Thursday, August 26, 2010

His name is Bob. Bob Omb.

The dotted lines because Mike shared this today. And the Bobomb because of Scott Pilgrim last night reminding me of how much I like Super Mario. Yes, I know they use Zelda tunes a lot, but I played Mario a hell of a lot more than I played Zelda.

Speaking on the subject of Scott Pilgrim...I can't remember being so disappointed in a movie. I guess I just expected too much to be honest. Yes, the fight scenes were awesome, the special effects were amazing and they were very well integrated into the live action but...there was something missing.

As I write this I realize I didn't touch on the music which is a big part of the movie I guess. I'm not the biggest fan of garage/grunge but according to a couple of the guys I watched the flick with, the music was pretty well done. As both of them are competing for the title of worlds biggest Nirvana fan, I trust their opinion on the subject.

The thing about the movie that is frustrating is that when it's good, it's fucking awesome, but when it's bad, it is mind numbingly terrible. I'm going to do something I never usually do, and that's list the pros and cons, only because of the range that this movie has, swinging wildly from "wow" to "ew". Like a child flailing around after being tossed off the swings.

Pros

-The Fight Scenes

Flaming Sword: +1 to Awesome

The fight scenes are straight out of a comic book or anime. With the speed line-like effects, letterboxing and shots. This makes for a visually striking movie at its best times, which brings me to:

-The Special Effects

Top notch. I did spot one really wonky piece of effects (watch Brandon Rouths hair after he loses his powers) but apart from that I couldn't fault them. They suit the film perfectly, and the integration of the sound effects and captions work very well. Sometimes you might miss them, as there are no obvious visual cues for them, but apart from that very win.

-Videogame referances

The Seven Bosses (not counting the super secret hidden boss)

What I like about the videogame references is that they don't make a big deal out of them. They're never directly pointed out, but if you've ever played anything on a super nintendo you will catch most of them. There are a lot of Zelda references, but also Mario and Final Fantasy ones. And of course, the whole movie is almost a lovenote to videogames, with the seven bosses, levelling up and extra lives.

Cons
-Pacing

At times the pacing is really bad. I know that Mr Wright (who directed Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) has a certain style. He likes to mix really slow bits with segments of very fast cuts. And those worked in both of the movies he worked with Simon Pegg in. It just didn't work here. Mainly because of the:

-Acting

Act? Me?

Look, I know that the characters are supposed to be the loser/slacker type, but come on. The Actress who plays Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) just makes no effort whatsoever to...act. And speaking of acting...

-Michael Cera

Firstly, I like Michael Cera. I like that he's the kinda awkward, quiet guy who has the potential to freak out hysterically. I think it's kinda sad that I've never seen him play any other role apart from Michael Cera. And the worst part was that he was not a good Scott Pilgrim.

So, draw from these points what you will, as always this is just my opinion. There are people who absoloutely went batshit for this movie, and good on them. As a fan I was heartbroken.

3 comments:

strangepants said...

I honestly think your 'cons' section boils down to the movie not matching the mental image you've created in your own head from the graphic novels.

I thought it did a good job of marrying the graphic novel style with live-action film. Even the lazy acting and uneven pacing seemed more of a tribute to the source material than a problem with the film or its cast.

Unknown said...

Like I said, if you liked the movie, good on you ^_^

And yes, I did "review" (in the loosest sense of the word) the movie from my point of view as a fan of the comics.

I did mention to a friend yesterday that the reason I was disappointed was that I built it up too much in my head. I guess I must just read too fast when reading comics because I was expecting the pace to be completely different.

Clarence Dass said...

I think not all comic books lend well to film adaptations... and Scoot Pilgrim Vs stuff is an example of this.

Reading something at a 'lazy' pace and taking in the many details and references at your own leasure is one thing, but when the references and details are cramped into screen after screen, breaking up a snail pace story, it don't work,

The comic was a very niche title... and it has a movie to match.

Also... there is no competition: I'm the biggest Nirvana fan.