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Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2010)

Scott Pilgrim has met the girl of his dreams, Romona Flowers. Now, he must face her seven evil exes if he is to keep dating her. Now imagine this love story is taking place inside a souped up Nintendo Entertainment System with some of the finest indie music the world has to offer, lovingly directed by the world's biggest geek and edited to perfection by joy pad wielding insaniacs intent on blowing up your eyes with colours.
This film is the pinnacle of everything an immersion in pop culture can be. From the parody of the typical 'love against adversity' journey of any typical film, 'Scott Pilgrim' takes the idea of the journey and turns into an epic QUEST. What's more, it's refreshing that the hero of the piece is fundamentally flawed: pursuing a girl while in a relationship with another, however tame that relationship might be, is a basic rule of social villainy- and yet Scott Pilgrim is that awkward hero; not following the laws of what is right, rather going for what he wants and ignoring the consequences. That the protagonist is imperfect, selfish and thoughtless makes him more identifiable as a genuine human being rather than a pastiche of unachievable ideals, and anchors the film's emotional core against the absolute insanity that unfolds.
Michael Cera is at his finest here. He is one of those comic actors who has an act and usually sticks with it- even reverting back to it in "Youth in Revolt"- but here, Cera is not the meek nice guy. He still looks and sounds like Cera, but he's not the smart, sensitive boy we've come to know. He's fatally flawed and does bad things to good people on impulse. Like real people tend to on occasion. Further grounding comes from Kieran Culkin, a revelation as the straight man (so to speak) of the piece and one of several excellent supporting roles peppered throughout this character-packed story (Brandon Routh and Chris Evans can battle for the title of the best evil ex, but Tom Jane showing up as a member of the vegan police for about 20 seconds just blew my mind). Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Romona Flowers is so inexplicably cool you go against your gut and start pushing Pilgrim to fight for her (she even manages to flex some acting muscles, too- ranging from hardened introvert to heart-on-sleeve vulnerability to giant Thor-hammer smashing aggression).
Everything about this film is effortlessly cool, from the fantasy fight scenes straight out of Tekken, one of many video game references that the film is saturated in (a dream sequence involves a flourishing arrangement of music from Zelda to great effect). The use of video games within the film could arguably be suggested a critique of our obsession with electronic influences on our lives, but I'm just guessing that the reason they used all of that stuff is because it just looks amazing- it sounds amazing too, probably one of the best contemporary soundtracks I've ever heard (thanks to contributions from Metric, Beck and uber-producer Nigel Godrich).
On a technical level, this is Edgar Wright's finest achievement, harking back to the the heady days of sitcom 'Spaced' but with a few million dollars to really push the limits- and I don't believe he wasted a single penny.
From the devastating reaction to sunlight (blissfully over the top comic-book framing) on an early morning, and the scuzzy bass that centres the film's soundtrack, you'll come out of this still not believing you just saw this movie. Your brain won't let you believe it's real. Well it's not, but it is a film. It has been made, with loving devotion to its source material- which as to why anyone would even try and commit that to the screen is beyond me, but Edgar Wright just did it. I think he can safely assume his place as one of the most unique and brilliant filmmakers in the industry right now, with this film as a portfolio promising what visions will come next.
This film is perfect. There is literally nothing wrong with any of it. As far as the genre of 'comic-book adaptations' goes (which itself is ridiculous, you would throw every film based on a book into the same section at HMV- Jaws and Pride and Prejudice aren't the same now, are they?) this is one of the finest, most standout pieces made. As a fantasy adventure it's even credible, remaining resolutely laid back and lo-fi despite it's impeccable visual style.
Just... outstanding.