Keep your shirts on, hipsters...

Back again and this time, it's a movie review. You know how you see a movie preview and hear a lot of hype about it and it REALLY gets you pumped to see it? And in that same preview, there are a dozen or more reason why you THINK the movie will appeal to you and be just one hell of a ride? You wait and you wait and (sometimes...) you miss it in the theaters and mourn the loss. And then you get to actually see the movie and it is a complete and total let down on a level you cannot appropriately describe. I have had this experience many, many times and guess what? It happened again. I don't normally go off and negatively review a movie (I like talking about things I actually enjoy...), but this will as close as I get for a while. Let's just jump right in with the Witte's Review of 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'...

Good lord, where to start? I suppose a synopsis is in order, but I won't give too much away if you still want to give this film a shot. It starts with an 8-bit rendition of the Universal Studios theme (pretty cool, if nerdy...). Then, we are introduced to Scott Pilgrim and his band, Sex Bob-omb, right off. They have a sort of odd indie/post-emo sound that Scott's current girlfriend, Knives (ugh...), thinks is awesome even though the rest of the band go on and On and ON about how they are pretty sure they suck (double ugh [more on this 'ugh' later...]...). It needs mentioning that the majority of the characters are extremely depressing and whiny for no damn reason. We are then shortly introduced Ramona Flowers, the object of Scott's affections and the motivation for the rest of the film. He breaks up with Knives to be with Ramona and Knives has a bit of a breakdown. Sex Bob-omb is scheduled to play at a battle of the bands against Scott's ex-ex-girlfriend (more and more whine...) but the journey is punctuated with battles between Scott and Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends. These battles are further punctuated with video game and comic book references, making them more fun and unique than your usual action movie. In between each battle there is an attempt at character development (fail...) and then another battle. This back and forth of story eventually leads Scott to the final boyfriend. I'll leave it there as to leave some surprise of the ending for those who still want to see it...

I'll start with saying it takes 30 minutes before the first battle starts, and that first 30 minutes are quite painful to get through by the end. The characters are introduced but not very well developed and end up being very one-dimensional and shallow. Probably the best character (even by the end...) is Scott's gay roommate, who actually shows a bit of normalcy and depth compare to the other characters. We know little about each of the characters, though I can imagine this would be alleviated if I had read the comics first (people who saw 'Watchmen' without reading it first might feel the same way...). Even so, the characterization is weak in the context of the movie. The majority of the characters are extremely whiny and depressing, but for no reason that is discernable. The band members have all the marks of being in high school for all their complaining, but each of them (minus Knives...) is 20+ and (as far as I can tell...) have little to no reason to be THIS whiny...

The movie gives us little reason to commiserate with the characters and their issues. This might also be a factor of my age and the maturing of my movie palate. Each of the band members prattle on about their 'suckness', but little is shown to back up that opinion. Many of the important characters are annoyingly narcissistic and it makes me not care whether I see them develop or not. Scott and his band are portrayed as if they are in high school and thus act as if they are still under the social pressure of high schoolers. However, this does not pan out as the movie goes for a variety of reasons. They are not in a situation that bombards them with social disapproval and have chosen a hobby/profession that would (inevitably...) either preclude them from ridicule or be forced out due to harsh unpopularity. However, their audience seems to either care very little or avidly like them as a band (especially by the end...). Plus, they can actually play so the talent part is out. Further, they are put forward as trendy, semi-nomadic, mostly attractive hipsters. This doesn't jive with the social outcast vibe the movie was trying to give us. This movie is trying to tell us that this kind of people are not cool or in and (frankly...) that is who this movie is pandering to; the pretensious cool kids who are too cool to think they are cool (ya dig?)...

Wow, that was cathartic to say the least. I'll move onto a positive note; the actual fights. Most of them are actually pretty good. The choreography rivals to any modern martial arts movie and the effects used are seamless. It was nice to see comic book styled sound effects accompany the hits as well as having an announcer denote combos and K.O.s (a la Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat...). I was less than impressed with the CGI monster during the band battle as it show less innovation and originality compared to the other fight scenes, but on the whole, the fights were the best part of the film. I'd even go as far as saying that if they release a 'Fight's Only' DVD version, I'd by it. Though (as I was told recently...), that's why God made the scene skip button on the remote...

This will kind of segue into my next up-note for SCvTW; the evil ex-boyfriend's themselves. This is where the overall silliness comes into play and the movies are the most fun. The villains are over the top and seem to have a bit more depth than our main characters (sad...). Specifically, two of the exes stand out from the pack and only because of the actors they chose. These are Chris Evans (whom you know as the Human Torch and Capt. America to name a few...) and Brandon Routh (the Reeves look-a-like from Superman Returns...). Having established super hero actors in this kind of movie inspires me to think of what this movie could have been with a little extra effort. 2 of the 7 exes are already in the comic genre; just make the rest other hero actors. There are enough young bucks in the field that it would have been easy and fun for the audience. However, what I got was enough to amuse me (if not completely counteract the whine...). I have to mention my favorite bit where Routh's character gets assaulted by the Vegan Police for breaking vegan law (one of the V-Cops is Thomas Jane, who you know as Punisher in the first reboot...). It's silly without being obnoxious and that fact is crucial to making these moments of the film better than the whole kit-and-caboodle...

So, my overall thoughts? I will say I don't regret seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. However, I will likely not see it again or if I must, I will find something to do in between the fight scenes. I see the love note to video game fans there are attempting to send, but they didn't do it enough to suit me. I compare it to the love note Hot Fuzz sent to action movie fans; that movie (for me...) was the total package. SCvTW falls a little short for not doing enough. The effects are good, but the characters aren't worth the celluloid they were printed on. Might I have a different reaction after reading the comics? Perhaps, but I doubt I will ever based on what I've seen in the movie. Again, if you like heavy effects fight scenes and video game references, you might like this. If you hate non-purpose whiner babies, it's doubtful you'll make it far with this. I'll end with the thought I had midway through the film: "I thought that angsty emo-kids were the most annoying people. Turns out I hate whiny, pretentious hipsters even more". Take what you will from that...