For comic-book movies, the green-lighting of a new project sends most fans into an anxious frenzy. Whenever we see a favorite book, cartoon or comic of ours being turned into a live-action film, its natural for us to shudder at the thought of the potential changes to the beloved stories when they transfer to the big screen. I can happily say that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is not one of these films.
Scott Pilgrim is, in my opinion, what a comic-book-movie adaptation should be. At no point in the film did the director, Edgar Wright (Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, Grindhouse) make any excuses for the story. Bryan O’Malley (Lost At Sea, Scott Pilgrim) wrote an epic of epic adventure, personal growth, and love, and Wright respectfully stayed true to the source material.
The film begins with a few unique quirks to it, like crisp comic-book-like visualizations of sound effects and emotions. Another example is the short close-up shots of the actors and their environments, which are also reminiscent of comics. But once Scott meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) the story tailspins into a chaotic battle for love. The audience is thrown into the battle against the ‘League of Evil Exes,’ where Scott defends against fireballs, super fast lesbians, and psychic vegans, to name a few.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World shows us that it is possible to make a comic-book film that doesn’t trample on the original author's vision. This film gives us hope that screenwriters and directors can actually honor these stories and characters that already have a place in our hearts. Edgar Wright has done an incredible job bringing O’Malley’s comic to the big screen without tarnishing the vision of the original story readers love.
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2 comments:
Uh, hell YES! Seen it 3 times so far, going again Friday and again next week. I love this movie sooo much. The fact that it basically just takes about a third of the story from the books and just smashes it together is brilliant. Makes a cohesive, stand-alone experience while leaving the greater depth of the books in it's own area. Even people who never read the books can love this movie.
I myself am really hoping that this boosts sales for O'Malley's novels. I've read the books and this is the first movie adaptation of a comic/graphic novel that I am simply in love with!
thanks for the comment! =)
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