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When this fantasy action-comedy film, starring Michael Cera in the lead role, was originally
released last August, it didn't do well enough to recoup it's 60-million-dollar budget. But
perhaps owning to it's testament as an early cult-classic, Pilgrim has done far better
on home video - and with good reason, it's a fantastic film. Told in inventive, twenty-first-century
fashion, complete with hundreds of clever video game references, 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim
is not just a nerdy local musician, he's also dating high schooler Knives Chau, played by
newcomer Ellen Wong - who does a rather terrific job bringing a tremendous amount of spark
to her character in every scene she's in. Things become complicated for Scott when he
falls for the hard-to-get Ramona Flowers - a mysterious girl with a complicated past played
with a constant pout of unattainability on her face by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. In order
to win-over Ramona as a girlfriend, Scott discovers he must do battle with each of her
six ex-boyfriends, as well as one ex-girlfriend... from that one time she was bi-curious in college.
Luckily, he gets some moral support along the way from his gay-roomate, Wallace Welles,
played by Kieran Culkin in a scene-stealing role that just never fails to entertain. Cera
doesn't do much to break from the awkward-nerd he has once again been type-cast as... but
he does enough to keep audiences rooting for him throughout his epic quest. Scott's fight
scenes against the evil exes are certainly the film's strongest aspect - incorporating
surprisingly original special effects and on-screen graphics with live action. The visual
and audio elements blend together in a refreshingly imaginative way that positively captivates,
like one scene where the second evil ex, a movie star, is humorously introduced to the
Universal Pictures theme music, cracking his neck in beat with the music. The inventive
scene transitions themselves are worth the proverbial price of admission. When not delighting
with breathtaking action set pieces, the film delights with it's fast-paced and witty dialog,
that's peppered with dozens of pop-culture references. But with any fantasy film, the
core relationships between the characters is essential to making all of the glitz and
glamour meaningful - and while "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" doesn't fail here, it's unfortunately
not up to par with the rest of the outstanding aspects of the movie. The entire plot is Scott
defying the limitations of conventional physics to be with his one-true-love... but sadly,
save for a single evening stroll through the snow together, Scott and Ramona don't really
exhibit any meaningful chemistry. Rather, it's Scott's early scenes with Knives that
carry more weight. It is a critical setback in an otherwise flawless film that absolutely
entrances with it's effects for the entire 112-minute runtime. "Imaginative visuals,
but lacking heart." Well, now that you've heard my review - let's read some of yours.
Some overwhelmingly positive responses there, so let's not waste any more time - here's
the rate-o-matic... A NINE and a TEN. A fantastically original film that is easily one of 2010's
best - but the missing chemistry between the two leads prevented me from giving it the
highest rating. But I still thought it was AWESOME. Overlooking that minor flaw, you
unanimously praised this film for it's ingenuity, uniqueness, and faithful adaptation of it's
source material, scoring it an AMAZING.