Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

The first decade of the 20th century will be remembered in movie cinema as the rise of the comic book movie. Big budgets, explosions and special effects drove these movies into the theater were they currently seem to be parked and have no intention of leaving. These movies tend to leave little to the imagination and just rely on the costumes to drive the movies with some slick dialogue. Fortunately, these movies have opened the door for other franchises to be revived and for geek movies to rise and be a dominant force in cinema. It also opened the door for non-superhero comics to get a chance at being made into a movie. Thanks to this we were able to get the movie masterpiece of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."

The movie is based off of the comic series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. I've read the comic series and I love it. The book delves into the attitudes of the so-called "slacker" generation and how they deal with relationships. At first this would seem to be a total turn off for any decent comic nerd, but the author peppers in battles, video game references and plenty of humor to create a wonderful experience. The movie is able to capture the essence of the comic series, which should be the aim of every comic movie. The story focuses on the relationship between Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers. Through the story Scott must deal with Ramona's emotional baggage as well as his own. The story has them deal with this by having the characters actually fight their past romances, and it keeps these fights entertaining by having them be portrayed as if they were from a video game. Added to the movie is a ton of smart and witty comedy that gives you plenty to laugh at while the story moves along.

Casting in this movie did a fantastic job. Michael Cera plays the lead and through most of the movie he is playing his typical Michael Cera character, which works for this role. However, he does have to show a little more emotion than normally is required of him and he pulled it off very well. Mary Elizabeth Winstead also did a great job of portraying Ramona as someone you can understand why Scott falls for her, but also realize that she has problems. That is just the tip of the iceberg in this cast. The supporting characters steal the show with Brandon Routh, Chris Evans, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman and Ellen Wong leading the way. Each of these actors bring the funny to this film and it's great when any of them are on screen.

The director for this movie had to do a lot of work. Fortunately "Shaun of the Dead" director Edgar Wright was able to take the helm and steer this movie in the right direction. Instead of trying to make this movie work in the "real" world, he embraced the goofiness of the comic. That's the only way this movie works, trying to explain everything would have created a ton of needless exposition. By committing to the world of the comic and not surrendering any of that world, the movie worked. Why? Because they captured the essence of a great comic book.

This movie won't be a huge success. After two weeks in the theaters it's only made about 15 million dollars. I do however see this having a long life after the theaters. It will be a movie that I will pop in the DVD when I feel like watching a movie on a Saturday afternoon. It will be on TBS or Comedy Central constantly and I will turn it on every time. I really enjoyed this movie and that is why it gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.