You’d be hard-pressed to find a teenager who hasn’t wished, at least at some point or another, that life really did come with features found in a video game. Unlocked powers, level re-dos, extra lives…if only once in a while our actual life would throw us a frickin’ bone like that.
So, what better way is their to geek out an audience of comic book loving 13 to 33 year olds than personifying a story like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World on the big screen? Not much…
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World tells a tortured love story about, obviously, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera). After finally recovering from a broken heart, the 22 year old starts dating a high school student. Just as things start going well, Scott meets Romona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an edgy chick who just moved to Toronto for a fresh start. The two hit it off and things go well until Scott suddenly finds himself battling a league of Romona’s evil exes to win his chance to date her.
Scott Pilgrim marks yet another graphic novel-based movie release. This movie, however, offers a new twist that creates a sensory overload of epicness. Animated “pows” and “blams”, video game sounds and graphics, and random superpowers remind the audience where the story came from.
The entire movie carries an over-the-top attitude that forces you to accept that anything goes in the world of Scott Pilgrim. A skinny white kid facing off someone twice his muscle mass and ultimately defeating him through the vegan police? It surprisingly makes a lot of sense in context. This is precisely where the charm of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World resides. It offers a dazzling ability to showcase whatever awesomeness it chooses and still fit into a well-constructed movie scenario.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is an aural and optical spectacle. With a plot line boasting seven battles, it does an incredible job of showcasing all of them. Each battle is different and all of them offer the great graphic comic/video game effects I mentioned before, while Scott’s garage band, The Sex Bob-Bombs, creates a nice element of music that’s completely worked into the storyline.
There are two types of people in this world, people who love Michael Cera, and people who haven’t seen Arrested Development. Everyone likes to give the kid shit about being one dimensional, conceited, blah, blah, blah…show me one successfully comedy actor who doesn’t fit that category. He’s mastered the art of the clueless nerd, and I really don’t think anyone could have brought out the nerdy strength that is Scott Pilgrim aside from him.
For those you aren’t on team Cera, you don’t have to compromise your hatred by watching this film. Pilgrim’s character really isn’t all that likeable. Scott Pilgrim offers something interesting by holding back on creating a complete sense of obligation to root for the positioned antagonist. The plot plays on a lot of universal aspects from various facets of life. That may sound a little deep for a story about defeating a league of evil exes, but don’t think I’m getting too carried away.
All I’m saying is, when your watching Scott Pilgrim, it’s not about waiting to find out Scott’s fate, it’s about automatically recognizing certain aspects of yourself in many of the characters…or at least wishing real life gave you a 1up! every once in a while.
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