Have you ever looked someone up on IMDB.com? A few months ago, I was looking up Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the great British TV series, Spaced, amongst other things. That's when I saw that his next project, back then, was Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. A litte research showed me that Scott Pilgrim was about videogames.
As said in one of my NY posts, I purchased the whole series, which I read rather rapidly. (By the way, if you are interested, Chapters is offering all six books for $60.) The series, written by Brian Lee O'Malley and published by Oni Press started in 2004. It is a fun love story about a tween fighting (literally) for the love of his life. Not only does the story take place in Canada (Toronto to be exact), but it is filed with videogame references. The basic structure of the story, as you probably know by now, actually mirrors that of a videogame (with final bosses to boot).
The books themselves are a fun read. The art, inspired by anime/manga, is fun to look it with great attention to details in the background. The storyline itself is nothing completely original, but the way it uses videogame references is refreshingly honest and earnest. There is a reason it is there. A must read for videogame and graphic novel/comic book fans.
Of course, the videogame "version" of the story is fun, brutal, simple, like many of the games referenced in the original material. After all, there is a plot point in the books that is basically the plot of River City Ransom, and Scott Pilgrim The Game is an updated version of RCR. The graphics are very close to the original material and the music is everything you could hope for from an 8-bit/16-bit nostalagia infused beat-em up. It is currently available on PSN for $10 and I strongly recommend it, especially if you were a fan of RCR. Either way, try the demo. It is coming out this week on XBLA. One small caveat, no online multiplayer, something it would have benefit from immensely. Oh and, it is really hard so prepare to die a lot.
As for the Edgar Wright directed film, well, the cast is perfect in my opinion. Chris Evans and Brendan Routh shine as the 2nd and 3rd evil-ex respectively. Alison Pill's Kim Pine is the epitome of cool (she also portrays a strong Queen Maud in the Pillars of the Earth TV series). Michael Cera is Michael Cera is Michael Cera... No seriously, although Scott Pilgrim does share some characteristic with the usual type that Cera plays, it is nice to see him play a character that kicks ass and is actually not that likeable. The pacing is what you can expect of 6 books crammed in a little less than 2 hours. The first half is stunning, the second half, less so. Still, the fight sequences are are very well directed and you are not lost in the action, but the second half loses a lot of the character development present in the books. It may not have been as good as I expected, but I am looking forward to seeing it again. One thing I really appreciated was the fact that we hear some sound coming from a DS, and they are not some random sounds. Young Neil is playing the GBA version of A Link to the Past (in one shot we see the GBA cartridge coming out of the DS Lite). That's how serious videogames are in the Scott Pilgrim universe, be it on page or on film.
In short, if you want to enjoy the universe of Scott Pilgrim, there is no way you can go wrong, but the source material is the most approachable, it will not kick your ass and it devotes enough time to all of its cool characters (it is also chock-full of sweet videogame references including one to the Ninja Gaiden opening). If you grew up with an NES, there will be something for you in it.
I wanted to talk, once again, about Metroid, but I will have to postpone that to next post, due to this post's length. I hope these few lines will have made you interested in the fascinating world created by O'Malley and that you will experience Scott Pilgrim in one way or another. (I'd recommend them in that order: Books, Movie, Game).
Jeff out
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