As I’ve touched upon in the past here at Blast-O-Rama, my history here on the web includes that of creating comics.  When I started writing comics in 2006, I had been out of the world of comics for a number of years.  Between getting older, having a real job and the craziness of life, I just didn’t have the time for weekly trips to my local comic store.  I fell out of it all.  But knowing that I was officially throwing myself into the mix, I knew that I had to get up to date.

Browsing across the web, I figured I’d try dabbling in some independent comics.  Something off kilter, something away from the mainstream.  I remembered Oni Comics from their publishing of a few Kevin Smith titles (and was thinking maybe one day I’d pitch a title to them), so they were my first stop.

Upon my visit to their site I started reading up on this comic called Scott Pilgrim. The tales of the titular lead in Canada, the art looked nice, and the stories sounded interesting.  The third volume had just come out, so with the best intentions, I went ahead and ordered them, sight (mostly) unseen.

Just about a week later (oh, the days before Amazon Prime!) the books arrived. I opened the cover of the first volume, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life and to risk hyperbole, my life hasn’t been the same since.  Written and drawn by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Precious Little Life (and the two volumes which followed it, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness) was a shock to my system.  Set in the world of the Canadian music scene with a thickheaded lead who was a hopeless romantic, I immediately felt a parallel both good and bad with Scott, as at that time in my life, I was far more into the Baltimore music scene.  Then, stacked upon this relatable tale was an unbelievably adept mixture of video game homages, subversions of manga tropes and the true power of romance and rock and roll.  I was flabbergasted.  This book was the first that truly encompassed my feelings of the world, my interests…it was a work that spoke to me in a way few have since and few may moving forward.  Scott Pilgrim was a series of books which came into my life at a perfect moment.  Sure, I wasn’t in Canada, but I knew that world, I knew those feelings, and the exaggerated world presented was one which my imagination wanted to live in.

So here we are, four years and three volumes later.  Last week, the final volume, Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour hit shelves, ending the saga of Scott Pilgrim with a pitch perfect mixture of comedic violence, romance and closure.  And last night I had the honor and pleasure of viewing the final cut of the film adaptation, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, co-written and directed by one of my all-time favorites, Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz).  How was it? In a word - tremendous.

I’m the first to admit that my bias for this film was set from day one, but how could it not be?  In his BBC series Spaced (co-created with frequent collaborator Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson), Wright made it very clear that he had the chops to frame O’Malley’s tale.  Best described as a post-modern version of the sitcom, Spaced took what could have been a blase premise of “two twenty somethings acting as a couple to keep a flat in London” and turned it into the definitive snapshot of a generation.  Mixing some of the most well realized and thought out characters on television with an absolute torrent of pop-culture references, Wright and company hit the proverbial nail on the head of the “adult nerd” experience.  And I’m pleased to say he’s set the tone perfectly for my generation as well.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is very simply the story of boy meeting girl. But with many, many twists.  Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is in a perpetual state of arrested development (pardon the pun).  He shares a flat and bed with his gay roommate Wallace Wells (a scene stealing Kieran Culkin), his band Sex Bob-omb isn’t very good, and he’s dating a high schooler named Knives Chau (an adorable star-making performance by Ellen Wong). But that all changes the day he meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).  Ramona, an American from New York, has just moved to Canada and serves as a delivery girl for Amazon.ca, and she might just be the girl of Scott’s dreams - both literally and figuratively, as she appears in his dreams before they even meet.  But meet they do, first in a disastrous party conversation and then when Scott orders a load of CDs from Amazon (via Wallace’s credit card, of course), she finally relents and decides to go out with him.

So, from there it’s pretty much all roses, correct? Not really, as Ramona has baggage, and a lot of it - seven evil exes, to be accurate, all of whom Scott has to defeat in battle to win over Ramona’s heart.  And did I mention that Sex Bob-omb also is entered in a Battle of the Bands for a record contract? Oh, and that he sorta forgot to break up with Knives along the way? Yeah, the title is pretty accurate, as things come at Scott from all sides.

But Edgar Wright’s direction is the perfect thing for a movie this frantically paced.  Full of fast cuts, music video style direction, aspect ratio changes, on-screen bars and meters like a video game, and the greatest revision of the Universal logo ever seen, Wright knows his audience and accurately keeps the action moving on screen, even giving the slower moments the appropriate visual flourish.   Sound effects appear on screen, cartoon interludes are used for flashbacks and important notes on different characters are presented to keep the audience informed and entertained, and you never feel like you’re a step behind the supercharged action.

Matching the intensity of the film-making is the skill of the cast.  Simply put, this may be one of the greatest top to bottom ensembles ever put together.  From Scott’s Sex Bob-omb bandmates to all seven of the evil exes, each actor is perfectly matched to their character, sure to have fans of the comics very pleased.  In particular, I was impressed by both Brandon Routh and Chris Evans who seem to love chewing up scenery as evil exes Todd Ingram and Lucas Lee respectively, and yet, despite playing hysterically pompous characters, you don’t feel like you’re seeing the same characters twice.  Oddly enough, the only exes who you don’t feel connected to are Kyle and Ken Katayanagi.  Played by Keita and Shota Saito, they serve ultimately as the catalyst to one of the more amazing action sequences, but are not really fleshed out in any way, shape or form, which left me a bit disappointed.  Another performance worth noting is Aubrey Plaza’s Julie Powers, who feels like she just walked right out of the comic.  In a movie full of great performances, she seemed to nail the tone of the character the best.  And in case the haters were wondering - Michael Cera simply is Scott Pilgrim. He has the right mixture of humorous nerd and total creep making for one of his greatest roles to date.

Sadly, it’s when compared directly to the comic that Scott Pilgrim falters the most.  If you’re looking for a perfect, direct to screen translation, you’re going to be somewhat disappointed.   Simply put, 1000+ pages of comics cannot be put into a two hour movie without some major cuts.  Purists will cry foul, but given the extensive level of compression necessary, this movie is an absolutely stunning and faithful adaptation of the original comics. For a better analogy, if the O’Malley volumes are a bands discography, Wright’s film is the greatest hits.  You may not get the peaks and valleys, but you do get two hours of of front to back kick-ass action.

But what if you’re coming into Scott Pilgrim clean, with no knowledge of the comics proceeding it?  You’re going to love the hell out of it.  Grabbing a hold of audiences from the word go with kinetic battles and hilarious dialogue, the movie simply doesn’t let up until the credits roll.  The fights are fantastically crafted, and a special tip of the hat to the choreographers for making sure no two action sequences feel the same.  The action ramps up appropriately throughout the film, culminating in a great one on one sword battle full of unexpected twists and turns.  I do have to say this, for general audiences: I’m worried about how the movie will be received.  In terms of innovation and revision of filmmaking rules, the only movie close to this prior is 2008’s critically divisive Speed Racer. Depending on who you ask, that film was either an astonishing breath of fresh air, or a terrible mess, and I can’t help but feel older audiences (and critics) may feel the same way here.

Worries aside, the bottom line is this: as a long term fan and borderline obsessive of the works of both Bryan Lee O’Malley and Edgar Wright, I was grinning from the first frame to the last.  Many people have spoken of how the Summer of 2010 has been lack-luster, but between Inception and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, I can say it’s delivered me two of my favorite films of all time.

Highest possible recommendation. See it on a date, see it with your pals, see it by yourself - what ever you do, see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World!