The film adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series came out less than a month after the release of the final instalment of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s glorious saga about an average guy who gets assigned the difficult task of fighting and defeating his love interest’s seven evil ex-boyfriends (correction; evil exes). The film takes on (and successfully conquers) the difficult task of not only honoring, but also respectfully expanding its source material; a task that we have seen poorly handled time and time again in films like R.I.P.D and The Last Airbender.
The shot right before the opening sequence, in which the camera zooms away from the band to reveal a cartoonishly long living room serves as a perfect introduction to the whimsical and ungrounded feel of the rest of the movie. The movie stays true to the story’s original medium thanks to the use of devices like its on-screen text, sudden transitions, and colorful graphics. Instead of attempting to legitimize the ridiculousness of the graphic novels, Edgar Wright embraces all the playful elements of the series (i.e. Random Doors, The singing fight scene against Matthew Patel, and rude Canadians) which in turn makes the audience embrace them even more.
It seems as though every decision that could’ve had an impact on how true the movie stays to the original books was executed perfectly. All casting choices were perfect, to a degree that makes you question which came first: the character or the actor. Starting with Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad) as the geeky lead, but continuing on with minor roles like Parks and Rec’s Aubrey Plaza as Julie Powers, and the show stealing Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Pretty much every single Wes Anderson movie). The cherry on top is definitely the soundtrack, which seamlessly combines contemporary indie rock from the likes of the Black Lips, comforting classic rock like the Rolling Stones, and new original songs by Beck (including the entire Sex Bob Ombs repertoire and my personal favorite “Ramona”).
Scott pilgrim is a modern superhero movie for the proud hipster and/or Canadian because of its over the top fight scenes and hero filled cast, including Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) and Chris Evans (Captain America, Fantastic Four), all elements adding up to a fun “Guardians of the Galaxy” type action flick, which makes it a shame that Wright is no longer set to direct the upcoming “Ant Man” movie starring Paul Rudd.
As the movie ends with the countdown asking whether or not to continue, I say with confidence that most people would insert the extra quarter and keep things going, because “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” leaves you begging for more, but that’s the best part.