Josh Reviews Scott Pilgrim Takes Off!

I absolutely adore Edgar Wright’s 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, an endlessly clever and fun adaptation of Brian Lee O’Malley’s terrific series of graphic novels.  (Seriously, if you’re reading this and you’ve never watched that film, go watch it right now! I think it’s one of the best, most underrated films of the last two decades.)

I must admit that when I heard that a new anime-style animated adaptation of Scott Pilgrim was in the works, I wasn’t interested at first.  While I’m an enormous animation fan, I don’t love the anime-style, and the look of the early images from this new series didn’t spark my interest.  But after it came out, I started hearing good things about this new Scott Pilgrim show.  GREAT things.  So I decided to give it a go.

WOW this series is fantastic!!!  I loved it and devoured this eight-episode season in rapid speed.  I highly recommend this show.  If, like me, you don’t connect so well to the anime-style, don’t worry!!  I promise the show will win you over!

You don’t need to have read the original comics or watched the 2010 film to enjoy the series.  However, one of the most interesting aspects of the series is how it takes the source material in an entirely different direction, and you won’t appreciate that without watched the 2010 film (or read the original comics).  This is a reboot/remake, but it’s also sort of a stealth sequel to the 2010 film.  I’m so impressed with how they made this new show both of those things!!

The show brings back the ENTIRE cast of the 2010 Scott Pilgrim film.  This is an amazing achievement, because pretty much everyone from that film’s insanely stacked cast has gone on to be a big star.  I’m bowled over that they got everyone back — and I mean everyone, including the more minor supporting characters.  Just take a gander at this insane cast: Michael Cera (Arrested Development) as Scott Pilgrim; Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane, Birds of Prey, Ahsoka) as Ramona Flowers; Kieran Culkin (Igby Goes Down, Succession) as Wallace Wells; Chris Evans (Captain America in the MCU) as Lucas Lee; Anna Kendrick (the Pitch Perfect films, 50/50, A Simple Favor) as Stacey Pilgrim; Brie Larson (Captain Marvel in the MCU; Kong: Skull Island) as Envy Adams; Allison Pill (Hail, Caesar!, Vice, The Newsroom, Star Trek: Picard) as Kim Pine; Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Legion, Safety Not Guaranteed, The To Do List) as Julie Powers, Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) as Todd Ingram, Jason Schwartzman (The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Asteroid City, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) as Gideon Graves; Mae Whitman (Arrested Development, Parenthood, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and she voiced Katara in the original animated Avatar: The Last Airbender) as Roxie Richter; Mark Webber (Green Room) as Stephen Stills; Johnny Simmons (21 Jump Street, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) as Young Neil; Ellen Wong as Knives Chau; Satya Bhabha as Matthew Patel; and more!

The first episode of this eight-episode season unfolds as I’d expected it to; retelling what’s pretty much the story we got in the original comics and then the 2010 film.  But then, to my surprise and delight, the story took a sharp left turn, and the season headed into entirely new territory.  This was a bold choice, and I loved it.  I loved how they managed to shift the focus of the story and make Ramona Flowers, rather than Scott, the most central character.  And I loved how they found a way to spend more time exploring the incredible array of supporting characters!!  This was incredible (and the talented voice cast more than rose to the challenge).  To say any more would be to spoil this show’s twists and turns.  I’ll just say that, time and again, I loved the show’s story-telling choices.

I highly recommend this series.  I loved it, and I am sure this is a show I’ll enjoy rewatching again soon.

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