Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Looks great on Edgar Wright’s CV

The interestingly-titled ‘Scott Pilgrim vs the World’ is based on a comic book about a young man who has to fight his new girlfriend’s seven evil ex boyfriends.  No, seriously.  And, if the first question you’re asking is “Why?” then you’re probably like me.  First of all this is a movie (probably!) more for teenagers and youngsters (not bitter and cynical forty-somethings such as myself), therefore I’m guessing that most people will just go with it, rather than questioning every single plot point like I found myself doing.

I did enjoy the film – sort of.  Once you allow yourself to get past just how ludicrous the plot is, you’ll find that it is in fact quite funny.  The titular Scott Pllgrim, played by the totally typecast Michael Cera, falls in love with a new girl in his town, only to discover that, in order to win her heart, he has to beat and pummel all her ‘evil’ exes one after another.  And it’s quite fun to watch, possibly because it knows how daft it is and therefore plays on it, deciding to shoot the film almost like a computer game from yesteryear.  Expect ‘life gauges’ to appear on screen every time Scott picks a fight with someone new.  Plus plenty of visual comic-like clues as to the fact that it wants you to know that it’s based on a comic book, such as written text on the screen to emphasise sounds and feelings.

I’d probably forget the film quite quickly if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s co-written and directed by Edgar Wright, best known for working with Simon Pegg on various film collaborations. I think it’s fair to say that Wright has a visual style that really works with this type of film.  Every scene he emphasises silly little things in order to draw your attention to little details that most films overlook.  I found myself enjoying how the film looked even more than the actual film itself.  Sorry for the generalisation, but I do think that younger cinema audiences will enjoy the story aspect, however it was funny enough to keep me entertained and had a visual flair that is often missing from mainstream Hollywood.  Just a pity Edgar Wright never got to do his vision of Marvel’s ‘Antman!’

If nothing else, it’s worth watching Captain ‘Chris Evans’ America take the beating that even Iron Man himself couldn’t manage!

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that