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Last Crap Movie You Saw


Yantelope
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Last crap movie? Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. God. I have never been so ashamed of gamer culture- watching that movie try to clumsily lay claim to our society just pissed me off. Badly written, stupid in concept, the only things it did well were the things it stole.

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Like it or not there is no way you can describe Scott Pilgrim as 'clumsy'.

 

Last bad film I can think of is the latest Resident Evil but then again I tend not to watch films unless I'm pretty sure they're going to be good.

 

I think you can absolutely describe Scott Pilgrim as clumsy. Just because the visual effects were well done doesn't excuse incredibly unlikable characters, weak story (when you shoot for a D movie plot and FAIL, there's a problem), and irritating attempts at nostalgia.

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Like it or not there is no way you can describe Scott Pilgrim as 'clumsy'.

 

Last bad film I can think of is the latest Resident Evil but then again I tend not to watch films unless I'm pretty sure they're going to be good.

 

I think you can absolutely describe Scott Pilgrim as clumsy. Just because the visual effects were well done doesn't excuse incredibly unlikable characters, weak story (when you shoot for a D movie plot and FAIL, there's a problem), and irritating attempts at nostalgia.

For starters Edgar Wright's direction is excellent, and anything but clumsy. The script is hilarious (everyone in the audience was in hysterics throughout the film when I went to see it at the cinema). Cera, Culkin, Winstead and indeed the entire cast all provide great provide great performances. And as you said the visual effects are very well done and the entire film looks great. Whether the characters are likeable or not is so subjective that there's not even any point in arguing over that, suffice to say I don't agree there. I'll admit the story falters a little towards the end because of the re-shoot which put it more in line with the last book but other than that the plot is elegantly simple and it's remarkable that Wright successfully managed to compress the 6 books into a mere 2 hours. As for the 'irritating attempts at nostalgia' I presume you mean the numerous references to video-games etc. How exactly these could be annoying I'm not sure but I can't think of any that stood out as not fitting with the rest of the movie.

 

So like I said, like it or not - and I'll freely admit it's not everyone's cup of tea - clumsy is the last word I'd use to describe a film so higly polished and streamlined.

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(Text truncated to save space, simply quoted to distinguish who I am replying to.)

 

It's very nice that you have a different opinion about the movie than me. That's the nice thing about opinion. You made the statement that you couldn't call Scott Pilgrim clumsy. Maybe you don't think it is, but sure I can call it that. I think it is clumsy. The magic of opinion.

 

For the record, my problem was not with the cast- they did their job quite admirably, Cera in particular. My problems probably stem from the source material (which I have never read), but that's the danger of adapting a work of fiction for film- if the source material is disliked, the movie will more than likely be disliked. As to specific complaints, since you were so specific with your praise....

 

The game metaphors were incredibly clumsy. Having Scott "get a life" for playing well at the battle of the bands made me wince, having all the bad guys turn to piles of quarters when killed was a painful attempt to reference River City Ransom, the random Zelda music was jarring. But that, of course, was not the only group of problems with the movie. Out of all the characters that fought with super powers (evil exes plus Scott, Knives, and Romona, forgive me if I'm forgetting one or two), only one was explained- the vegan, who has powers because he's vegan. I have no problem with that explanation- it was maybe the one part of the movie I found genuinely funny. But presenting us with an everyday world and then spontaneously giving its inhabitants powers is just stupid, and sloppy storytelling. If there had been any kind of excuse, that would have been fine, but the movie just takes it for granted that we'll roll with it when the world is, otherwise, perfectly normal. Scott in particular is an incredibly ordinary guy who suddenly becomes an incredible fighter just because it's convenient, narratively.

 

The few jokes that were amusing the movie brought back until it was impossible to enjoy them anymore- yes, Scott's roommate has this near-inhuman ability to spread news and gossip. It was cute the first time. Let it go. But really, most of the flaws of the movie come from the fact that it embraces gaming tropes that are awkward even in gaming. Extra Lives are (or were, it depends on your perspective) a necessary part of video games, to keep the action going, but it's pretty obvious to everyone playing that they're a breaking of the fourth wall, and make no sense in the in-game universe. Similarly, the fact that characters have fighting prowess is a necessity in most video games, even if they have no martial background. We accept it, because if we didn't, there could be no game, but it's clumsy and awkward. They're necessary evils, endearing flaws that we have, over time, come to love, because they show video games for what they are- flawed pieces of entertainment. Everything is flawed in some way, I'm not dissing games, but if games were perfect, and had always been perfect, there would BE no Extra Lives. There would BE no characters who had inexplicable powers, there would always be a reason.

 

Scott Pilgrim's entire schtick is taking those flaws out of context, and once they're out of context, put into the setting of a live-action film, we suddenly become aware of just how clumsy they are. Making it "canon" that it took the protagonist two lives to finish the final level is stupid. Having Scott suddenly gain "the power of love" and "the power of self-respect" in a burst of flame and sound is stupid. The movie draws attention to things that even video games try to keep behind the scenes, because when you see them up close, when you really think about them, they're sloppy design. And the movie tries to use these endearing flaws as its focus and selling point- thus making them unendearing. We love them BECAUSE they are awkward but necessary. When you proudly display them, we have no choice but to see them for what they are... and thus dislike them.

 

That is Scott Pilgrim's true legacy- managing to take the most fun parts of gamer culture, and make them insufferable.

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@6264

 

I think I didn't make the same criticisms of the movie because I understood they were working from a comic book as source material and by trying to stay true to the source material they created a pretty bizzare film. (I've never read the comic graphic novel so I don't know how true exactly) The problem I had is that as a piece of film by itself it simply doesn't work. The word "jarring" is a pretty good one. The movie is just mostly incoherent and unexplained and as fan service it might be fun but as a stand alone film it's a mess.

Edited by Yantelope
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Gonna join the not a Scott Pilgrim fan side of that debate. It was "ok", "competent" and "polished", but that's about it. I wouldn't say it was a "crap" movie either.

 

I also think it is unfair to put Tron: Legacy and Resident Evil in the "crap" thread. To me, "crap" means that the film had little to no redeeming features. Most of the movies mentioned here are ones I would describe as "below par", "not good" or "ok".

 

The last "crap" movie I saw was... hmm... probably the last Wyan bros. movie I sat through. Can't remember which one it was but I think it was Scary Movie 3... were there three? They've sort of all merged together. That or Starship Troopers 2.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tron: Legacy. The movie was fucking boring. I mean, the only character I could care about was Jeff Bridges, but that's because he's The Dude.

 

The plot was lame, the worldbuilding was nonsensical and the art style was bland. I mean, the world just looked like some minimalist Swedish furniture designer's wet dream if you traced everything in fucking neon magic markers. And the 3D made everything except the magic marker lines way too dark, which did not go well the general pastiness of all the whitebread characters.

 

Daft Punk is cool, but I cannot recall a single theme or song from the movie.

 

 

What fucking waste of $17.

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