Karl Puschmann: Netflix gives cult fave Scott Pilgrim another shot. Does it deserve it?
The movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was not the blockbuster it was supposed to be. I’m not entirely sure why. Its cast consisted almost entirely of big-name stars, it had a hot, young director at the peak of his powers and it possessed more glitz and style than you’ll find at New Zealand Fashion Week.
I went along and saw it when it came out in 2010 and was enamoured with its flashy, frenetic pace and hyper-kinetic style. Director Edgar Wright made his name on the brilliant Britcom Spaced with actor Simon Pegg and the pair had begun making cult hit movies together like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Wright had been rightly acclaimed for his vivid and wildly imaginative style and Scott Pilgrim was the movie that was going to catapult him into the big leagues.
Sadly, it was a box office misfire. The movie flopped harder than a portly man strolling across a lake of ice. Wright had poured everything into the film, and maybe that was the problem. While it’s a relatively straightforward boy-meets-girl-but-has-to-overcome-his-jealousy story, the visuals are absolutely, unrelentingly bonkers. It’s an accelerated fever dream mash-up of videogames, comic books, searing colours and Japanese anime.
It’s really rather good. And while it lost tens of millions of dollars, it did go on to become a cult favourite. Which brings us to today.
13 years after Scott Pilgrim completely failed to win over the world, the character is back for a second shot at the title - this time on Netflix as an eight-part series rather than a film. It has also leapt from live-action into animation. While Wright’s action had a Looney Tunes sense of the absurd about it, the cartoon look is more faithful to the anime inspirations of the original graphic novels he adapted for the big screen.
Where the movie saw slacker Scott struggling to reconcile himself with his girlfriend’s past via a series of high-energy action fight scenes against her ex-boyfriends, the series kicks that to the ground in favour of a fresh take. The boss fights with evil exes are still there and as spectacularly inventive as the film’s, but the world no longer revolves entirely around Scott.
This is not immediately apparent, however. As I was watching the first episode, it felt like an almost unnecessary retelling of the movie as it followed the beats so closely. It was only when it reached its cliffhanger ending that the show took off from the past to become its own thing.
The series is faithful to Wright’s directorial vision, with fast supercuts, odd angles, fast zooms and more rapid-fire action than a cellophane’s worth of TikTok videos. American animation has, in my view, become steadily more ugly over the years, so it’s great to see an American show with some style and pizazz to it. Even if it shamelessly borrows it from Japanese anime. It’s no surprise to learn there’s a Japanese studio behind the animation.
Fans of the movie will be pleased the original cast has returned to voice their characters. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Star Wars: Ahsoka) is back as Ramona Flowers, the object of Scott’s affection, and frequent Wes Anderson collaborator Jason Schwartzman returns as Gideon, the head honcho of her evil exes who does battle with Scott. Captain Americahimself Chris Evans rejoins, as does Succession’s Kieran Culkin. None of which would matter if Michael Cera hadn’t also returned to voice the dweebishly self-absorbed titular character.
The show is not a remake or reboot of the movie but is instead its own thing. With its snarky gags, fast pace, rockin’ soundtrack and arresting visuals, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a super-fun watch. It’s an easy recommendation for fans, but it remains to be seen whether Scott Pilgrim is going to take off with viewers.