Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

When a film opens with a pixelated, still image of the Universal Studios logo along with the well-known usually accompanied orchestral music sounding oddly like one of those repetitive, never-ending Game Boy tunes that play on a loop while you fight your way through multiple levels, there are two things that may have happened. Either A, the most likely young, geeky projectionist with an acne-infested face has totally fucked up his job; or B, you're about to watch a weird and obscure movie which has taken high inspiration from popular video games. If it's the former, you're screwed. If it's the latter, then get ready to have a helluva lotta fun, cos you're watching Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

Co-written and directed by Edgar Wright (the cinematic god who gave us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), this is a definite must-see for gamers and comic book nerds alike. Based on the cult series of graphic novels by Bryan Lee O'Malley, it's set in a world where sounds take visual form (a la Adam West's Batman TV show of the '60s) and physics are not dissimilar to that of a video game.

Other than that, the very basics of this universe aren't too far from the regular one we live in. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a shaggy-haired 22-year old living in a Toronto bedsit with his gay roommate Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), who's gay. He's gay and makes a point of saying this. He's gay. Scott is going out with quirky 17-year old Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), but after Scott comes across the girl literally of his dreams, roller skater Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), he begins obsessing over her and stalks her instead, quickly losing interest in Knives. What a bastard.

After spending some time with the purple-haired Ramona, he invites her to a battle of the bands that his awesome band, Sex Bob-Omb, is competing in for a record contract. While playing on-stage, Scott is attacked by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), who explains that in order for Scott to win Ramona's heart, he has to defeat her seven evil exes, Matthew being one of them.

With seven vicious old flames for Scott to pulverize, this sets up for six elaborate fight sequences (two twins are fought at the same time). Thankfully, the film does not succumb to monotony, as each of these scenes are so playfully creative and eminently unique that they never becoming repetitive. Wright stylishly directs them with much inspiration and energy, filling them with smooth and clear editing, meaning that we can actually see what is going on, unlike most recent action films. Cough, The Expendables, cough.

Many play out like Tekken battles and deal with flawless fight choreography from Peng Zhang, one of Jackie Chan's pals. Characters fly through the air and kick each other through brick walls, duelling one other using only the decibel levels jumping off the strings of their guitars as attack methods. When evil exes are conquered, they explode into a progressively increasing amount of coins, giving Scott more and more points whenever victory occurs for him. In one scene, he actually "gets a life", grabbing a small cartoon drawing of himself that is floating in the air. Which is cool.

Wright has loaded the film with a glorious plethora of visual and verbal gags, making Scott Pilgrim vs the World a laugh-a-minute riot. Just the way in which it is shot is enough to giggle at in itself, as its over-the-top, speedy manner is so ridiculously kinetic. Much of the editing and scene transitions are parallel to that of Wright's previous films and his profound Channel 4 show Spaced, with ingenious scene-switching techniques.

It just goes to show that Wright doesn't need his regulars Simon Pegg or Nick Frost to continue his winning streak of a filmography. Cera is the lead now and while he has never set foot outside the whiny-voiced character he played in Arrested Development, the Superbad star is nonetheless pleasing in the role.

Winstead is even better as Scott's punk love interest who changes her hair colour every one and a half weeks. She's an independent, cool and confident character with the stereotypical voice of American teenage arrogance, yet she mixes well with Scott's soft-spoken, wide-eyed, largely geeky demeanour. Opposites attract, I suppose.

The supporting cast is an exceedingly strong one, with Culkin and Wong delivering eccentric and memorable performances. Alison Pill is mesmerising as Kim Pine, the aggressive, freckle faced drummer of Sex Bob-Omb; and Anna Kendrick is mighty fine as Scott's judgemental, condescending sister Stacey.

Each of the seven evil exes are superbly cast, stretching from Brandon Routh as a white-haired vegan with psychic powers to Chris Evans playing a skateboarding, incredibly vain film star who wears leather jackets and talks in an exaggerated gruff voice. Evans would have to be my favourite, his performance is unforgettably hilarious, despite him only being in the film for around five minutes.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World truly is a fascinating cinematic experience, bursting with dazzling creativity and virtuosic liveliness mostly unseen by moviegoers lately. While I wouldn't say it quite reaches the near unbeatable level of Shaun of the Dead's utter brilliance, it is still a work of genius that has secured Edgar Wright's status as one of the top filmmakers working today. Trust me, you're gonna want to insert those coins time and time again once this is over. Continue? Yes please.

10/10