Review: Scott Pilgrim vs the World

This movie took balls to make, I'm just going to put that out there. Massive, colossal balls; and probably some level of colorful insanity. In his adaptation of the acclaimed comic series Scott Pilgrim, Edgar Wright took what was already an over-the-top piece of work, and crafted what will probably go down as one of the most (if not the most) crazy movies ever put to screen. It's like if Dr. Seuss and Quentin Tarantino had a baby, and that baby was trained from birth by Jackie Chan to become the greatest ninja the world has ever known and then that ninja had a bad acid trip. Scratch that, an awesome acid trip!

Scott Pilgrim vs the World follows the titular character Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a 23-year-old slacker and bass guitarist for his friend's band, Sex Bob-Omb. At the beginning  of the film, Scott is dating Chinese-Canadian Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), who's 17. But that's okay, because all they really do is talk (once they almost held hands). Out of the blue however, Scott meets the girl of his dreams (literally), Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), but dating her comes with a catch: he must defeat her seven evil exes, who are now coming to kill him. If that made sense to you, you've either read the comic, or you're clinically insane. Either way, you'll probably enjoy the movie.

With seven rivals to defeat in increasingly over-the-top battles, a giant cast, and all the drama of a Scott/Knives/Ramona love triangle, there was a lot of material to cover. Instead of doing the logical thing, and cutting what wasn't entirely necessary, Wright decided to go the opposite route... and pack in EVERYTHING.

The film clocks in at a pretty meaty 112 minutes, but with all the material in it, and at a pace that would give Michael Bay a heart attack, Scott Pilgrim vs the World feels incredibly rushed. Not that it's entirely a negative though, as the pace allows the film an undeniable level of frenetic energy. It does, however, limit the emotional impact the film might have had with a more relaxed tempo, but any longer and the film would probably have proven utterly exhausting. It was a tough call to make, and I respect Wright's decision to go full-bore in that direction, even if it does mean that any and all character development is more or less relegated to throwaway jokes (however hilarious they are).

On that note, the film is freaking hilarious. Not funny, mind you, but gut wrenchingly, side-splittingly, uproariously hilarious. You'll want to see this film twice, not for the story, the characters, or anything along those lines; you'll want to hear all the jokes you missed while the audience was laughing from a previous line. Music also plays an integral role in the story, and appropriately, the soundtrack is superb. Featuring original sounds by Metric, Beck, and Broken Social Scene, the soundtrack really captures the tone of the film and provides some awesome musical accompaniment.

Performance-wise, I have to say that the combination of a large cast and the film's gleeful disdain of any logic or sense of reality prevent any of the actors from doing much more than trying to keep up with the frenzied filmmaking. The supersonic pace of the film really doesn't give any of the cast a chance to be anything more than archetypes, but it works well in context. It does seem important to note however, that if you generally dislike Michael Cera, you might not hate him in this one. His character is definitely different enough from his previous films, and he shows a surprising affinity for doing action, making this by far Cera's most unique role to date.

Speaking of such, the on-screen action is an absolute joy. It is quite impossible for me to recall a film in recent memory with this level of creativity and visual imagination in its action set-pieces. Everything from the choreography to the concepts feels exceptionally unique, fresh, and entirely entertaining. You might not understand everything (or anything, if you're that unfamiliar with the comic), but I seriously doubt you won't be entertained.

Those unfamiliar with the source material, or general tone of the work at least, will probably find the film utterly indecipherable; a frantic mash-up of video game culture, over-the-top action and pop culture references. A film really devoid of any deep meaning, intellectual significance, or emotional grounding. Those on the other side of the fence, though... you'll be lucky to find a more entertaining experience this year.