Graphics novels are ripe for film treatments and many look just like storyboards, allowing moviemakers to jump start the creative process. Most graphic novel-based films tell the story but shed the visual style of the original work. A few have tried to present a hybrid view, notably Sin City and Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy, but Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is the first to offer up a unique hybrid where the action, the visuals, the sets and even the scene transitions mirror the style of the original artwork.
I found Scott to be a hugely likable character, and remembered many of my own awkward early 20’s post-college experiences as the film progressed. There’s also a fascinating ambiguity about when the film is set: Ramona is a delivery girl for Amazon.ca, yet Scott and Wallace have a rotary dial phone in their studio apartment. In one of the most brilliant scenes, Scott walks into the apartment and we then see, adventure-game-style, a small text pop-up appear for each item, showing that Wallace owns almost nothing. In a similar manner, each time a new person shows up in the film, their name and a rating (“cool”, “hot”, etc) appears on screen for a few seconds. When Scott urinates, we see a “pee bar” slowly empty.
Awesome! I already bought my tickets for tomorrow, so I’m excited. Thanks for the review!
That is a VERY good point… I rarely find myself hoping for film sequels, but I too very much hope that this is only the first installment in a fun series surrounding Scott Pilgrim! Good stuff, Dave! Thanks!
I actually enjoyed the movie although the comic and pop culture influence overwhelmed me some what – guess that I’m not that ‘hip’.
But I did come away somewhat dissatisfied from the fighting scenes. Sorry, Cera is just..not muscle-ly enough for me to believe that he could actually do all that.
Should some parts of the movie be more realistic? What do you think? I understand artistic choice but I like a bit of reality/stuff that makes sense thrown in my movies.