Arguably Edgar Wright's best film to date

Rating: 8/10 (25 August 2010)

"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is Edgar Wright's third film, following the well-received British comedies "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz". This film is a comedy as well but, rather than a genre parody, it's an adaptation of a series of graphic novels.
The story is fairly simple: When the title character meets the woman of his dreams (literally) he soon discovers that if he wants to win her heart he'll have to defeat her seven evil exes. The story plays out in video game style with battles interspersed among the more realistic elements of the plot.
Wright's direction is consistently impressive as he throws all sorts of colourful, energetic visuals at the viewer. I don't know how much of that comes from the graphic novels but, regardless, he did a fine job of translating it to the screen. I can honestly say that I have never seen another film that looks quite like this.
The music is good, too. For the fictional bands, original songs were contributed by Beck, Metric & Broken Social Scene. I also liked the apt usage of "Under My Thumb" by the Rolling Stones.
As for the cast, it's expertly assembled with no one seeming out of place or giving a weak performance. Michael Cera brings his unique charm to the title role and Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Ramona Flowers is truly a woman worth fighting seven evil exes for. Kieran Culkin stands out in support and the evil exes are deliciously villainous.
In the end, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" may not exactly be 'an epic of epic epicness' but it certainly is a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. However, I doubt that most viewers above a certain age group (say, 30 or so) will really 'get' the film. I think that's a shame, though, since the story is deeper than the video game-inspired plot and visuals might lead you to expect.