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Does Scott Pilgrim Defeat The World And Conquer The Audience?

Piya Sinha-Roy |
August 13, 2010 | 1:44 a.m. PDT

Entertainment Editor

Scott Pilgrim rocking out (Universal Pictures)
Scott Pilgrim rocking out (Universal Pictures)
Scott Pilgrim vs The World

 (USA, 2010, 112 mins)

7 deadly exes, 3 hot girls, 2 ambitious band members and one gay roommate – Michael Cera has quite a challenge on his plate as he meets the girl of his dreams in the very mysterious land of Toronto, Canada. And the audience is unlikely to be disappointed – cue some kick-ass battles, some hard core indie rock and some cute boys and girls in this quirky hipster-comic-emo mish-mash of a film.

For those not familiar with Scott Pilgrim, the story originates with a six-part comic series by graphic artist Bryan Lee O’Malley. The main premise is that Scott (played by Michael Cera) meets Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the girl quite literally of his dreams, and must fight off her seven evil exes (The League of Deadly Exes) in order to be with her – and let’s not forget that everyone seems to have superpowers.

Throw in some extra challenges with Scott’s ex girlfriends and a battle of the bands competition, and we have an action-comedy-romance that is both fast-paced with a sharp script – something that can be expected from director Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz”). The series is unique with its video-game influences intertwined with rock music and graphic fiction, and Wright makes sure to stay true to the multi-faceted nature of the story. 

 Universal Pictures)
Universal Pictures)
The talented cast ensemble is also a strong part of what makes the film so watchable. Some of Hollywood’s brightest young actors get to showcase their skills, and Michael Cera leads them by somewhat stepping out of his stereotyped characters of past, and into a more comedic role as Scott Pilgrim. He is joined by Kieran Culkin and Anna Kendrick as his roommate and sister, while Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans pop up unexpectedly as three of Ramona’s deadly exes.

It is newcomer Ellen Wong as Knives Chau who had me most impressed, with her initially annoying character developing into one of the main supporting leads, and for a newcomer up against some big names, Wong delivered quite a performance. My only disappointment with the film was that Wright decided to eliminate the back-story of Scott and his ex, Envy Adams (Brie Larson), which would have been helpful in understanding more of his character. 

The initial thought of a film merging teen comedy with a graphic novel and video games sounded like it would fail on at least one of those levels, but “Scott Pilgrim vs The World” somehow manages to hold all of the elements together and deliver a film worthy of entertaining hardcore fans and newcomers alike. Scott and Ramona’s love story fits right into the world of 21st century hardships and battles, but with superpowers and rock music, it is a whole lot cooler.

Verdict: Go see it!

Rating:  4.5/5

To reach Entertainment Editor Piya Sinha-Roy, click here.
Follow Piya Sinha-Roy on Twitter @PiyaSRoy


 

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