Total Sensory Overload: if my brain were anything like an airplane cockpit, this button would be flashing during the cinematic experience that is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. And as cynical as that may sound, the movie is a genuine, honest commemoration of everything understood by the Youtube Generation. Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) cleverly embellishes what could be just another unimagined, teenage romantic comedy with elements from classic videogames, stunningly expensive CGI effects, and a comic book motif lifted right from Batman, the 1966 edition. He spent six years integrating Bryan O’Malley’s wildly popular graphic novel series into an opus of his own -- and the results are visually incredible. Hands down, it’s like no other comic book movie ever made, in large part because it is so of the modern comic generation.

“Pilgrim is the hero of the movie inside his own head,” director Wright explains during a recent filmmaker/cast sit-to. Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is also an awesome bass player in an awesome garage band, and is absolutely adored by his 17-year-old girlfriend, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). But after he succumbs to the seductive charms of the elusive Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), his life falls into serious danger. Ramona’s got seven evil exes -- and in order to date her, Scott must fight and kill them. Except he never kills them, in the murderous sense of the word. In accord with the videogame theme, once defeated, Scott’s opponents burst into piles of coins (as in Super Mario Brothers, Michael Cera kindly reminds us). 

And that’s one of the key things that makes this movie so great: It’s not even trying to be 'realistic.' When videogames and comic books are adapted to film, all too often the most fun elements get lost in translation. A trend that Wright has certainly noted: “Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, none of them have the most recognizable things from videogames,” he says. “The thing that’s weird with videogame adaptations most of the time is that most of the videogames are based on films. So when you get around to the film of the videogame, it feels like a weird Xerox. Resident Evil is based on zombie films, and then you have a film based on the game, based on the film, like this weird filtration system by the time you get to the movie.”

Interestingly, the comic book style would seem to actually lend itself to easy filmmaking. The imagery and timing already exist, in a sense. Having essentially every scene laid out before filming began was helpful to Anna Kendrick, who plays Scott’s sister Stacey, “Bryan’s artwork is so expressive. There’s a panel of the comics that’s Scott and Stacey on the phone, and you get their entire relationship in just these side-by-side panels: him being kind of embarrassed, and her being disapproving. Edgar wanted to capture those two panels through film, and especially in establishing their relationship. So the artwork was an incredible reference to have.”

The graphic novels had a considerable fan base before the movie was conceived. But the trick was not to worry about what fans would think. For Wright, following the comic book panel to panel would be “the path to disaster," losing both the hardcore fans and any newbies who might have been tempted by the material. Wright intended his project to be viewable for more than just fans of the original comics.  “It’s still at heart a story about young love, and a rite of passage," he says, "there’s good, wishful things that come out from growing up on videogames, and there are the downsides to it as well. This is where he gets his comic come-uppance.” It’s great to be a nerd! But, chances are, you probably knew that already.