Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: All the World's a Computer Game

For the past several years, movie studios have tried to adapt computer games into movies. Unfortunately, no matter how good or how much fun the original game was, the resulting movie (Tomb Raider, Super Mario Brothers, Streetfighter, Doom) bordered on awful. When the best movie is Mortal Kombat (dumb but actually fun in parts)*, this is definitely a sub-genre of movies that is best laid to rest.

Fortunately, director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) finally figured out the right formula for doing it with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Scott Pilgrim isn't based on a video game (it's actually based on a series of graphic novels) but all of the visuals make it feel like a video game. In fact, the basic premise of the movie (Scott Pilgrim must defeat seven evil ex's in order to win the heart of his true love) is set up like a computer game with each battle become more and more difficult and with him receiving points based on how well he did (and the enemies dissolving into coins that he can collect afterwards).

This is one of the most creative movies you will see this year. There is no attempt at believability or plausibility in Scott Pilgrim. Scott (played with effortless deadpan by Michael Cera who has perfected the role of nerdish young hero) is thin and weak looking but suddenly becomes a bad-ass fighter pulling off moves that no human being (outside of those born on Krypton or sporting a bat symbol on their chest) could do. There's no explanation for how he can fight like that because Wright knows that we don't care. It's just accepted that he can and we leave it at that.

Likewise, the visual images provide some of the best humor in the movie. From the 8-bit Univeral logo graphics (with corresponding 8-bit version of it's theme) to the coins and points mentioned above, you see comic book descriptions appearing on the screen ("Ring", "Thud", etc) and some of the visual transitions make this an almost effortless transition from comic book to screen. After a short while, you truly do feel like you are watching a true video adaption of a graphic novel.

And the actors are smart enough to realize that this is not a deep story. All of them play it at the surface level and push the overacting just far enough to make it feel like a cartoon without going too far over. Particular credit has to be given to Brandon Routh (as an evil ex who has intense mental powers due to being a vegan) who displays a large amount of good humor. Between this and his brief appearance in Zack & Miri Make a Porno (playing a former stud who fell in love with a gay porn star), he has made me completely realize that Superman Returns was not in the least way his fault.

But, for all it's visual tricks and styles, this does not feel like a gimmicky movie. After spending years reading comic books and playing video games, it is easy to view the world in "me-centered" pop-cultural terms. The movie uses the visual tricks not as gimmicks but as a way of showing how Scott Pilgrim views himself and his world. He never quite realizes that he is, at heart, a rather callous person (his way of breaking up with a girl is to say "We should break up .... or whatever" with a shrug) who has caused pain in the lives of others. But, even though is callow and self-centered, he is still sweet and charming enough (thanks to Cera's performance) to make us root for him and his romance with the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers.

But, like any computer game, the movie ends with the words "Continue?" These are nice and charming enough characters, especially the supporting cast, that I would be more than happy to pop in more quarters for another few levels of this game.

Grade: A