Based on the comic book series, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World walks a fine line between reality and the world of video games. It is a mix between the two and the movie could not be more entertaining because of it. Never has a movie been this original and director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) creates a playful, hip environment that surprises and impresses.
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) plays the bass in a garage band called Sex Bom-Omb in Toronto, Canada and he can get some girls with that. Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) falls in love with the band and becomes obsessed over Pilgrim. His attention is thrown off of Knives and on to Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a punk seductress who changes hair color every week and pulls it off nicely I might add.
The only problem is Ramona has baggage. Seven evil exes to be exact. And Pilgrim finds out the hard way that he must not only fight them to win Ramona’s heart but he has to defeat them. Just like a video game, if he can defeat them he wins that level and gets points. Perhaps the coolest part though is when they burst into game coins. Wright cast some good, young actors to play some of her exes like Brandon Routh (Superman in Superman Returns), Chris Evans, and the main evil ex, Jason Schwartzman.
Cera plays himself, but it just does not get old. Not in a movie like this. There is so much around him that boosts his performance and it fits perfectly with the tone of the whole movie. Winstead really shines as Ramona. She is a difficult, complex girl at times, but you understand the attraction Pilgrim has for her. Like this movie, she is something special.
Wright puts all of his creative brilliance into Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The movie he creates is unlike any other that you have or may ever see. A video game love story is definitely uncommon, but Wright gets everything right. The characters are likable and funny, and the fight scenes are amazing. Did I mention that people explode into coins? Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a tough movie to imagine, but it is such a joy to watch. It never comes off as cheesy or cheap, and is not afraid to try something new all the time. The movie took a risk and it pays off handsomely.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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