Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Ever since making his transition to the big screen in “Juno,” Michael Cera has become well known for playing the lovably insecure nerd who gets by with subtle charm and wittiness. Now Cera is stretching his acting chops, a little, and taking on the role of reluctant action hero Scott Pilgrim. However, come to think of it, most superheroes don’t just willingly dive into the role of crime stoppers, they usually ponder their choices a little while before donning their distinctive colorful capes and self-identity protecting masks.

Scott Pilgrim doesn’t need a cape nor a mask, for his arch-enemies already know who he is. He’s the current boyfriend of rollerblade delivery girl Ramona Flowers, and by obtaining this role he has to do battle with her seven exes.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is based on the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’ Malley and, as such, is pretty much graphic novel standard fare. If you are into this particular sub genre, you will probably enjoy the film; if you’re not, there really isn’t anything new this film offers.

The movie essentially follows Scott as he tries to balance his feelings for Ramona with the fear of dying while fighting off all her ex-boyfriends. Each battle that he engages in gets more and more intense, as he literally grows weaker (just as in a video game, his life points drain away).

The movie is fashioned more like an electronic fighting game than an action picture. The fight scenes consist of stylized martial arts fights where there is a lot of movement and punches landing, along with obligatory groans, grunts and crashes. There is no blood, and even when opponents are defeated they explode from the screen as pixilated silver coins and a digital point total rather than in blood and carnage. If you’re a fan of action movies that exist solely on the basis of action, than there is nothing in this movie that you haven’t seen before, and since the plot revolves around Scott defeating seven ex-boyfriends, by the time he gets to boyfriend five and six you’ll have seen it only minutes before.

Profanity: There are roughly a handful of profane words and a few instances of g.d. and other uses of religious profanity. One character, in particular, spouts off profanity with every other word that comes out of her mouth, however none of it is heard or even seen, since the filmmakers have digitally bleeped her words and placed a black spot over her mouth during the expletives, think of it as listening to the censored version of a song on iTunes, in context, you know what is being said, but the actual word that is said is not heard.

The item that many Christian viewers will find most offensive has to do with the sexual orientation of a couple of secondary characters. The first of which is Scott’s roommate Wallace, who, when introduced, discloses he is “gay.” He says it in a very joking manner, and one is never sure whether he is being sincere or simply said it to get a reaction. When he kisses another guy and ends up in bed with him, it is clear he wasn’t joking. This happens on two occasions, and in both encounters the intimacy is implied and never seen. Another character is one of Ramona’s exes who is an ex-girlfriend. Anyone who has seen the trailer to this film has no doubt heard the line about Ramona being “bi-curious.” The relationship and it’s implications go no further than that one line used only to set up the next fight scene.

By way of comparison Scott Pilgrim, as far as it’s level of violence and overall morality, is far, far, far less violent and offensive than either “Kick-A**” or “Watchmen.” While those two films definitely earned their “R” ratings, the “PG-13” rating Scott Pilgrim garnered definitely demonstrates who it’s target audience is: teenage “fanboys” of comics, video games and graphic novels, as well as teen girls who will see anything that has Michael Cera’s name and face attached to it. If you’re not in one of those two demographic groups, chances are Scott Pilgrim’s battle against the world will not appeal to you.

“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is rated PG-13 “for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references” and has a running time of 112 minutes.

Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Moderate / Sex/Nudity: Moderate

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative
• Young people