Scott Pilgram movie, based on graphic novel by former Asheville resident, gets rave reviews at Comic Con

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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has been getting rave reviews at Comic Con this week. The movie, starring Michael Cera, is based on the graphic novel series by Brian Lee O’Malley. O’Malley lived in Asheville the past few years, but he and his partner, graphic novelist Hope Larson, recently moved out West.

Here’s a bit about the surprise screening of Scott Pilgram this week from thecabin.net:

In the frenetic flick based on the comic series of the same name, Michael Cera plays a zero-calorie-soda-lovin’ bassist smitten with neon-haired delivery gal Ramona Flowers. To win Flowers’ heart, Pilgrim must smite her seven deadly exes — one is a telekinetic vegan, for example — in duels punctuated with video game flourishes.

A family dressed as characters from “Alice in Wonderland” pose outside of Comic-Con International Thursday, July 22, 2010 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

The hundreds of fans who made it into Thursday night’s surprise screening roared for the “Mortal Kombat”-style matchups and feasted their eyes on the splashy visuals, set in a stylized version of Toronto in which ladies can yank giant hammers from their purses and the “Seinfeld” theme unapologetically blasts before domestic situations.

Cera ditched a Captain America costume he jokingly donned for the panel to watch the film from the loge, along with such cast members as Brandon Routh, Kieran Culkin and Jason Schwartzman and “Scott Pilgrim” creator Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Here are a couple of tidbits from reviews – first is from Variety:

Still, “Scott Pilgrim” is a feat of economical storytelling, rendered in the vernacular of small talk and text messages. For a young man with no job and limited ambition, Scott leads an unusually drama-filled life, and Wright innovatively uses split screens, sleight-of-hand editing and onscreen narration to help cover considerable ground in limited time, while leaving room for half a dozen big action setpieces. As ensembles go, the pic packs one of the most crowded lineups in teen-movie memory, with Scott fending off input from his sister (Anna Kendrick), gay roommate (Kieran Culkin), fellow band members (Mark Webber, Alison Pill and Johnny Simmons) and his own league of exes (most notably Brie Larson, as the girl who “kicked his heart in the ass”).

And this from cinematical.com:

But even without an immediate connection to its light speed sensibility or the pop culture benchmarks it both celebrates and satirizes, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is an ambitious, one-of-a-kind, fully-realized, smart, sensitive and satisfying work of cinema – and one so confident in its execution that being hated by some is scarcely more than another battle en route to really being loved.