Every generation has a movie that truly defines them. It was argued that Juno would be that movie. In my opinion that was a very well done and comical movie showing the drama and dangers of teenage pregnancy. My generation is not about getting high schoolers pregnant however. My generation, which is anyone born from roughly 1985 to 1995, grew up with cartoons, tv sitcoms, video games, comic books, and indie rock. A movie for my generation would capture all of those things into a little (poke') ball. They all seem like polar opposites, is there a movie that possibly do that?
The answer is yes. That movie is Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, I will straight up say that this is one of my favorite movies ever. I have many reasons for it. The main reason is that the chemistry between Scott and Ramona (the two main characters) is normal. Their relationship is depicted in a normal non-hollywood way. Michael Cera (Scott) acts very much like a normal person! He is delightfully awkward and awesome at the same time. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona) is the mysterious, cool, beautiful girl of Scott's dreams. However if Scott and Ramona are to be together, Scott must defeat Ramona's seven evil exes.
What is it about this movie that captures my generation? The first thing you will notice is that this movie is way different than most movies. It is extremely stylized. It's like a comic book and a video game had a baby. What I mean by that is if Scott punches someone, you see the word POW! Like a cartoon or comic book. It's a little strange to get used to but it ultimately makes the movie really enjoyable. Being a gamer, I am actually able to pick out most of the references within the movie. There are musical references to Final Fantasy II and Legend of Zelda. The band is named Sex Bob-Omb, a Bob-Omb is a walking bomb enemy found in Super Mario World. The fight scenes imitate games such as Street Fighter III, Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct, and Soul Calibur. If you've ever played any of those games (like I have), you will feel right at home. Even more specifically the Soul Calibur reference is within the battle with Roxie Richter (Evil Ex number 4), she imitates the character Ivy using a living sword (a sword with an extendable blade, may or may not be fictional). Ramona imitates the character Astaroth by using a war hammer. Details, details...
The movie isn't without faults, there are several things I don't understand because I didn't read the comic books. As a result, the movie seems to jump around at points. At several points a door appears, I don't know what this door is, or where it leads. This is apparently explained in the comic books. Also not all of the characters get adequate development, the most significant character development happens within Scott, Ramona, and Knives Chau. Knives is "Scott's fake high school girlfriend" from the beginning of the movie. Characters that I would've liked to see more development in are Kim Pine (Played by Allison Pill), she is the drummer and is a very funny character because of her dry sense of humor. Evidently in the comic books there is a sub plot with her. I would have liked to see that! It's these faults that make the movie fun to watch, even when the door appears and you don't understand what happens, it quickly jumps back to reality.
This movie is one of my favorites because it truly appeals to my gamer sensibilities. People from an older generation, chances are you won't understand it. Kids from the new generation won't understand it because you are growing up with your X-Boxes, and your PS3's and your online gaming. This movie is completely and absolutely for my generation. From a filmmaking standpoint: 8/10 (for trying something new and having pretty good success) From my stand point: 15/10. From IMDB (Internet Movie Database): 7.6/10.
That's all for now.
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