BANG Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

That’s TWICE I’ve gone gallivanting to the movies in as many weeks!! What is the world coming to?

My hubby and I were going to see Inception, but circumstances prevented it. If we were to go to the movies again sometime soon (can you imagine??), that would be why. Meanwhile, Sean was pretty stoked to see this flick.

I know I’d seen a trailer for Scott Pilgrim… but it didn’t really prepare me. I left the cinema feeling rather stunned and overwhelmed, and even a little confused – but also amused!

Here’s my advice. Don’t see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World if you:

• are a recovering retro-video game addict – it’ll send you back to the bad place;
• get nauseated watching hand-to-hand combat;
• are homophobic;
• cover your ears upon hearing loud rock music combined with violent sound effects;
• like the morals of your stories to be organized and unambiguous;
• are severely offended by the implication that Toronto, being in Canada and all, is an endlessly frozen place;
• don’t like Michael Cera’s character (and I’m admitting here that yes, it’s that same character he plays in all his films… but come on, what’s not to like?).

Totally go see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World if you:

• love video games and comic book lore – both in style and content (I’m not saying that’s me, although there’s some vicarious appreciation ‘cuz of that guy I date);
• want to see a film that’s actually set in Toronto, as opposed to just filmed there (and even includes landmarks like Honest Ed’s and Casa Loma);
• like your sound effects spelled out for you;
• think Goth-y girls with freaky hair colours are hot;
• think girl drummers (especially sulky ones with freckles) are awesome;
• knew all along that vegans really do have special powers;
• enjoy your movies full of non-sequiturs, surreal images and camera angles, and randomly bizarre details (like, what kind of a name is Knives?? They never address that);
• want to see lots of hand-to-hand combat, including girl-on-girl;
• have always wished that when you defeated enemies they would explode in a burst of (Canadian) coins;
• want to know who would win in a fight between a pair of giant dragons and one humongous gorilla, all made of thin air and rock ‘n’ roll;
• would like to weigh in on who’s hotter, Ramona Flowers or Knives Chau – Sean and I honestly couldn’t decide;
• believe that skinny, soft-spoken, awkward, geeky guys can – and should – play some funky bass, kick evil’s ass, get girls, learn lessons, own up to their mistakes, and come out on top.

To sum up: Go, or don’t go. Fight, or don’t fight, but do so for yourself. Say you’re sorry. Ask her out. Rock and roll. KA-POW.

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