I’m relatively new to the Scott Pilgrim property. After being introduced to the comics, I at first found the comic to be a bit too hipster for me. It felt like it was written in a completely different dialect that I wasn’t cool enough for. Yet, after penetrating the book’s initial barrier, I found a book that had brilliant character writing, expressive art, and has its finger firmly on the pulse of a generation who grew up playing 8-bit games. Some parts in the books are largely unnecessary (characters might as well be yelling “GAWD!” at each other back and forth), but you can’t argue how well creator Brian Lee O’Malley has crafted them.

Hollywood noticed this too, quickly snatching up the film rights to the books, and placing the film in the highly capable hands of writer/director Edgar Wright, who also brought us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Wright has a knack for high velocity camera work, whip smart characters, and cartoonish fun that makes him perfect for a comic book movie.

After seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, I can honestly say that Wright gets it and is possibly the only director in Hollywood who knows what a comic book movie should look and feel like. He has created a movie that takes its source material and places it directly on screen, losing almost nothing in the transition. He has created a movie first, knowing where the lines between a comic book and a film are drawn. He doesn’t make a film like Watchmen that just mimics the comic panels and hopes fans won’t be angry, nor does he make a film like the terrible Batman & Robin, which patronizes its fans and forgets the source it came from. More >