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Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Column: The Word on Films | Date Published: Tuesday, 17 August 10 | Author: Allan Sko | | 1 year, 5 months ago

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The best compliment I can pay this film – other than OMG!OMG!How superfrickinawesome! – is that my lofty expectations were all satisfyingly met.

Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim comic series is a knowing and humourous homage to computer game and hipster culture, which sees our hero pit himself against seven evil exes in order to win the heart of dream girl Ramona Flowers. In the build up to the film’s release, there were three crucial elements that, if done right, would make this one of the year’s best. The writing – I am pleased to report this is a sharp and largely faithful adaptation, replete with quickfire wit ‘n’ quips and solid story structure. Michael Cera – really, you just needed the Arrested Development, Superbad and Juno star to do what he does best; shyness, nuance, understated intelligence and perfect comedic timing. Check, check, check and ooooooo boy howdy check.

The third, and arguably most crucial element… Edgar Wright. Edgar bloody Wright. Everything the man touches turns to gold, from TV series Spaced to cinematic ventures Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Pilgrim is no different. Wright’s trademark vivacious visual humour is perfect for a comic book adaptation, capturing the blistering pace and action excitement adroitly. Add to this brilliant performances from Jason Schwartzman as the ultimate evil ex, Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s smouldering turn as Ramona and film highlight Kieran “Why don’t I act more often?” Culkin as Pilgrim’s gay flatmate Warren, and you have the year’s most entertaining and hilarious film to date.

	The Expendables: I really wanted to like this film. Like, a lot. It was meant to be a throwback to every balls-to-the-wall, strap-yourself-in-and-‘ooh’-at-the-pretty-fireballs movie I’d spent my pocket money on as a kid. Sly Stallone was giving us a great chance to relive the glory of the eighties to mid-nineties action stars, while working in the guys who almost inherited the crown, like Jet Li and Jason Statham. But unfortunately, this stinks to high heaven of the fun-sucking Hollywood machine. The Expendables’s plot isn’t manufactured round awesome set-pieces, instead it’s manufactured round awesome egos and contractual obligations. The core cast fights for rights to the cheesy lines and camera-time. Unfortunately, this kind of dialogue only works if there’s a ‘straight man’ character. Without that, they all just sound like they’re unable to hold a normal conversation. It’s a frustrating two hours as the inept script tries desperately to find an emotional core in every character. Naturally, none of these end up being fulfilled to a satisfying level. The filmmakers should’ve taken a leaf out of the Statham-vehicle Transporter series – don’t overthink it, we’ll go with you, we promise. There’s a couple of good fight scenes and a helluva lot of explosions but this excursion seems to be very lacking in the fun factor.
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	Four Lions: Four Lions is a breath of fresh air, even if it comes as an inhaled wince preceded by “Can they really say that?” It’s perhaps the darkest comedy to ever attempt a mainstream audience. From frame one of this parody on suicide bombers, it refuses to pull its punches. The movie has some of the funniest dialogue captured on film. This is hardly surprising, as Christopher Morris’s first major feature was bound to carry a huge weight of expectation. His work in British television has produced some of the great modern comedy and Four Lions delivers with a boom. Omar (Riz Ahmed) is a jihadist with a dream. His crew of like-minded screw-ups are desperate to strike a blow for the cause, though they’re a little lacking in direction. As the wheels fall off in more and more entertaining ways, Omar’s grip on true north slips further and further away. This film is handled incredibly delicately. It balances the darkest aspects of the theme perfectly, taking things far enough to do them justice but always reigning it in before it gets out of hand. Things do fall down ever so slightly plotwise towards the end, but the laughter continues running non-stop. Anyone willing to set their eyebrows to a permanent raise, will love this stuff.
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