Ugh...Eh

Rating: 5/10 (4 January 2012)

D+
I don't see why one would praise this movie. It starts off as a teen melodrama, though its video game-like visuals I must admit were amusing. Michael Cera plays the same role he plays every damn time he's handed a role; the pathetic loser. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, not to go back to the all-too familiar McLovin role, is a general sense a likable nerd niche character. Cera's roles are just annoying. He ranges from a sniveling coward to a stuttering and indecisive would-be sweet talker. It's not a case of the same sh*t, which I can take, it's a case of the same annoying sh*t.
After a while into the film, after meeting the no doubt adorable Mary Elizabeth Winstead, out of nowhere comes Satya Bhabha flying thru a wall and then a very lame fight scene takes place. I love the colorful cinematography, I really do, but the action just isn't all that amazing. The whole movie, its trailers and various articles all seem to anticipate these grand and elaborate fight scenes with the "seven evil exes". It captures the comic book feel, yes, but only in a childish manner due to the gentleness of the fight scenes. Put in short I never feel our main protagonists is any real peril. I whole heartedly believe in disowning realism in the name of poetic license (being an avid fan of Godzilla here, enough said), and yet this film goes so far over the top they kill any possibility of creating tension. The cast had some very promising stars, such as Brandon Routh and Chris Evans, but their roles are so over-the-top there's no real threat. Sure, some of the comedy is sort of funny, but over-all the script was absurdly weak. The best joke in it all would be that the "power of love" got Cera's character killed, but the "power of self-respect" leads to victory.
About the only real theme I took to heart was the growing simplicity of contemporary music, akin to the twins' techno vs. the hardcore punk band scene, but it just doesn't hold up. I've read some graphic novels in my day, among them "The Dark Knight Returns", various Deadpool comics, Hellboy graphic novels and yes the Kick-Ass and Watchmen graphic novels, but if the Scott pilgrims are really as pointless as the movie then I'd sadly say I'd have to pass.