There has been so much hype built around the new film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Even before filming began, fans of the graphic novel were excited this story was making it’s transition to the big screen, and the first step in the right direction was bringing in visionary director Edger Wright (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) in to helm the project. Wright does a near-perfect job blending the pop-culture visuals & sounds with comedy, action, and heart. There is definitely a whole lot of creativity thrown in there and it never lets up. Every few minutes that pass during the movie, you are given another reason to love it.
Granted, S.P.v.t.W. is not for everybody, I can’t picture many people over the age of 40 digging the film. I am 36 years old myself and I felt like this movie was custom made just for my taste. I would say that aside from Toy Story 3, this was the best time I had at the movies this summer so far. I should also tell you that I am not familiar with the graphic novels that the film is based on, so that should not be an issue for others who are unfamiliar with the characters as well.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a bassist in a rock band named Sex Bob-Omb, living in Toronto, Ca. with his openly gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin) and dating a 17 year high school girl named Knives (the extremely adorable Ellen Wong). Scott is in his mid 20’s, so his friends are constantly telling him to stop dating a high school girl. One day, Scott meets a mysterious new girl in town named Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and he becomes obsessed with her right away. When he finally asks her out, Scott is challenged to a duel by what turns out to be the first of Ramona’s 7 evil ex-boyfriends, all of whom have a special power. Scott learns that he must defeat each of Ramona’s evil ex’s to win her heart.
Not all of the evil ex’s are created equal, there are a few that stand out above the others. One of them would be Lucas Lee (Chris Evans). Lee is a big Hollywood action star that confronts Scott Pilgrim along with all of Lee’s stunt doubles who join in on the fight. Evans really knows how to play this cocky character for laughs. I also feel Chris Evans was a great choice to play the new Captain America because he winds up being one of the best part of almost any movie he is in (The Losers, Fantastic 4).
You also have Todd Ingram (Former Superman himself Brandon Routh). Todd is another one of the 7 evil ex’s, but this time he is a super-powered vegan. Yep, he gets his powers from not eating any meat or dairy products. Not only is Todd an evil ex, but he is also the current boyfriend of Scott’s ex-girlfriend who dumped him and broke his heart years earlier. I find Routh’s vegan/metro-sexual evil ex to be quite funny.
The other evil ex’s are played by Jason Schwartzman, Satya Bhabha, and a few others. Though the best thing about S.P.v.t.W. is not the battles, but how the whole film is put together. You can tell just by watching the film that it was made by fans. Even though, I am not familiar with the source material, I can tell that they completely respected the story. I also love that none of the women in this movie are victims, the men and women are treated as equals. The women fight just as hard as the men. There is a great fight between Ramona, Scott and an evil ex-girlfriend that she met during her bi-sexual phase.
Scott Pilgrim is a work of art that is completely refreshing and it couldn’t have come at a better time. During a summer of mediocrity, it is nice to be able to do something that I feel I haven’t been able to do much of lately….that is write a good review.
By: Marc Ferman
