Struggling Toronto musician Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) meets the enigmatic Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party and is instantly smitten. Casting aside girlfriend Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), Scott single-mindedly pursues Ramona, but has no idea that she comes with some serious baggage.
Playing with his band Sex Bob-omb, the love-struck bass player is attacked by Matthew Patel who reveals that he is the first of seven evil exes that Scott will have to defeat in order to win Ramona's hand. Managing to triumph in vicious hand-to-hand combat with Patel, Scott must battle each evil ex in turn, including the evil mastermind behind the League of Evil Exes, Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman).
Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's series of graphic novels, Edgar Wright's first Hollywood movie might not have set the box office alight, but it's a stylish sugar rush of pure entertainment nonetheless. Heavily influenced by old-school video games, Wright's hyperactive visuals are utterly gobsmacking and best viewed after about ten Slush Puppies. If the relentless assault of rock tunes and migraine-inducing imagery leaves you feeling like someone's stuffed your head into a pinball machine, there are fun performances too.
Best of all is Chris Evans as Ramona's skateboarding movie star ex, but vegan psychic Brandon Routh and a slimy Schwartzman are also good fun. While Cera's little boy lost routine is beginning to wear a bit thin, he's still a likeable protagonist, although he's completely upstaged by Kieran Culkin, who's fabulously sardonic as Scott' gay room-mate. Also worth a mention is Winstead, who epitomises geek chic as the fickle object of affection, helping make Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World an extremely hip and frequently funny effort from everybody's favourite West Country film-maker.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World is a Film programme that first aired in 2010 and has been classified a 12 certificate.
