Reviewed by: Scott Chitwood
Starring: Directed by Edgar Wright Special Features: Includes DVD Copy Of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Includes Digital Copy Of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World For Portable Media Players Other Info: The Details: "Game on! Scott Pilgrim just met the girl of his dreams… literally. But in order for them to date, he must defeat her seven evil exes — a rogues’ gallery — including an infamous skateboarder, a vegan rock star and fearsome identical twins! From the genre-smashing director of ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘Shaun of the Dead’ comes "a true original" (Entertainment Weekly) powered up by wit, action and groundbreaking visuals that you will want to watch again as soon as it’s over!" "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is rated PG-13 for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references. Mini-Review: In any case, several things still were strong despite the repeated viewings. First of all is the music. The great songs by Beck, Sex Bob-omb, and the others will all get your toe tapping and will likely cause you to consider buying the soundtrack. The battle of the bass between Pilgrim and Todd Ingram is also a fun moment. The fight scenes also held up well. Any movie that can make Michael Cera look like a convincing action hero is fine cinema in my book. The battles and sword fights are exciting both for their choreography and anime inspiration. The cast is also still excellent. Literally every character on the screen has some moment to shine and/or generate a laugh. Anna Kendrick is great as Stacey Pilgrim, Scott’s pushy sister. Alison Pill is amusing as the surly drummer Kim Pine. But the real standout for me was Ellen Wong as Knives Chau. Her character has a fantastic journey from bubbly teenager to heartbroken stalker to martial arts warrior. I hope to see a lot more of Wong in the future. The rest of the cast from the friends to the evil exes are all a lot of fun as well. For me, one of the things I was most mixed on was Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. At times his personality perfectly fit the awkward moments of the scenes. At other times he seemed terribly miscast. Wright makes his fight scenes look great, but he’s so meek in the rest of the film it’s hard to tell if he’s only tough in his fantasies or if we’re supposed to believe he’s really that tough in the real world. It’s also a little hard to believe that someone like Cera could attract women like Ramona and Knives. Anyway, I alternately loved Cera as Pilgrim and didn’t like him. "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" is geared towards a very specific target audience – people that played video games in the ’80s and ’90s and fans of manga and indie comics. If you don’t fall in any of these categories, you’re probably not going to enjoy this movie. If you do, then I highly recommend you check it out. This Blu-ray is absolutely jam packed with bonus features. I’ve rarely seen a movie with such great extras. You get your standard offerings like "Making of" featurettes, multiple commentaries, alternate scenes, bloopers, online video blogs, photo galleries, and deleted scenes. You also get pre-production test footage showing how Wright planned to choreograph and edit the fight scenes. There is also footage from costume tests, auditions, and other goodies. They even include the versions of scenes censored for TV. It’s amusing to hear the alternative versions they use to replace profanities. An animated prequel from Adult Swim shows how Scott first met Kim and saved her in battle. Look for featurettes on how they taught the actors to convincingly look like musicians, the fight training, the visual effects, and more. I’m telling you, there’s a ton of stuff here and a lot I haven’t mentioned. You’re definitely getting your money’s worth with this Blu-ray set. |
