Saturday, August 14, 2010

Movie Reviews: Scott Pilgrim vs The World


I'm not really sure what to say about this movie. Other than that I absolutely loved it. I won't go into the technical aspects of the movie, as I really don't know anything about it. So instead I'll talk about the story and the characters, more my area of expertise. Sort of.

The story is delicious in its simplicity. Its organized around the framework of battles and not-battles. Not sure what you call that. Peace? The battles do little to add to the dramatic development, but instead serve as a method by which to show the passing of time. The drama is focused on in the not-battles, with each fight flavored by the developments between fights.

The characters are an interesting bunch, in that I'm not sure what to think of them at times. Scott Pilgrim is a realistic character, as in his actions aren't tailored to make us like him. In fact his actions are pretty despicable from time to time. Which I think is what makes him work. He's a character who is flawed to the point that we want to distance ourselves from him, while at the same time he's intriguing in that we can't help but wonder if there is any hope for him. By the end of the movie, while we may not agree with his decisions, I'm just going to chalk the whole "He should have chosen Knives, she's better for him than Ramona" to people's latent shipper coming out.

Your latent shipper.

I'll just say that while people may think she's more suited to him, keep in mind that he himself probably isn't all that great for her. Things don't work out the way we want them to all the time, but by the end of the movie we're just glad to finally see that Scott has finally taken the initiative and started to sort out his life, whether for better or for worse.

Are the choices he reaches correct? I can't say, I'm generally an advocate of let the characters do what they want instead of prescribing what to do, or which relationship to choose.

I would also like to thank this movie for finally creating a gay character that isn't a caricature. Wallace is pretty much the exact opposite of the hollywood gay character, and instead focuses on being a character outside of his sexual orientation. So bravo Hollywood, you finally got it right. Gays, whether or not you agree with their life style, are humans, not cardboard cutouts.

Well, what else can I say, other than that I urge you to go see this movie. If it isn't in the theaters where you live anymore then go out and buy the DVD. This movie did not do as well in the box office as it should have, so it better make it up in DVD sales, or Hollywood is going to stop making movies that suit our tastes, aka/ are actually good. Movie making is a business, and sadly the quality of the movie doesn't dictate how much money is made. If they don't make enough money off quality films that are tailored to the tastes of a specific audience, then they are going to keep making the same crap they always have.

In other words, if you pirate this movie, you are scum. You are directly responsible for all the Hollywood schlock that you so much like to mock.


So pull a twenty out of your wallet, run down to the store, and buy the damn DVD. And if it comes in one of those stupid eco-friendly cases, run to a pawnshop, buy a DVD - any DVD. Remove the DVD and cover, swap them out for the Scott Pilgrim vs the World DVD and cover, and call it good.

Movies like this don't get made often, and if you don't support them Hollywood is just going to stop making them.

BUY THIS MOVIE: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

1 comments:

Monorum Pho said...

I haven't seen the movie yet but I read the comics. It was hard to enjoy Ramona's character. Hell to be honest, I absolutely hated Scott AND Ramona because of how they were but the graphic novels, sorry, it's graphic novels (emphasis on sorry) were enjoyable because of Wallace's portrayal. It was a decent read and I've heard good things about the movie too. Personally, I'd enjoy this more than Kick-Ass.

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