Scott
Pilgrim
Vs. The World Scott
Pilgrim vs. The World is like a twenty hit combo ending
with a giant shyuriken to the skull. And if you know what
I’m talking about, this movie is for you (If you didn’t,
then keep reading.)
The
new film from Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz)
and starring Mr. Superbad himself, Michael Cera,
is a sensorial gift to your eyes and ears with megabytes
of video game references and sounds that will leave you
punch drunk with a smile on your face. Based on the Scott
Pilgrim graphic novels created by Brian Lee O’Malley,
the film is a living, breathing comic book and it’s
Wright’s best film yet.
But
before you jump ship thinking that this film is only for
the gamer/fanboy set, you need to slow your roll. Scott
Pilgrim vs. The World is an innovation of filmmaking
that returns the fun and mysticism back into cinema. It’s
a quirky, happy go lucky film that basically takes the teen
movie and levels it up to maximum experience. Even more
than Inception, this film is a dream come true. Beautifully
flashy, whimsically funny and entirely energetic, Scott
Pilgrim is a film that speaks to a generation.
But
it’s not exclusive. This film speaks to the youth
of our society of course, the twenty somethings who were
raised by Nintendo and Sega Genesis, or the hipsters who
play in a band and only listen to college radio but it also
speaks to lovers of ground breaking cinema and storytelling.
The premise is basic and essentially thin
– Scott Pilgrim must face and defeat the seven evil
exes of his new girlfriend in order to win her affection.
There’s not much else and in someone else’s
hands, this movie might have been a disaster, but Edgar
Wright proves that he not only understands the vibe and
feel of the source material but that he’s in the heads
of the youth today.
So much
of this film plays to the attention deficit crowd that is
young moviegoers in America. It moves fast – quick
cuts, visual and musical cues, action packed fight scenes
and great, youthful humor. Yet ultimately, it has heart
and finds it audience by connecting its quaint self to certain
truths like friendship, self confidence and love.
Where it appeals to the broader audience
is in its own awareness. The film exists in its own universe
and in a way it transcends what we all have come to learn
in watching other movies by skipping over traditional conventions
and just getting to the point.
Scott
Pilgrim sees the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, literally
in his dreams. When looking for her, he shows a
crude scribble of a drawing to a fellow party-goer and he
knows exactly who Scott is asking about. When he goes about
meeting Ramona, who happens to be a delivery girl for Amazon.com,
Scott orders something from the site and patiently waits
at the front door, only seconds after he closed his online
shopping cart.
It’s
these quirks that move the story along quite quickly and
to us savvy movie watchers it’s a refreshing story
choice that seems off kilter at first but then just feels
right once we’re immersed in the world that Wright
has set up.
Aside
from the stylistic direction style that Wright brings to
the table, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s
other strongest attribute is its great cast.
Cera is great here and he gets to show his
action hero chops here as he tackles many a fight scene.
Scott Pilgrim is also kind of a player and it’s a
nice change to see young Cera playing an almost unlikeable
protagonist. But he couldn’t work without the tremendous
support of his co-stars.
Ellen Wong kicks ass as Knives Chau, the
seventeen year old Scott starts dating. Wong grabs the roll
of Knives and just puts everything she’s got into
it. Without a doubt she’s a crowd pleaser and I predict
the next big girl crush.
Kieran Culkin mans up with his portrayal
as Scott’s gay roommate Wallace Wells. He’s
the story’s mentor character and Scott’s motivational
leader. Not to mention he’s hilarious.
The
rest of the cast is so fun and charismatic that it just
makes watching the whole film a treat. Other stand outs
are Chris Evans playing a caricature tough guy movie star
and Brandon Routh as a vegan bass player with telekinesis.
I dug this film a lot and it had a lot to
dig. I mean, c’mon it’s a movie about rock n
roll, live action video game fights, comic books panels
in real life and hot chicks. Pretty much everything I’ve
ever enjoyed in my whole life.
But all in all it’s a quirky stylistic
comedy with a great cast, script and direction and totally
worthy of your time.
So basically…
#Scott Pilgrim FTW. LOL. (Right? That’s how the kids
speak these days right?)
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