Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - No More Heroes'esque film

I fully expected to really like this movie, and honestly didn't care for it too much.  I appreciate what they were trying to do with the visuals, jokes, and references but it honestly didn't take me long to get used to the style and crave something more.  It lacked any sense of substance beyond its visuals and one-liners.  That would be ok if I didn't feel that it got old and repetitive by or before the halfway point.  But since it did, I wanted to fall back on some sort of character development or plot.  This movie really had neither.  The plot itself and the characters were nothing more than just premises.  I also found the two leads to bounce between dull and annoying.
I ended up leaving the movie feeling like I watched a 2 hour anime convention skit or youtube fan video.
I guess it's good that my friends and a lot of people around here really got enjoyment out of this movie, but it just did not do it for me.

Angela wrote:

Bernhardt wrote:

-Kieran Culkin who played Scott's gay roommate; are we talkin' the same Culkin as McCauley Culkin? I can see a resemblance.

The very same.  A fellow NYC'er, I'd actually met Kieran a few weeks ago.  Cool guy, very down to earth.  I still find it funny how he played Fuller from the first two Home Alone movies.  That insidious smirk of his after he chugs the Pepsi..... priceless.

Tee-hee.

-In general, the comedic timing on part of all the actors was just spot-on, and love how they keep the frequency up on it, too; some characters (Scott's older sister!) had me laughing at least once every line they made!

Quick correction: younger sister, not older.  They emphasize that point both in the film and in the comic.

Ahh. When a person has greater sense than you do, you often equate them as being older than you...also, she's taller than Cera. Well, she looks like she is. Both taller AND older. Oh yeah, and there's the fact that her character could hold a job...

...

What I REALLY liked about the film, is how the main character and his friends are relatively down-to-earth...they were all quirky, but only about as quirky as your own friends, while the evil exes are designed to be VERY quirky, along the lines of character archetype parodies.

So, when the characters break out with over-the-top superhuman acrobatics, and swords formed out of spiritual energy, it's just all that much more surreal! Kind of like the fantasies that one might have, about beating up on their life's arch-nemesis!

Re: Roxy Richter. Richter Belmont, maybe? I mean, she had a razor belt...not too far from a chain whip, don't you think? You know, I don't remember her actually being defeated, I remember her smoke-bombing out of the club near the end of her fight...anybody else remember?

Also: Lucas Lee's and Todd Ingram's defeats: I liked how they actually ended up getting destroyed by their own vices. Especially Lucas, with wanting to show off... END SPOILER.

Last edited by Bernhardt (Aug 27, 2010)

Unfortunately, this is the only release I know of:
http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrim-Original- … B003XKCW46

I haven't purchased it yet as I detest digital releases in general and exclusive ones in particular. Overpriced, low quality, and worthless to a collector... man do digital releases irk me. >_<

Just saw the movie for the first time (I downloaded it because the chances of this ever coming to Japan are 0 unfortunately, even though it speaks to gaming culture so much).

I laughed.
It was good.

Liked the many game references, obviously.

Angela wrote:

-Ha, the Final Fantasy battle theme bass line.  He said "Final Fantasy II", didn't he?  Does that mean Final Fantasy IV, then?  A moot point anyway, since the original battle theme bass line was established in FFI.

I immediately paused the movie to verify this, because I'm anal about that kind of stuff.
Many FF battle themes start with the same riff, but then move into a different melody/rhythm, and the one used in the movie was unmistakably the one for the REAL FFII, i.e. the JP version.
Major bonus points for that.

This FINALLY made it to video in Japan so I watched it tonight.  Loved it - one of the better films I've seen recently and by far the most fun.  Obviously people like us who grew up with video games will get the most out of the tricked-out effects but as Angela mentioned there's also just some really good action cinematography in there.

Pacing-wise I agree that it starts a little slow but it's not long before the first evil ex enters the scene and from that point on there's hardly a lull to be felt.  Even after REALLY enjoying the second and third encounters I expected the film would drag but they did some clever things with the story to keep it moving briskly.  A couple of the cameos were brilliant so I'm glad I went into the movie without knowing anything about the cast.

I do wonder how well it'll hold up on repeat viewings but still I'm pretty primed to own this on Blu-ray once the price drops a bit.  A shame I missed the theatrical run as it would have been spectacular to see on the big screen.