Hm. I don't think it was that bad, Scott did get a bit of development and really, Scott being the "best fighter in the province" breaks as much Willing Suspension Of Disbelief as a plumber being the savior of a magical kingdom no matter who you cast—which is kind of the point, really.
While we're on the subject of characters getting shafted, Romana's way more of a bitch to Scott in the beginning of the movie than in the comics.
All in all I had fun. I would've liked deeper characterization and whatnot but let's face it, the real reason for the movie is that the fights are awesome in live-action and it does that really well.
Also, the movie has a way less confusing ending. Still don't understand the end of book six no matter how many times people try to explain it to me.
Maybe you'd be less disappointed if you stopped expecting things to be Carmen Sandiego movies.
I completely agree with splitting the film, but if they had done that it's questionable if we would've gotten a part 2 seeing how well it did at the box-office.
^ That's true, but I think it's a risk worth taking. I would much rather prefer a good, faithful, but partial adaptation to a complete but bad Compressed Adaptation. That goes for any adaptation.
^I'm not making excuses for it, but I think that they knew they would never make a part 2.
That being said, I also think it was a good, faithful adaptation, compressed or not.
I thought the movie was fantastic. Yeah, it was compressed, but it was still GOOD. Cera was fine, the soundtrack was amazing, the pacing was fast and fluid, and... well, I liked all of it. I didn't think the compression really hurt it at all, but it probably would have done better as a 2-part movie. Still though, I loved it.
I enjoyed the movie okay, but I have to agree I didn't like the compression or the changes to plot points. I also wasn't too fond of Michael Cera's portrayal of Scott. I don't know if that's Cera's fault or the director, but I thought Cera's Scott was way too whiny-sounding most of the time. I always thought of Scott as sounding overly confident, an extension of his narcissism, and only having weaker tones to his voice when he's alone, thinking, or dreaming. Also, movie!Scott is a lot more upset about fighting the exes. And finally, the line "Is there anyone here you haven't slept with?" seemed way out of character for Scott, even in his Jerkass days.
Still, it was a decent and enjoyable movie overall and I laughed out loud at quite a few parts. I would've preferred it get split into two or three films, but I understand the fear that it would've never worked.
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Very Spirited, But Ultimately Heartless
I actually read the comic before watching the movie, and I'm thankful I did so.
The movie is not that bad of an adaptation. The special effects are pretty good at capturing the spirit of a comic and the video game roots of Scott Pilgrim, and the fight scenes are at least decent. The problem is a very bad case of Compressed Adaptation; that there was very little room for much else, like most of the story and the Character Development. The story was extremely rushed, turning events/flashbacks in the cominc into vague references in the movie, and I was heartbroken when I realized that both Envy's story and Character Development in Book 3 and Scott's Character Development in Book 6, arguably the best parts of the comic, were omitted entirely from the movie.
The end result is an unintelligent story featuring characters that are either shallow or that you never get to know and love before the credits role. It would have been a much better idea to split the story between two movies. Another problem, albeit quite minor compared to the ones mentioned above, is Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim. I have nothing against Cera, but he was miscast, and while he plays the Loser Archetype well, it breaks Willing Suspension Of Disbelief to portray him as the "best fighter in the province".
I think it's best to read the comic first and view the movie as a companion to it rather than a stand-alone.