Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010) review

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010)

Review by George Elcombe

‘Level up’

This movie rocks! Oh wait, let's backtrack. A bit about me: I'm a man who's a geek at heart and glad that there is 'geek chic' within society. Star Trek became cool, girls play RPG's, rude boys wear X Men and Iron Man hoodies and Dr Who's bowtie summing it up; ‘I don't care what people think, so it's cool’.

So let's begin at Spaced, the ground breaking show which played homage to / ripped off cult culture. Yes people do rip off other ideas but Spaced was and still is flawless in it's delivery as what I call Avatar syndrome; same shit you've seen a million times before but with a different coat of paint. Mix this with memorable characters and a ‘will they, won’t then’ relationship going on in bags of style. Out of Spaced came Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; which upon further viewing is such a clever film in terms of story, characters, pacing and relevant to this review action and visual flare.... Director Edgar Wright is quality and a huge geek. Rumour has it he was sent the first volume of S P (not Smashing Pumpkins, but your blind if you don't spot the references) while promoting Fuzz, and started production before the series was complete as the next venture of his career; a graphic novel adaptation mixed with his trademark snap edits and visual style used not to distract but to drive a story. I am excited.

So, I knew this film would look good, and from the 8 bit Universal logo you know this is something familiar but unlike anything you have seen before. Honestly, for the first half an hour it was what I expected yet a bit hyped; looks very good, very strange but not that funny. Basic plot; boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy has to defeat her 7 evil ex's to win her. So far, good, but the moment evil ex 1 Matthew ‘pirate’ Patel turns up the film turns up to 11! The characters, the geekyness, the whole damm lot explodes into something so unique and the most fun I have seen in a film since Kick Ass.

Unique? Yes and no. Its all carefully amalgamate from a collective subconscious raised on the coolness of teenage rebellion, confusion and insecurity, rock music and being in a band, Kung Fu movies and computer games. I cannot express the joygasm I experienced watching people burst into coins upon death just like in No More Heroes (buy this game kids, you can buy the Wii version for less than a pint!) but that game itself is a homage to computer games. The films many references to computer games are vast with highlights being the sound of Sonic collecting a ring and music from Zelda used in a dream sequence. But how can I put this; this is the best computer game movie I have seen (yes, it is based on a comic); boss battles to progress; extra lives ect, its g crazy! Visually this film is so clever, perfecting the depth of single frames from comics onto celluloid, ‘POW’ signs and my favourite, the letter D strumming out of a base guitar. And dragons from a keyboard. Moving on, it is a film about choice and what we are willing to do and sacrifice for what we want, even if we don’t know what it truly is. A girl with a troubled past wanting a new life but coming to terms with the fact you cannot simple run from your past as it will come back and hurt you and the ones you love, you must learn from it, accept what has happened and grow. A young man wanting a girl cooler than himself when he already has it, he just hasn’t realised yet. And learning the importance of self respect which lies within all our hearts (see what I did there?) I thought this film was going to fall into the category of ‘it's different but lots of people like it so it must be cool’. No. Despite my doubt this is how I felt and sums it up:

First 20 minutes: Good, but I’m expecting more.

50 minutes: I am really enjoying this.

70 minutes: F@#king A!!!

90 minutes: This movie rocks!

Firstly; no sequel or spin off! This is a gem that comes full circle and mustn't be Reloaded or Revolutionised. And if anyone tries to copy it then they will only look inferior, so don't even try. It is engrossing, energetic beyond description and is what sums up what I love about cinema: a film which is unafraid to be different and most importantly entertaining. I can't wait to introduce this to friends and family. In conclusion, you have not and hopefully never see another film as visual as this and it is just quality.

An awesome visual experience and great action flick.

9 out of 10.

If you like this, try:

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Kick Ass (2010)