Film Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
by Emily Nagle
[usr 4.5]
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010), directed by Edgar Wright, is a live-action film adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley. It follows 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a bassist for a Toronto garage band called Sex Bob-Omb, as he tries to win the heart of mysterious Amazon delivery girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). However, this is no simple task – in order to get with Ramona, he must defeat her seven evil exes. At the same time, Sex Bob-Omb is trying to score a record deal by competing in a Battle of the Bands competition.
What I love most about this movie is how it’s fun to look at. They managed to maintain the cartoonish aspect of the comic book it’s based on with, most notably with the onomatopoeia words that pop up onscreen during the fight scenes. It even features some animated segments that use art from the comic, like when Ramona is recalling her time dating her first evil ex, Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha). It also gives off a bit of an anime vibe at certain points, like when Matthew Patel smashes through the ceiling of the venue during the competition and challenges Scott to a fight. Lastly, the soundtrack is one of my favorites. Beck wrote and performed all of the songs for the Sex Bob-Omb, and did well at replicating the scratchy, rough sound that comes to mind when you think of a garage rock band.
Despite all these positives, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was a box-office bomb when it hit theaters in summer 2010. Why? The only negative I can think of for the movie is that the video game references may not be appealing to everyone. The movie is filled to the brim with video game sound effects and graphics that teens and young adults who grew up gaming will get a kick out of, but people may not feel the same way if they’re not as familiar with gaming.