Scott Pilgrim: The Film of the Game of the Book (Spoilers, Once More People See It?)

[Lumenskir]

OR, If you're going to go seeto the midnight showing of a movie based solely on your love for its source material, at least see the one that tries.

Just got back from seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Will probably end up seeing it again this weekend with another grouppeople who aren't 'dedicated' enough to stay up late. Needless to say, I like-liked it.

I would say love, but it's a very complicated movie to properly quantify with feelings. I love the music. I love the performances (cue the Internets oddly Pavlovianpathetic Cera bashing), and the fightsawesome, awesome fights, and the music, and the stylistic directorial touches...but ideally, Scott Pilgrim's story shouldn't be a one movie affair, and this simple fact that lies beyond the control of anyone involved prevents me from outright loving it, even as I sit here late at night going over the many ways I thoroughly appreciate and am in awe of what I've watched.

So, assuming you go see the movie at some point, what should you expect? Well, as I've tried to imply with the thread title, this is an adaptation that feels closer in spirit to a video game based off of the Scott Pilgrim series, rather than the actual comic books. This isn't to say that it's like a Xerox of a Xerox, more that the mood is more closely related to a goal oriented play experience than a sprawling six-volume story. For instance: A really wide ranging cast of fun characters with some depth is streamlined into a number of side characters with great comic presence. Moments that feel like they should be infused with some drama happen sporadically, but never with the amount of force they really should be presenting (although the film is clever enough to have realized this and comment on it as they happen). And boss fights (with very simple and clear goals) take the place of subtext-laden relationships.

Also, it moves like an absolute motherfucker. Seriously, it's like a twitch movie, and part of the reason I want to see it again is because I feel like I was only able to discern about 40% of the Easter Eggs. I mean, the comic panels could get dense sometimes, but there is absolutely no decompression in this movie, which ends up being both its greatest asset and its curse.

Anyone else enjoyed it yet?

EDIT: Damnit, spent too long writing this up and looking at various reviews to notice the other thread was brought back from nowhere. I humbly submit that this be the thread for talking about the actual movie since the other was sort of the pre-movie news thread?

[Yumil]

Honestly, the comic as it is wouldn't make a good movie or movies. It's too full of supposition and stuff you can only really do in a comic.

The comic, game, and the movie all differ plotwise. They all stay true to the comic though. In the end it has to be, because what works in a comic, doesn't in a game or a movie.

[Lumenskir]

Honestly, the comic as it is wouldn't make a good movie or movies. It's too full of supposition and stuff you can only really do in a comic.

I wasn't saying that I wanted the exact same plot (and in fact enjoyed all of the diversions), but more that the film's (inherently) limited time meant that it kind of muddied the core theme of Scott Pilgrim.

Again, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, will be seeing it multiple times in theaters and will probably wait for the ultimate edition of the Blu-Ray to devour the special features, but every time I watch it, it will still remain a movie where the individual great scenes don't ultimately congeal into the statement the movie thinks it is making. And again, this is solely due to the fact that it's the type of statement best laid out with solid ground work and foundations, but which ultimately can't be achieved with the amount of minutes they were given.

Basically, I'm perfectly delighted tht this is the filmic Scott Pilgrim we were gifted with, but I think in the real Best of All Possible Universes it would have been a trilogy.

[Lumenskir]

Ok, I think I thought this up while I was groggily half-asleep, but it sort of explains how I feel a little bit better.

You know how some comedies are built on the principle of having so many jokes that, as the cliche goes, it doesn't matter if there's a dud because the next bit is right behind it to cover up? Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is exactly like that, but with every aspect of the film. This is great for the jokes and references and fights and music, but feels a tiny bit hollow when applied to, say, plot detail and emotional beats.

Also, I'm going to list some of my favorite divergences from the book, which is to say that I'm going to start compiling a list of all the divergences from the books but stop when I get bored with listing.

-The Battle of the Bands concept, if only for Stephen Stills continuing descent into madness.
--Amp v. Amp. The battle itself is great, but I was really pleased as punch with smash cutting from the poster words to the giant wall of amps their opponents had.
-That weird DDR-Ninja game, both for the ridiculous over the back spin move and how it was cleverly used to highlight the disintegration of their relationship.
-The Bass Battle
-Clash at Demonhead using a Metric song
--Knives referring to them as TCaD was also a nice touch
-The great application of Talkng as a Free Action during the Roxy fight

I'm bored.

[Yumil]

Originally Posted by Lumenskir

-That weird DDR-Ninja game, both for the ridiculous over the back spin move and how it was cleverly used to highlight the disintegration of their relationship.

It is also cleverly used at the end. No, I'm not talking nega-scott, but the final battle with Gideon they pull off the same shit in the same way.

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Lumenskir

I love the performances (cue the Internets oddly Pavlovianpathetic Cera bashing)

Yeah, lots of people have a pavlovian impulse to bash bad actors.

Originally Posted by Lumenskir

I wasn't saying that I wanted the exact same plot (and in fact enjoyed all of the diversions), but more that the film's (inherently) limited time meant that it kind of muddied the core theme of Scott Pilgrim.

It muddied "Jerk beats people up, gets service-industry job, learns nothing"?

[Drownball-Champ]

Just saw the movie. It was awesome. I think Cera pulled off Scott perfectly. And Culkin was a great Wallace. I'm sure later I'll be able to think of some faults but right now my brain is filled with awesome.

[Lumenskir]

I think Cera pulled off Scott perfectly. And Culkin was a great Wallace.

I feel like these two are getting a majority of the talk for their performances, while the amazing performances of all of the exes (and, really, everyone else, but the exes for this post) are getting relatively less shrift. Specifically, I propose we all just agree to give Brandon Routh a bye for Superman Returns, as long as he can stick to playing hammy villains.

[Magus]

I read the books yesterday, then I saw the movie today, I thought the ending of the movie kind of muddled whatever the thing of the books were, since in the book Ramon didn't go back to Gideon, but anyway, both the books and the movie were pretty hilarious and while the absence of Knives Chau's dad and some of the other little things that were cut out in favor of time are annoying I can still say I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was great and so on, though I think they went for more of a "video game/comic book" parody than the original comic book's "video game/manga" parody, but that would make sense given the lack of manga-like artwork in a live-action film, etc.

Also Brandon Routh was in this? Was he Lucas Lee or Todd Whatshisname or Gideon? I can't even remember. If he was Gideon it'd be understandable I didn't recognize him.

EDIT: Also Cera didn't bother me in this movie, for some reason. I didn't like his last movie (Superbad?), but somehow or other he seemed to fit this role, which I actually thought he wouldn't after reading the book but it seemed to work out perfectly somehow or other.

EDIT: Also there was this trailer for this movie by AND starring M. Night Shymalayn on before the movie started that takes place entirely in a demon-possessed elevator or something, so I got some laughs even before the movie started!

[katiuska]

Originally Posted by Magus

EDIT: Also there was this trailer for this movie by AND starring M. Night Shymalayn on before the movie started that takes place entirely in a demon-possessed elevator or something, so I got some laughs even before the movie started!

I liked how everyone in the theater laughed as soon as they saw the words "a new nightmare by M. Night Shyamalan," because any movie by M. Night Shyamalan is indeed a nightmare.