Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, due for release on 03 December 2010, is a whacky, fun-filled combination of comedy, romance and fantasy, great for teens and the early twenties, not for younger children.
Scott himself is your normal, every day “nice young man”, but through the use of video game fantasy, Scott’s world is transformed into a crazy, highly imaginative place.
Scott, played by Michael Cerra (of Juna and Superbad fame) is a 22 year old, who is between jobs, and plays bass guitar for a garage band named Sex Bob-omb. Scott, whose heart was broken a girl who “kicked his heart’s ass”, is now dating a 17-year old Chinese School girl, named Knives Chau, much to the amusement of his younger sister, his friends and his colourful gay room-mate. But, suddenly, the mysterious and somewhat aloof, pink-haired Ramona Flowers comes into his life and he is totally smitten!
Ramona, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (of Live Free or Die Hard fame) first appears in his dreams and then miraculously, in real life. Against all odds, he manages to grab her attention, and convinces her to hang out with him, BUT…. The catch to winning this babe is that he has to fight and defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends, who have formed a League and are now out to kill him!
And, thus the film unfolds, with Scott being challenged to duel after duel to the death. Each ex has some sort of super hero power and each fight is a kaleidoscope of video game showmanship, with each duel moving to a new level of difficulty. The exes include a Vegan Rock Star, an infamous skateboarder and a set of identical twins…and some big surprises that I am not going to ruin for you!
Does he get the girl? Well, you will have to go and see the movie to find out!
The special effects are phenomenal, and as the writer, Bryan Lee O’Malley says, the story includes elements of Japanese comic books, indie and classic rock and video games, and merges these into everyday life experiences. The result is a dual world of reality and abstraction. And, even though the characters are living in this part comic book, part Ninja, part Kung Fu, part Anime, part Manga world, they are still real kids, with real emotions and real problems and challenges.
In his own words, Director/Producer/Co-writer, Edgar Wright said that since his previous work had strived towards mixing the mundane with the insane, Scott Pilgrim had him hooked immediately!
It’s doubtful this movie will appeal to adults and it’s definitely not for young children, but I think that the teens and early twenties will love it, and relate to it, in a big way.
There is also a valuable lesson to be learned from this movie, and that is, with all things in life, you have to overcome challenges to get where you want to go.
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