Scott Pilgrim versus the World

Way back in 2010 the movie I was most hyped about was Scott Pilgrim versus the World. Now 4 years later on a rainy afternoon I dusted of the DVD (I loved the movie so much I bought it) and settled down to watch it.

I felt like it was the perfect time to review the movie. It has been a good few years since its release now and I feel I can judge this movie better now I’m not wearing my special hyper coloured fanboy glasses. Within the first few minutes, I was completely hooked all over again. Watching the camera slowly track backwards as the Sex Bom-omb rocked out. I was drawn into this crazy canadian romantic comedy.

Scott Pilgrim is a young adult that still looks like a teenager. He’s an insecure guy and guitarist who plays in a rock band called Sex Bom-omb and is going out with a minor high-school Chinese girl, Knives. Life seems pretty content for Scott until he has a dream about a girl. She happens to appear in his real world in the form of Ramona, the ever-changing-hair-colour American recently moved to Toronto. Scott is over the moon, but he has to face his own personal demons, break up with sweet Knives and fight for Ramona's love against her seven ex’s.

Scott Pilgrim is still one of the most refreshing movies even since in release. The movie is cute, funny, entertaining, has great characters, a terrific soundtrack and stunning visuals. The story is all about the difficultness of relationships. What made the comic and the movie stand out is how its all masqueraded by the video-game approach.

Unlike many other movies like Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Scott Pilgrim focus on the emotional challenges of very young people, sex is not the focus, although it does not avoid it either. The movie focuses on how difficult it is to make a relationship work when you fall in love with people who already have emotional baggage and you are insecure about yourself. Scott's fights against Ramona's ex’s are just a metaphoric way of putting it.

Moreover, the emotions of the girl are not the focus here, but the emotions of a young man who is not obsessed with sex. This makes it a rarity among the coming-of-age movie genre being about a man in a relationship. How do you get a girl who has an emotional baggage when you are not an over-confident guy, your dream girl is uber-cool, and her ex’s seem like really brilliant guys compared to you? This unfortunately pushes Ramona's feelings and actions to the background, especially towards the end, as she just becomes an object for the men to fight over.

It’s only now that I’ve grown up more since it’s initial release that I can see more of the nuances that make Scott Pilgrim such a amazing movie.

All the actors are great in their roles:Michael fits the role of Scott perfectly, Ellen Wong is perfectly cast as Knives and Mary does a great job as Ramona. The other members of Sex Bom-omb put in a great performance, from the snarky Kim, the shy Young and the 'our band is the greatest' Stephen. But it’s Kieran Culkin that shines as Scott's confident, grounded gay friend Wallace Wells.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World movie is not only well done but done with passion, a project cherished by the whole team and by director Edgar Wright. The movie still has a freshness, soul and a special something that is still there even after not watching it for a few years.

4.5/5 waffles of epic epicness !!