Thus far this month Dork Shelf has featured several reviews of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World–you can check them out here. And here. These are excellent reviews, from the non-biased perspectives of writers who were not steeped in the books before watching the movie.
This review is the opposite of that. I’ve been reading, collecting, and obnoxiously pushing the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels on friends since mid-2005. Will has asked me to write a review of Edgar Wright’s current film adaptation from the decidedly-biased perspective of a longtime fan. And I am nothing if not biased.
By the way, I’m assuming that if you’re still reading this, you’ve both read the books and watched the movie. Either way, you’ve been spoiler-warned.
First off… I loved the movie. It is a masterful, original, and thoroughly ambitious piece of filmmaking. I believe that even if it doesn’t demolish the opening weekend box office, it will certainly carve out a place as the first true classic film for the NES generation. This is not just a movie about references we love, it’s a movie that uses those references as shorthand to express the experiences we all share in our early 20’s: love, loss, heartache, and (hopefully) growth. The movie absolutely embodies the themes of the comics, which keeps the heart of the story intact. Oh, and this is certainly my favourite portrayal of Toronto on film that I’ve ever seen. Take that, Don McKellar.
