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At its core, the plot of the film is a level based videogame: defeat the seven evil ex-boyfriends and get the girl, in this case the purple/blue/green-haired Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). However the final product is so much more than that. Perfect casting for Scott (Michael Cera) and his friends/enemies result in a fun-filled quest for love that never takes itself too seriously. The script is quirky and funny, full of videogame related odd-ball dialogue worthy of Tarantino himself: “Did you know Pac Man was originally called Puck Man? Not because of hockey pucks, but because of the Japanese phrase ‘pakupaku’, meaning to flap one's mouth open and shut. Anyway they changed it because they were worried people would change the P in Puck to F...”
The major set pieces of the film are the fights, and these are energetically directed by Wright who transforms the nerdy Scott into a martial-arts master capable of dishing out flying punches and battling with flaming samurai swords. The screen narrows anime-style as we focus on the angry eyes of opponents, and speed-lines fill our vision as each evil ex hurls themselves towards Scott.
Realistically, it’s hard to imagine anyone outside of Generation X-box enjoying this film. That is to say if you’ve never played video-games, never read a comic book or manga, and never watched cartoons or anime, the film is likely to go straight over your head in a confusing whirlwind of crazy colours and electronic noises. To someone with video-game logic, the plot of the crazy onscreen world will make perfect sense.
That said, the barrier of videogame knowledge won’t stop viewers from connecting with the characters. Admittedly there isn’t any Oscar worthy performances here, but there aren’t supposed to be any. Characters may be over-the-top and ridiculous, but then they are comic-strip super villain ex-boyfriends... The real depth comes from Scott and his circle of friends. We really feel for Scott’s band (the excellently named Sex Bob-omb) who desperately wants to win a record deal, and we shed a tear for Scott’s 17 year old Chinese schoolgirl girlfriend, Knives, when she is dumped and left heartbroken. Humour, although partly restricted to videogame references, is provided by the excellent range of ridiculous evil exes, particularly through Brandon Routh's all-powerful pyschic rockstar with "vegan powers".
Ultimately, one could argue that the charactes could have been more relatable, but what's the point? Scott Pilgrim works precisely because it doesn’t need to be serious, and for that reason this film scores a near perfect K.O. For once, the tagline of a film is spot on – this truly is an epic of epic epicness.
how can you describe "sex bomb-omb" as an excellent name for a band? also you say scott pilgrim is the first true videogame movie, but weren't the god-father films based on the god-father video games? and wasn't the star wars franchise based on the excellent "knights of the old republic" pc game? otherwise, great job!
Uh, there's a massive difference between basing a film on a videogame (you didn't mention Lara Croft - and The Godfather was based on a book!) and having a film which is full of videogame references, which is what this is, and is definitely the first of its kind. Honestly, some people don't think when they comment online!
#1 was clearly joking....obviously The Godfather and Star Wars, films from the 1970s onwards, weren't based on videogames.
Absolutely loved it... and I'm not someone who plays videogames! Scott Pilgrim is just loads of fun - and you're totally right that Michael Cera is perfectly cast...
So does Cera make Scott Pilgrim an independent character, or is this just the Nth reincarnation of George Michael Bluth?
Cera isn't just the awkward nerd again. He actually comes across as a bit of a player, having numerous gfs and female interests from the past.
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