We Just Saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Here's Our Reaction

Dixon: ‪Well, as someone who was not and is not into video games‬, I can say yes. I get the cultural touchstones, but much of the specifics were lost on me. I still enjoyed the story of a boy becoming a man, at its heart. And speaking of that boy, can we have a minute to discuss Michael Cera? Who, for me, is the one weak link in the movie. Perhaps it's because I've read sarcastic interview after sarcastic interview with him, but I have trouble believing that Cera can adeptly convey emotions on screen. He's got superb comic timing, but I can never think of him playing angry, scared, passionate, or depressed. He's in his own humid bubble of self-deprecation and I'm finding it a bit stifling.

Kyle: ‪He can do "depressed"...it just looks like a Snoopy walk‬. I thought Cera was fine, if familiar. The interesting thing they pulled off in this movie -- and at first, I wasn't sure they would -- was that they were really able to pull off this vivid community of small roles and supporting characters. At first, the movie is startlingly top heavy with characters and introductions and it's a lot to get your bearings, especially with the quickest, weirdest wipes between shots that i've seen since Ang Lee's The Hulk...but it eventually worked for me. It didn't help at first that Wright would layer on additional onscreen "stats" for each character that told us exactly what we already knew. It was over-emphasis, but this is a movie about EMPHASIS!

Dixon: ‪Well, that comes straight from the book‬, a‪nd is the point there as well‬. ‪It tells us stuff that's patently obvious‬.

Kyle: ‪Right, but that works on the page‬. O‪nscreen‬, I ‪just need a costume and a real human face to look at‬ and then it's overkill.

Dixon: ‪Well, even though I couldn't help but imagine how well Jesse Eisenberg (or, as I call him, "The Acting Man's Michael Cera") would've rocked the role, it certainly was no deal breaker‬. The movie is perfect fun and comes not a moment too soon for this crappy, blah summer of crappy blah movies.

Kyle: ‪It's so visually inventive and confident‬ -- the action is cut insanely fast, but by and large, it makes spatial sense.

Dixon: Honestly, I think a lot of action directors could learn from Edgar Wright‬. The action was fast-paced but smooth, and I never had any trouble of keeping track of whose ass was getting handed to him or her.

Kyle: I would say this has better action sequences than Inception, but I don't want you to come after me with a flaming sword‬, so I'll just say you haven't seen ANYTHING like this at all this year.

Dixon: ‪+100 experience points for you!‬

Pages: 1 2 3