Scott Pilgrim began as a graphic novel, which became a cult hit, and was adapted by Edgar Wright into a thoroughly entertaining film which, to underline its cult status, was a resounding box office bomb. This was accompanied by a video game version that received decidedly mixed reviews. Any other piece of intellectual property would probably have been put out to pasture.
Not this one. More than a decade later, the story has returned once again, this time as a TV series on Netflix, and perhaps the most remarkable achievement of all is that it has managed to return with the entire original cast of the film. The A-listers (Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans) were convinced to return by Edgar Wright, who serves here as executive producer, and the series creator of the graphic novel series Bryan Lee O'Malley is writing.
In Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, the foundations of the story remain the same: dysfunctional twentysomething Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) meets and instantly falls head over heels for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a woman who literally appears in his life while using his dreams as a route for her delivery job (don't overthink it).
Shortly after they begin dating, seven ‘evil exes’ of Flowers are revealed to be standing in the way of their future relationship, and Pilgrim must defeat these in actual battle in order for the two to continue dating.
This is where many of the similarities with previous incarnationas end, and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off doesn't so much jump the tracks as career off the rails entirely. It’s not a sequel, a prequel, or a remake in the traditional sense. A remix might be an appropriate name as any. Whatever you call it, the story is likely to be challenging for a newcomer to the world of Scott Pilgrim. And that is because it is completely insane.
Scott Pilgrim has never been conventional, but in its latest animated form, the chaotic energy – mixing video game tropes, creative directing and zany plot twists – may be too jarring for those expecting a blow-by-blow retelling.
This pure chaos energy isn’t the only aspect of the series that risks alienating new viewers. While the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World didn’t ask audiences for any prior knowledge of the story, there are plenty of nods and winks in Takes Off that are likely to have new audiences scratching their heads (watch out for the Simon Pegg and Nick Frost cameo, no doubt courtesy of longtime collaborator Wright).
Yet in many ways, Takes Off feels like a growth in the material, certainly surpassing the 2010 film. One of its downfalls was failing to flesh out several of the many, many side characters in the story. The series manages to achieve this, given the extended time it has to tell the story.
Some of the film’s most one dimensional characters like Scott’s ex-girlfriend Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) and typical Hollywood megastar Lucas Lee (Chris Evans) become whole here, with more reason to exist in the story than they have in any of the previous takes - as does Ramona herself, who finally gets some agency here.
Some characters remain one dimensional (Young Neil, for instance, is never more than a punchline), often necessarily, but sometimes they are left simply not making much sense. Others struggle to hold up well across an entire series. The evil exes concept was a fun premise for the other Pilgrim chapters, but starts to feel rather silly as it’s drawn out: turns out, most of the exes are actually that evil.
Despite any storyline shortfalls, one of Takes Off’s biggest strengths is that (like the other iterations) it’s laugh out loud funny. Some of the jokes may feel dated – the punchline of somebody being vegan doesn’t make much sense in 2023 – but it’s unlikely that updating the joke by replacing it with some similar would have worked any better.
The music has been chosen perfectly throughout: hats off to whoever dredged Liam Lynch's United States of Whatever out of the archive. This combination of existing songs and original music that is genuinely enjoyable add another layer of fun.
TV that is truly fun and funny is in short supply amongst our dystopia-laden media today. In a world demanding nuance and drama, the lightness of Scott Pilgrim’s world, though completely ridiculous, will be welcome. For that reason, it’s often best not to overthink something like Takes Off, and simply enjoy it: even if it's sometimes not clear where we're going, it’s a ride worth taking.
