High Score. (Yeah, I had to)

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2011)

I don't even know where to begin raving about this movie. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is one of the best movies of 2010. Here's why.
I went into this movie knowing nothing about it except from seeing trailers and short clips. I hadn't read the comics or anything. Needless to say, I've now gone and read through them and while some people say that this movie doesn't hold a candle to the comics, I'm going to have to disagree. Unlike the Harry Potter films which are more of a companion to the novels than stand-alone films, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World can be viewed with no prior knowledge and still be enjoyed immensely. While certain plot points are skimmed over or cut completely, it doesn't detract from the final product.
Scott Pilgrim is a love story. With fights. Edgar Wright described it as a musical, but instead of breaking into song, the characters break into fights. That's a pretty good description in my opinion. To be with the girl of his dreams, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must fight - no, defeat - Ramona Flowers' (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) 7 evil exes. What follows is a film filled with life and energy and brilliance.
I'm a huge Edgar Wright fan, he's one of my favourite directors (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). The cinematography in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is so well done that you'll come out of the cinema buzzing. The editing of shots seamlessly really puts you in the zone. Even the rapid fight scenes that have new shots every few seconds never make you feel disoriented like in movies such as Transformers, where it's just 5 minutes of robots fighting each other in a blurry mess of steel.
Maybe for a viewer who isn't 17 like me, the bright colours and video games references might not do much for them, but for someone who has grown up with video games and comic books, this movie was so good. And it wasn't just cheap shots either. There was no "Oh look! Now we're putting in a sound clip from Zelda. Intertextuality for the win!" No. It was done so subtly and reflected the film, the dream sequence particularly standing out for me, but I won't say any more for those who haven't seen it. The start of each fight with the 'VS' in between the characters and all the tiniest sound effects was enough to make this another great piece by Edgar Wright. The sheer number of The Legend of Zelda references alone was enough to win me over.
I want to talk briefly about the soundtrack and score. The soundtrack is filled with some great songs that really fit the feel of the movie - the pure acoustic guitar and the 8 bit elements are pure brilliance. This is also reflected in the score, a more dramatic set of music but still retaining the retro video game feel that really pushes this film along.
Michael Cera, who doesn't seem to age at all, gets a refreshing new role as Scott Pilgrim, and for once doesn't get to be 'that awkward guy' but rather 'that jerk who fights everyone for one girl'. He still retains his Cera-esque charm in the movie but it's great to see him become a bit of a badass. His supporting cast is fantastic as well, special credit goes to Kieran Culkin, Allison Pill and Chris Evans. Those three to me were absolutely hilarious, their comedic timing perfect. In fact, the whole cast does a flawless job of creating a great character list who connect with each other without stilted dialogue or awkward phrasing.
This film is so energetic and fun and re-watchable. From every crunch of a fist against a skull to every perfectly delivered punchline, it remains one of the best films of 2010 that should really have done better at the box office considering the reception it's received.
10/10