The Aesthetic Of Scott Pilgrim V.S The World

 

(Image Source: Amazon.Com)    

Did you know that Pac-Man was originally called Puck Man, of course, you did. But today with the new series almost here at the time of this post, I wanted to talk about the film Scott Pilgrim V.S The World, but not the story or the characters. Maybe some other time, today I wanted to do something I haven't done in a while which is look at the movie purely from a presentation style. Directed by Edger Wright, this movie for many for a long time was the closest thing we had to a movie that felt like a video game. Now we are in a world with movies like Wreck-It Ralph which had cameos but even more so, two successful movie franchises Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog. 

From a presentation standpoint, this movie is still amazing, just on visuals alone to tell a story this movie still stands out and looks great. From transitions that look straight out of the graphic novel, this was based on, or the video game effects peppered throughout this movie still looks fantastic. The transitions from location to location are seldom basic, but would rather take the viewer on a journey even though it is over in the blink of an eye. The locations have one hand in reality but still the amazement of being the backdrop of a fun adventure on film.

The visuals add to the humor in spades, whether the punchline is the visual or is followed up with a snappy line. Some of the visual jokes are so subtle, such as a meter that slowly slides over to "Get's It' just works so well. The jokes work well off of this world that is grounded in reality with navigating love in adult life and learning self-respect, and fantasy of video games coming to life in a real way and epic boss battles.

The effects paired with each action scene look like a segment from a game I wish I could live in. It makes me wish real-life conflict was dealt with like a game with a bass battle, or a boss battle. Giant neon letters straight from a fighting game, raining coins exploding from the defeated, and an epic setting that can only take place where video games and film meet. The action has a great balance of hits that hit hard, and the lightweight fantasy elements that come with boss battles, taking a normal fight and adding the right amount of zany to make it pop.

Even the moments that are meant to be emotional lows are conveyed better because of the way this movie is shot. The low moments feel really low and that is the mark of great cinematography, using visuals to set the scene and push the current emotion or story forward without standing out. Feeling natural yet standing out to the point that the viewer notices. Someone who would want to live in this world or want the world to look like this, and this film does this in spades. The visuals from the humor, the clothing choices, the effects, the transitions, everything comes together and makes this movie still a marvel to look at. Of all the times I engage in a conversation about this movie, the visuals are brought up almost if not every single time because they are so memorable, they just look fantastic. The visuals help drive the story of learning to be a better person forward, while helping deliver good comedy and a fantastic visual flare that makes the world feel like a playable game, making the mundane aspects of real life suddenly exciting. From getting coffee and working, to playing in a band, the movie still pops, and every time I watch it still impresses me. It is a one-of-a-kind style and presentation both visually and in a narrative sense that is worth seeing at least once.