Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was released in 2010. The film is about Scott Pilgrim who falls for a girl and has to face her seven evil exes in order for them to be together. The film stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber, Ellen Wong, Brie Larson, Satya Bhabha, Keita Saito, Shota Saito, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Mae Whitman, and Jason Schwartzman.   

I thought Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was fun. It is a unique movie that I feel was probably ahead of its time when it came out in 2010. I am curious how it would have done if it were released during this time. The cast gives solid performances in their roles. The evil exes were fun to watch. The premise is absurd in a good way. It’s over the top and embraces the comic book world lovingly as well as the video game world. It also finds a cool way to mix in music as well. It is visually cool to look at. The stylization reminded of me of Sin City a little bit which was released five years before this. 

It was cool to see who was in this movie. Several comic book stars were in this including Brie Larsson, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Aubrey Plaza, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Three out of the five went on to have roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while the other two have played roles in the DC world. The movie is fast paced and throws a lot at the audience. By the time one could take a moment, the movie reaches its end. It is a little under two hours, and I think that is the right length for it. I think it would have been hard to stretch it out if it were two hours or more. 

I am not surprised the movie did not do that well in theaters given it is very niche. It opened at a time where Marvel was just getting started. Iron Man 2 opened in 2010, and Avengers was still two years away. Movies based on video games were not doing as well as they have been now. The most successful ones at the time were the Resident Evil franchise which were not that huge in the US. They made a lot more money internationally. If it were released now, could it have been more successful financially? Maybe. If done well video game adaptions are doing a lot better and comic book movies are on top when it’s a quality movie. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been breaking tons of records in its run. The uniqueness of Scott Pilgrim could have been enough for it to do well at the Box Office now. Audiences seem to gravitate toward projects that are fresh and unique these days.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a fun over the top comic book/video game movie. It has a zany premise and a stellar cast. It is visually unique and finds a cool way to bring music into the mix. It is definitely a movie worth checking out.