and humid outside and the cool, dark theater smells temptingly of popcorn. What more could you ask for?

Tags: 2010, bryan lee o'malley, edgar wright, kieran culkin, mary elizabeth winstead, michael cera, movies, reviews, scott pilgrim

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