A live action comic book - great fun!

Rating: 9/10 (17 May 2011)

I wasn't sure that I'd enjoy this film but when a couple of people I know raved about it I though I should check it out; I'll have the thank them as it was a lot of fun. It is essential to know that this film is not meant to be in any way realistic in one scene the hero gets punched through three brick walls and is barely hurt! That is part of the fun though; it is a live action film that has the same rules as a Loony Tunes Cartoon; it could so easily have been terrible but instead it was a lot of fun.
One day Scott Pilgrim spots a beautiful girl with bright pink hair, called Ramona, and he is immediately smitten; he must date her even though he is already dating a seventeen-year-old schoolgirl called Knives. At the time their relation starts he doesn't realise that he will have to battle each of Ramona's seven evil exes if he wishes to keep her... and live. The fights aren't normal scraps; they are like something out of a video game, complete with sound and visual effects and when he wins he gets points and just as his vanquished foe disappears money appears in their place. As he works his way through the exes Scott learns a bit about himself and realises that he hasn't behaved all that well to his exes.
Director Edgar Wright did a fine job bringing the story to the screen; managing to make the cartoon-like elements seem fun rather than just a gimmick. Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead were great as Scott and Ramona; the fact that he isn't the typical action star made it easier to root for his character even though he was clearly flawed. It wasn't just comic-book fight scenes there were also some good laughs; frequently provided by Scott's sharp-tongued gay roommate. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film and heartily recommend it to anybody looking for something a little different.