Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Overview

Years of hipster geekdom have led to this, a film directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Spaced), starring Michael Cera (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Juno, Arrested Development) and adapted from a comic book based on the conventions of video games and romance.

Cera is Scott Pilgrim, an average, sweet but EQ-challenged 22-year-old who plays bass with suburban unknowns Sex Bob-omb and considers getting a "fake high school girlfriend" one year on from a messy break-up a sure sign he's moved on. He soon becomes infatuated with the new girl in town — aloof, doe-eyed, tempestuously hair-dyed Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). So infatuated is he that nothing can shake him out of his loved-up reverie, not even news he'll have to face her seven evil exes in battle to the death.

One ex-boyfriend has special powers bestowed by vegan purity and righteousness, another through musical skill daunting enough to conjure sonic dragons into combat, others just punch, kick and duel like kung-fu masters. And so, it turns out, does Scott, as Cera ably and amiably whips out the butt-kicking hero that's been hiding behind his constantly dopey demeanour.

This plays out in the most stylised of fashions, where visual effects bend time and space, onomatopoeic lettering accompanies sounds and decimated ex-boyfriends explode into showers of coins. Amazing editing not only does the best job to date of mimicking the comics-reading experience but develops a mesmeric pacing all of its own and makes even featherweight jokes land knockout punches. It's buoyed along by a spotless supporting cast including Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman and Mae Whitman (a.k.a. Anne/Egg from Arrested Development), plus original Sex Bob-omb tunes composed by Beck.

Scott Pilgrim is an allegory of the male dating experience, so the manic pixie dream girls are in full force, but don't let that put you off. The film is inventive, observant and warm, and you can read as much semi-irony into it as you like. Best of all, it won't leave you out of the fun just because you haven't read the books, played Super Mario Bros., been a gen-X slacker or a gen-Y know-it-all. Wright has already proven himself a virtuoso of the niche-busting genre mash-up, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World — slacker-cross-martial arts in subject, film-cross-manga-cross-video game in form — is quite the opus.