Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

What if the world was like a video game? I watched the romantic action comedy movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, released on August 13, 2010. Directed by Edgar Wright, it takes place in Toronto, Canada in the modern day. Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Kieran Culkin, it is based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim and is rated PG-13.

A young man named Scott Pilgrim, who’s in a rock band, is not too well liked, as he has a history of being the bad partner in a relationship. He finally meets his dream girl Ramona Flowers, and they start dating. As it turns out, his new girlfriend has seven evil exes. All of them confront Scott individually, as they want to put a stop to Ramona dating people. Scott must defeat The League of Evil Exes to be with Ramona, while also needing to become a better man in the process. Can Scott win?

It will be cool to finally talk about this, as it is one of my favorite movies. There are a lot of good elements to talk about. I will start with the action. Every Evil Ex fight stands out. They are all different enough from each other, while also being unique in some way. They end up being cool to watch, with a mixture of awesome fights and creative ideas. The movie is based around the idea of real life being like a video game. There are many video game references throughout the film. The fights themselves take inspiration from the Street Fighter games. As a big video game fan myself, the references and the action are much appreciated.

There is also some funny comedy. The very premise of the film is meant to be ridiculous. It also helps that some of the film’s actors are funny people. The best example of this is Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells, Scott’s roommate. He and Michael Cera as Scott do a good job bouncing off each other with the unstable friendship they have. I feel that a lot of the comedy in this film comes from how dysfunctional and immoral almost everyone is, which does lead to laughs.

This movie also has a great soundtrack. Due to Scott being in a rock band, along with other characters, we get to hear them perform songs in several scenes. While it’s not anything amazing, it can be fun to listen to. It adds an extra layer of entertainment to the already entertaining action and comedy.

The final thing for me to talk about is the story. There is a big theme of self-improvement. Scott needs to shape up due to all the harm he caused in past relationships. This mixes well with Ramona, who also has a history that created the Evil Exes Scott now has to fight. Despite all of the negative things surrounding Scott, he is still likable. I think self-improvement is a good lesson to teach in today’s society. Almost all of the Evil Exes are made memorable. I do have to criticize how they gave nothing to Evil Exes #5 and #6, but everyone else works.

Overall, this is a fun movie to watch. The action, comedy, and music provide entertainment, while still having a good story. While I have never read the graphic novels, this movie makes me really want to, and it definitely works as a film. If you’re a big video game fan, this might just be the movie for you.

Scott had a history of toxic relationships. This is a problem in real life. Too many people are caught in toxic relationships and end up suffering. Something could be done about this. Try to educate people about the signs of toxic relationships so they can watch for them. One of the sources is Student Activists Ending Dating Abuse (SAEDA) which educates young people in dating. Otherwise, if you find out someone you care about is in a toxic relationship, do everything in your power to convince them to leave it. Learn the signs yourself so you can know whether you are in a toxic relationship. I feel that with all of this, there can be a safer world for dating.