MovieChat Forums > Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) Discussion > Was the Last 20 or So Minutes of the Mov...

Was the Last 20 or So Minutes of the Movie Somewhat Dissapointing?

posted 13 years ago by SonnyCarson
21 replies | jump to latest

It was to me. First, let me say that I really liked the movie; it deserves about 4 out of 5 stars. I finally got around to seeing it yesterday by way of a recommendation from Kick Ass (which I think is overall inferior to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). I know that the movie's not entirely original, but it's a good breath of fresh air from the recycling of bad sequels, remakes, unoriginal, and original movies that come out nowadays. I've never seen a movie that has blended martial arts, videogames, comic books, and music so harmoniously and aesthetically. It's not a perfect movie, but it's different and it was done well.

So that's just the thing: much of my appeal to the movie was that it was very different. Yet at the end, the movie gets bombarded with cliches and moral lessons that undid its unorthodox style and made it conventional. I'm not talking about the whole "guy gets the girl at the end" trope as much as I'm talking about the fact that Scott all of a sudden (and too quick for my taste) comes to an epiphany of how bad a person he was and so apologizes to everyone and everyone immediately accepts his apologies and everything suddenly becomes ok and perfect. And then Knives also has her forced period of maturity and character development that I didnt buy at all. Also the fact that Knives bum rushes the fight at the end and helps save the day was cliche and expected (though the fact that she intially went after Ramona was a bit unexpected). The whole bit when Gideon slapped around Ramona and invoked the fury of Knives and Scott enough to bring about his defeat was kind of meh too. All of these "Hollywood" conventions were so smothering that during the scene it seems that the filmmakers were conscious of this and so had Gideon basically "apologize" for it in so many words, though I forget exactly what he says.

I know it's not a big deal, but perhaps all of this kept this movie from being even greater. It seems that way to me. To see such an unconventional movie revert to being conventional near the end was a bit of a let down. But still a good movie nonetheless. Will definitely be a cult classic for years to come.

"A great movie is one in which truth and spectacle are gracefully blended."

[–] iseemoviepeople 13 years ago

Yeah, I found the last bit kind of disappointing. It got too moralizing, which didn't go with the rest of the movie.

[–] doctorcrimedog 13 years ago

About as much as the entire human race's total inability to spell "disappointing" is disappointing. Personally I thought the last two hours of the film were a letdown. I can't recall the last time I saw a film so dedicated to running in place for its whole length. See five minutes of this film and you've seen everything it's ever going to do.

-There is no such word as "alot."

[–] SonnyCarson 13 years ago

Yes, but not nearly as "dissapointing" as everyone's obsession with spelling and grammar on the internet, especially when it's largely trivial. (I'm not necessarily talking about you, though this very well might apply to you). Though mine was just a typo, I find mispellings of disappointing to be not disappointing (though your pun was fairly enjoyable), but rather funny.

Anyways, it seems that you're saying that the film was largely static and flat. I think that that is largely an unfair reading of the film. Yes, there wasn't a whole lot of development, but I think there was some good development. Development with the relationships of the characters as more and more information was revealed, e.g. Scott and his former girlfriend (and how he eventually got over her). Then there was the development of Knives, Ramona, and others. And there are other things to consider also. I think that the style of the film also limits its development but doesn't necessarily limit it's quality.

By the way, I'm just now remembering more fully how confusing the ages of the characters were to me. I think that most of them were supposed to be in their early 20s, but most of the exes looked a bit older and bigger than Scott. And did Knives have parents? Were there any parents in the whole movie?

"A great movie is one in which truth and spectacle are gracefully blended."

[–] ElPollodelaMuerte 13 years ago

I think this is the case of trying to put 6 (or 5 1/2) graphic novels into a movie. They needed to come up with something comprehensible for an ending which could not be adapted from the comics (which was impossible with Gideon's ex's appearing and fighting and Scott fighting Gideon in Ramona's head, etc). When they have to create something away from the comics it always looks awkward to me.

Still wish they had found a way to get Knives' father in the movie.

[–] Rad_Robot_V 12 years ago

I actually sorta lost interest during the last 20 minutes. I've heard other viewers say something similar.

[–] yousofunky2712 12 years ago

Couldn't agree more. The ending fizzles for me. It doesn't ruin the movie, in my opinion, though. And it's not like it's the most horrible, worst ending ever, it's just . . . it feels like it could be better.

And it's weird the way in which I think the ending is bad. I agree with what everyone else has said, I just kinda lose interest about the last twenty minutes of the movie. It's like, right about when the final fight starts I get sleepy and want to take a nap . . .

weird

But it's haaarrrrd.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] yousofunky2712 12 years ago

You're dissappointing.

But it's haaarrrrd.

[–] SalukiKnightX 12 years ago

I probably wouldn't have thought so until I read the comic. While the last bit with Scott and Ramona going through the door is in the film. I think what sets the comic apart from the film is the idea of self actualization. Flowers leaves Scott for herself and comes back for herself because she knew the reason for these Scott's fights was her, she's the one who left them all and was the heart breaker. In the case of Scott, he realized in the end that if he didn't watch himself he'd become someone like Gideon, he had to take responsibility for everything he did wrong. Gideon on the other hand was a tool and I liked how the movie portrayed him.

I think what also hurt the end was not finishing the Nega Scott epiphany and Knives relationship earlier. Knives had been pretty much gone after the Todd fight only to, out of nowhere, appear at the end and have its closure tied up awkwardly quick. Had they had Knives and Flowers have the talk it would have made the story of Ramona going back to Gideon a little easier to swallow than just "they had a fight, 2 days later she's back with Gideon". As for Nega Scott, it was a device to have Scott get over himself. As it's handled in the movie you don't see the epiphany of Scott recognizing of his past mistakes and his growing up. As it stands, especially after reading, the ending doesn't feel right. Scott and Ramona are the same as they were in the beginning having not grown from the entire ordeal.

While I understand the writing for Finest Hour wasn't complete by time of filming, the end took too many liberties that cheapened the payoff. I still like the movie a bunch. It has so many Easter eggs that you have to keep re-watching it. Also even with what they cut out I don't think it would have worked out in terms of keeping the overall tone lighthearted and Scott centered, (meaning glowing heads, Julie's parties, Stills coming out the closet, Knives and Kim making out, and wilderness sabbaticals) would have taken away from the movie's overall focus which was Scott literally fighting his girlfriend's ex's to be with her. As it stands I agree it's a 4 out of 5 movie, when it's on fire it's blazing but the end, especially for readers, definitely dims that fire terribly. Overall, it's still an awesome ride that could have been one of the most inventive and action oriented rom-coms ever.

[–] sumon_bahamut 12 years ago

It's probablly my only beef with the film. For some reason I just got a bit bored during the last 20 minutes. I guess it felt a bit underwhelming compared to the brilliance of the first 2 hours.