Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Review

The ever-expanding (or is it ‘never-ending’?) ‘comic book movie’ genre has come with a lot dirty laundry these post-Bryan Singer’s ‘X-men’ days. The genre, usually associated with words like ‘franchise’, ‘cash’ and ‘cow’, has produced its fair share of caped crusading this past decade, the majority showcasing the masked characters that make up the ‘big two’ comic labels: Marvel and DC. Combined with Hollywood’s penchant for quantity over quality, the ‘hit or miss’ tag have never been more appropriate. For every ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Spider-man 2’ there’s a dozen or so ‘Ghost Riders’ and ‘Fantastic Fours’ to guarantee a shared-groan by the movie-going public.

Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, based off the cult Canadian indie graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley, contains no capes, secret identities or super powers. Kind of. The six volume series made a name for itself by winning the hearts and minds of a whole bunch of Gen Y’ers who were born and raised on 8-bit video games and diagnosed with syndromes that have acronyms for names.

The project has Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) stepping out of his usual UK cast/crew comfort zone and finding himself literally unfolding his Director’s chair in frosty Toronto. Wright directs an ensemble cast consisting of more Pretty Young North American Things than any ‘unlock all’ cheat code could imagine. Despite all of the flashy imagery, breakneck speed and nicher-than-niche references Wright continually throws at the audience, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is essentially a classic ‘guy wants girl’ story, albeit one custom built for the bit torrent generation. Simply put – Cera’s titular slacker character must defeat seven evil ex’s standing in the way of him dating the girl of his dreams: Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

There has never been a film quite as visually stimulating as SPvTW. Small details like the the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it stat boxes and life gauges make for a true sensory overload and are extremely accommodating for the gaming community. The battle scenes (of which there are a few) are refreshingly choreographed in the most un-Matrix way possible, playing out instead like one part classic-era Bugs Bunny, one part Adam West Batman ‘KAPOW’ and two parts MTV – back when they used to play music.

Cera doesn’t exactly reinvent himself in terms of that much-expected ‘adorable awkward guy’ schtick, but he does a more than decent job of being slightly more ‘Pilgrim’ than ‘Cera’ for two hours. The real acting highlights are supplied by the huge supporting cast, particularly Kieran Culkin’s Wallace Wells and Ellen Wong’s Knives Chau, who does a better creepily-obsessive ex-girlfriend than the ones we avoid in real life.

Sure, the video game references will be completely lost on the bulk of the mainstream audience and may have some begging for a pause button in parts, but SPvTW is perhaps the most ‘comic book movie’ movie to come along since Sin City. Where Christopher Nolan received universal praise for transforming Batman’s Gotham City into a gritty real-world reality, Edgar Wright should be applauded for making his labour of love as unrealistic, fantastic and charming as the black and white drawings it was based upon.

Angus Truskett lives in Sydney. He tweets here and blogs here.

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