Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, and Alison Pill.  Based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O’Malley, the story follows a slack musician named Scott Pilgrim, who must battle his girlfriend Ramona’s seven evil exes.

Positives:

• Great characters
• Great performances
• Great visuals
• Awesome soundtrack
• Good direction
• Interesting story
• Great cast

Negatives:

• n/a

Plot:  Set in Toronto, Canada the story follows bass guitarist Scott Pilgrim and his band, the Sex Bom-Ombs, who are practicing for an upcoming battle of the bands competition.  Scott’s life is turned upside down when he meets the mysterious Ramona Flowers whom he instantly is attracted to.  Although with a high school girl named Knives, Scott pursues Ramona’s affections only to come against Ramona’s exes who set their sights on keeping the two apart.

Although it mainly follows Scott’s pursuit of Ramona and their battle with her exes, there is the subplot of Scott dealing with the issues of his life (mostly past and current romances as well as the band). The story is pretty entertaining and it does touch upon some themes of honesty and personal growth. Another aspect to consider is that even the story does feel relatable in terms of drama it just grabs your attention. (3 out of 5)

Characters:  There are a lot of awesome characters worth liking and I found little problem with them.  The main protagonist of the film initially starts with Scott Pilgrim before extending to Ramona Flowers.  They are good, likable characters and do develop together over the course of the film.  Scott’s supporting cast includes Wallace, Knives, Kim, Stephen, Young Neil, and Stacey Pilgrim who all have great personality, and who help contribute to the overall humor of the film.

The Evil Exes are a group of Ramona’s seven exes who try to manipulate the events of Ramona’s life and who are actually pretty memorable too with their own unique personalities and abilities.  Personal favorites would be Lucas Lee (Chris Evans) a movie star with super strength, Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh) a vegan with telekinesis, Roxanne “Roxy” Richter (Maw Whitman) a ninja with teleportations, and record executive and mastermind Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman). (4 out of 5)

Cast: This movie has an awesome main and supporting cast who all give good performances.  Michael Cera does a fantastic job as Scott Pilgrim, and he definitely does a good job as the awkward nerd.  Mary Elizabeth Winstead is just awesome and I like the chemistry between the two. The casting for the evil exes is good consisting of Satya Bhabha (Matthew Patel), Chris Evans (Lucas Lee), Brandon Routh (Todd Ingram), Mae Whitman (Roxanne “Roxy” Richter), Shota and Keita Saito (Kyle and Ken Katayanagi), and Jason Schwartzman (Gideon Gordon Graves).  Loved Schwartzman’s performance as Gideon.  The cast also includes Kieran Culkin (Wallace), Ellen Wong (Knives), Alison Pill (Kim), Mark Webber (Stephen), Johnny Simmons (“Young” Neil), Anna Kendrick (Stacey), Brie Larson (Natalie “Envy”), and Aubrey Plaza (Julie). (4 out of 5)

Visuals: One word describes this film and that is flashy. Everything from the colors to the fights to the titles just give this movie a comic book or video game feel. The way the film mixes live action with a comic book art style and transitions as well as elements of video game is done extremely well. The action sequences are  shot with a very vibrant and stylish look. The score points and labels look cool. Awesome use of special effects which deserve two thumbs up. (4 out of 5)

Score: Thumbs up to the soundtrack, which totally rocks. For anyone who likes rock, pop, or just instrumentals will find a song or two that they’ll enjoy. Even during the battles, the music is perfect, it’s fast paced, intense, and pretty catchy.  Like how each of the exes have their own sort of them to emphasize their personality.  My absolute favorite song in the movie is “Black Sheep” performed by Brie Larson. Loved the movie so much I couldn’t help but download it.  Also, there is the execution of sound effects which more than hold their own, often helping to provide comedy.  Gotta give two thumbs up to Nigel Godrich for the soundtrack.  (5 out of 5)

Writing: Admittedly the writing is actually pretty good.  The film is actually pretty impressive considering the source material and the execution and how few adaptations are actually good.  Edgar Wright definitely deserves a thumbs up for the presentation of the film.   There is a great deal of humor, dramatic flare, and action but it feels well balanced.  Some of the best humor lies in the dialogue.  It’s very witty.  It would’ve been awesome to have gotten more backstory on the exes but it doesn’t make them any more or less awesome. (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a magnificent thrill ride that just delivers.  Though probably not the cup of tea for people who enjoy a more serious experiences, nerds and gamers will have a good time with the film.  Not only is it one of the best comic adaptions but it has good action, the visuals are awesome, performances and casting are good, and a really spot on soundtrack. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World gets 4 out of 5.