Weird, but fun.

Rating: Null/10 (30 July 2011)

I bought "Scott Pilgrim vs The World" for my wife's birthday months ago, following a great review of the film by Mark Kermode (who we generally find has taste that matches ours). We didn't watch the film until last night (seven months after it was bought), and I'm quite disappointed that we didn't find time for it earlier. This is a very good movie! The main characters are quite sympathetically drawn (with the possible exception of Knives, who is sidelined too much until she has such an important role in the story), but with flaws which make them three-dimensional (quite impressive for a film derived from a comic-book!) I am very impressed with Kieran Culkin's acting - I don't think I've seen him in anything else. As a character, Ramona Flowers is seriously hot - very sexy, strong and vulnerable all at once.
I missed many of the video-game references, never having the patience to play them, but it didn't affect the film from my point of view. However, I am a bit concerned about the casual acceptance of having to kill previous partners in order to become the next partner. My wife thinks that is an allegory for what actually happens in a relationship, but I just don't get it. It seems needlessly brutal, since there is no indication that the deaths are metaphorical (once the basic premises of the film are accepted, so that these people really can fight like video-game characters). Let's face it, Scott does not know any of the exes, yet he he puts a great deal of effort into killing them for his own benefit. He could have walked away at any time, as I understood the plot, and the remaining evil exes would have left him alone.
Overall, an 8 out of 10n, because it was well-made movie with some great acting, but the basic premise leaves me a bit uncomfortable.