Childish and Predictable

Rating: 4/10 (2 July 2011)

'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.' In the past five or so years a string of films have been created that have been inspired by the growing popularity of graphic novels. 'Watchmen', 'Sin City' and 'Kick-Ass' to name a few successful ones, but for me 'Scott Pilgrim' has to be one of the most irritating pieces of cinema I have ever watched.
First of all, the film has tried far too hard to appear to literally be like watching a comic scroll across the screen. The screen is often cut in sections to show windows of animation, while the use of onomatopoeia as a part of this wears thin. It is a nice idea, and can make things a lot more light-hearted, as it was effectively used throughout the 'Batman and Robin' series with Adam West. But in 'Scott Pilgrim' it is used probably at least once a minute. This is a film! Not a comic, or a television show. One of the main parts of watching a film is also to enjoy the sound effects throughout, we do not need it to be spelled out constantly for us!
And now to what I found to be the most awful part of the film. Michael Cera. His voice is listening to a cat that is being run over a a steam roller. A horrible whiny moan, it really drills into your skull as the film progresses. I always thought that there was a fairly wide selection of young actors at the moment - so why choose the worst?
Admittedly, the film has probably a couple of laugh out loud moments, but not many. Too few for a comedy. Perhaps I have mistaken the viewing age, and maybe it has been aimed at younger teens, or maybe the new 'tween' generation who seem to have some bizarre love for skinny boys with odd haircuts. And maybe that is why this film has become popular, despite it not being especially viewable.