Review: "SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD"

It's safe to say that when compared to other forms of entertainment, comic books and video games have gotten a bad rap from the more "cultured" members of society. The former has sometimes been unfairly criticized for being just pictures with word balloons tacked on, while the latter has been badmouthed for, among other things, lacking artistic merit (a viewpoint that Roger Ebert has been criticized for espousing recently).

Maybe I'm showing utter bias, but as someone who grew up both reading comics and playing video games, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the two are certainly capable of crafting compelling stories alongside engaging visuals. Sure, the comics published prior to the 1960s and the games of the "Pac-Man" and "Duck Hunter" era certainly didn't possess award-worthy storylines, but they were highly entertaining nonetheless, and the nostalgic value of both (the video games in particular) earned a well-deserved place in the hearts of my generation.

What luck, then, that I watched director Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, a mindblowing, hysterical, and highly imaginative adaptation of Canadian comic writer Bryan Lee O'Malley's series of "Scott Pilgrim" graphic novels, where the visual elements and sensibilities of comics and video games are combined to create what's essentially the wet dream of an ADHD sufferer.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is the 22-year-old bassist for Sex Bob-Omb, a Toronto-based garage band hoping to make it big in the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest. The band is fronted by vocalist/guitarist Stephen Stills (Mark Webber), drummer and Scott's ex-girlfriend Kim Pine (Alison Pill), and substitute bassist Young Neil (Johnny Simmons). The sensitive Scott, who had recently gotten over being dumped by his other ex Julie (Brie Larson) a year earlier, just started a relationship with 17-year-old Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), and although the age discrepancy doesn't bother them, it doesn't go unnoticed by Scott's sister Stacy (Anna Kendrick) or his gay, sardonic roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin).

But Scott's newest relationship has poor timing, since he soon meets and is head-over-heels in love with American delivery girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a somewhat mysterious woman who dyes her hair a different vibrant color every week and a half. Eventually, Scott and Ramona get together (all while Scott still reluctantly dates Knives). However, what Scott soon (and painfully) realizes is that if he's going to date Ramona, he'll need to battle and defeat Ramona's seven evil exes in extravagant, video game-style showdowns.

This league of evil exes includes demonic Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha); actor/skateboarder Lucas Lee (Chris Evans); punky lesbian Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman); rival bassist and "super-vegan" Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh); Japanese twins Ken and Kyle Katayanagi (Shota and Keita Saito); and record executive Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman), who's responsible for assembling the league and controlling Ramona's love life. Not only must Scott find self-confidence in his pursuit of Ramona's heart, he must also contend with Knives' jealously and Ramona's exes trying to destroy him.

Even though I never read O'Malley's graphic novels, my excitement for this release existed primarily because of the fact that British director Edgar Wright was at the helm. Wright, who directed the terrific English cult comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz starring actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, clearly has a knack for creating clever and pop culture reference-heavy comedies while still maintaining three-dimensional characterizations and smart dialogue.

The over-the-top elements of his previous work certainly helped in the production of Scott Pilgrim, which is pretty much a love letter to nostalgic fanboys (and fangirls) whose sweet memories of Super Nintendo were still fresh in their minds. Indeed, the film is essentially a video game come to life, what with flamboyant voice-over sound effects ("Fight!" "K.O.!"), defeated bad guys turning into collectable coins, "extra life" icons, and extravagant and colorful boss battles (even the opening Universal Studios title card is pixelated and accompanied by MIDI-style music).

Then you throw in comic book-esque "ka-pow" and "thud" graphics, anime-style flashbacks, and wonderfully melodramatic line deliveries (especially by the evil exes). The visual effects and out-of-this-world action sequences are to die for, as is the intentionally spastic and flashy editing.


But despite the exaggerated and very unsubtle visual and aesthetic quality of the proceedings, Scott Pilgrim certainly isn't lacking in quirky humor and superb camaraderie between the cast. Though I've tired of his constant typecasting as the sensitive and shy lovable loser character, I must admit that the lead role of Scott Pilgrim was tailor-made for Cera, who does a fine job focusing on Scott's inner turmoil regarding his romantic life and his quest for attaining self-confidence.

As the wildy-colored-maned Ramona, Winstead is absolutely adorable and shares cute moments with Cera, and Wong is equally flighty and manic as Scott's high-schooler girlfriend who becomes increasingly and comically obsessed with winning his heart. Culkin, Pill, and Webber are funny as Scott's friends. But the real scene-stealers are our hero's septet of bloodthirsty adversaries, especially Chris Evans as a cocky Hollywood action star and Jason Schwartzman as a smarmy record producer who serves as the "final boss" of the story.

Though at times it gets repetitive in its fight scenes and drags on a bit in the third act regarding the Scott-Ramona-Knives love triangle, there's no denying that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a funny, charming, witty, and visually-orgasmic smorgasbord of a video game homage for the giddy nerd in all of us. K.O.!

Letter Grade: "A-"