I watched the SCOTT PILGRIM film and my reaction was... a weird one. It's difficult to say if my reaction was swayed by the underwhelming performance it had at the Box Office. As much as I'd like to pretend that I am never swayed by stuff like that, there was a part of me that was going into the film that was simultaneously anticipating my enjoyment of the film while looking for reasons as to why it failed to reach a larger audience.

First and foremost, this was a comic movie done right. The cast was perfect. Edgar Wright's narrative choices as a director show he's an expert craftsman. Any fan of the Scott Pilgrim comics (as am I) couldn't DREAM of a better adaptation. Yet despite the near perfect execution, it failed. Why?

The bits I had a problem with are:

First, Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. Sorry, I couldn't buy into it. Cera's a funny dude and you can tell he really tried to capture the spirit of the character. But Michael is way too nerdy to be Scott Pilgrim. If a guy's able to steal the hearts of a beautiful cast of females (as Scott does) he's got to have a bit of a hunky quality to him... particularly if he's as aloof as Scott Pilgrim is. He's also got to look a bit more athletic if he's going to kick that much kung-fu butt. Cera's physicality doesn't convince me he could do either.

Second, somehow knowing that Scott Pilgrim had to fight all 7 of Ramona's evil exes made the movie feel LOOOONG. After the fight with the second evil ex, I started to freak out, knowing that there were still 5 evil exes to fight before the film ended. In the comics there were 6 books within which the 6 battles take place (one fight involves 2 evil exes). Crunching all that down into one movie was done superbly, but it gave me a quantitative way to see the overall length of the film that hindered my enjoyment.

The video game logic of the universe held me back from investing emotionally into the film. Now, this is an unavoidable problem. Scott Pilgrim's world is fundamentally built on several concepts established by video games. When people die, they burst into coins. Point systems are given for beating key characters. There are even 1-ups. While it worked in the imaginary world created when a comic book reader reads Bryan O'Malley's comics... it doesn't work on the same level in the film. It kind of reminds me of the similar problems that arise when watching the underappreciated live-action POPEYE film directed by Robert Altman and starring Robin Williams. When the "rules" of the live-action world are so vastly different from reality, the audience emotionally disconnects from what is happening on screen. I found that to be a very big issue in Scott Pilgrim. The drama and stakes didn't feel all that huge (despite the beautiful epic spectacle on screen) because I wasn't instinctively invested in the film's world. With the comic (as comics are an experience where the reader actively moves through the world as he reads them) I felt more comfortable in the Scott Pilgrim world. In the film, I was repeatedly being reminded how unnatural it all was.

But beyond the problems I had with the film, it was a brilliant piece of film making magic that pushes the limitations of film style and storytelling... and it breaks my heart that I can fervently defend it's genius. Every dollar spent on the film can be seen on screen. The budget is said to be $60 million. But the film looks like it was made on a budget that was easily double that. The martial arts influenced action sequences are distinct, kinetic, and visually beautiful. Every fight celebrates the distinct personalities of each "Ex". They also manage to get bigger in visual and physical scope as the film progresses. I also loved the way that the band performances were done. There's a bit of a raw, punk aesthetic that was very cool. And the cast of the film was as perfect a cast as you could ask for... with every actor giving their role just what was needed.

SCOTT PILGRIM is a film that is so ambitious and well executed that it pushes film forward so far that it shows the limitations of the medium. And, in so doing, my heart's a little bit broken.