Reviewed by Kate Rodger
Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, has a new film; a comic book adaptation called Scott Pilgrim vs the World.
It was the talk of the recent Comic-Con, and now its hit Kiwi screens.
Wright gets lots of money, an edgy, fresh, bankable young cast, and a cool comic-book to base it all on.
No surprise, he delivers.
This could be a good old-fashioned boy meets girl, boy must fight all her exes and wins kind of story, but in the hands of Wright, there is nothing remotely old or fashioned about Scott Pilgrim.
Juno's Michael Cera is the titular Pilgrim, the girl Ramona Flowers is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead of Grindhouse fame.
A generous array of well-cast exes is deployed, including Wes Anderson favourite Jason Schwartzman, and a nice eye-brow raise from the soon-to-be Captain America Chris Evans.
Now I’m not sure whether I’m reaching a bit here, but visually I got a delicious sense of the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind from time to time, from Ramona's Clementine hair and attitude, to a few celestial snow scenes. Whether or not Wright’s channelling his inner Michel Gondry I don’t know, but it was cool.
Another highlight, is Kieran Culkin's perfectly pitched turn as Pilgrim's gay room-mate Wallace, he’s pure genius.
I am nowhere cool enough to get the whole all-encompassing videogaming/arcade thing here, and it’s the glue which holds it together. But even without a gamer pedigree this movie is just a whole tonne of fun, I loved it.
Will Scott Pilgrim vs the World rival Kick-Ass as the cool kids movie of the year? Maybe.
Four and a half stars.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
:: Director: Edgar Wright
:: Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman
:: Running Time: 117 mins
:: Rating: M - Contains violence,sexual references and offensive language
:: Release Date: August 12, 2010
:: Trailer: Watch here
