Every now and then you get the perfect marriage of director and material. Scott Pilgrim vs The World is such a situation with Edgar Wright taking Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels and exploding them onto screen with a colourful mixture of outstanding visuals and dry wit. It’s hardly surprising that Wright is so assured with the material when you consider his Spaced calling card, to which Scott Pilgrim bears more than a passing resemblance, though one that is slicker and more confident (helped by the additional millions of dollars, of course). In the film Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a bass guitarist in a band, falls for Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Two problems with this though. One: he already has a girlfriend, Knives (Ellen Wong), Two: Ramona has seven evil exes who Pilgrim must defeat in order to win her hand. Of course, just watching one fight after another can become dull pretty quickly but the source material has a few tricks up its sleeve in order to spice things up a bit. However Wright does got a little over the top at times though with some of the editing and lighting of certain scenes, meaning the average person might find themselves straining their eyes whilst anyone with epilepsy will struggle to watch the screen at all. The exes themselves are a bit of a mixed bunch with Chris Evans over-hamming his to alarming effect whilst a near unrecognisable Brandon Routh provides a few laughs. In terms of the acting overall it’s actually Wong and Kieran Culkin (as Pilgrim’s roommate) that win the plaudits from their relatively minor roles. Winstead is off screen too much to make a real impact (with the exception of her hair) and Cera again produces a performance which continues the mystery as to why he keeps getting such plum roles. However, this is Wright’s film, and despite it at times being a little bit too cute for its own good and an ending that sadly doesn’t provide the knockout blow the audience deserves, he moves the film along at a furious pace with innovative visuals and many laugh out loud moments. Throw in the rocking soundtrack as well and you have a film that, whilst it may alienate the older demographic, is entertaining, wears its heart on its sleeve and feels like a breath of fresh air.
The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A difficult to market film has meant a difficult relationship with the box office. A huge shame as Scott Pilgrim contains more originality than a million Expendables ever could. Rating: 8/10.
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