Starring: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh,

Written by: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright

Director: Edgar Wright

Certificate: 12A

To my way of thinking ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ is a marmite movie. People are either going to love it or hate it. I loved it and I don’t think I’m even the studio’s target audience.

In fact I know I’m not their target audience, I’m far too old. Also I may well have avoided going to see this film based on the current TV trailers which don’t do it justice. Fortunately, director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) knows his audience and as co-writer he has included a very important element to this film…it’s funny! So therefore breaks down those barriers so it really doesn’t matter what age you are.

The film is based on comic book characters created by Canadian Bryan Lee O’Malley. The hero of the piece Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera from ‘Superbad’ and ‘Juno’) is a 22-year old Canadian living in Toronto and plays bass guitar in an Indy / punk band called Sex Bob-Omb, a catchy little name for a band. He is currently dating a 17-year-old High School girl inventively named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) and he is constantly ribbed by his co-band members over the age difference and her obsessive behaviour towards both Scott and his cool band.

Scott also gets a hard time from his Gay room mate Wallace brilliantly played by Kieran Culkin, now that’s a phrase I never thought I’d say. Wallace has a nasty habit of sending Scott’s sister updates on his relationship issues, he even has the ability to text in his sleep! Scott doesn’t seem to have a problem in getting girlfriends despite his awkward geekyness although that’s probably part of the cute attraction but it’s the breaking up with them that he doesn’t handle very well.

Then one day Scott meets the girl of his dreams (literally) Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who is mysterious, attractive, sexy and totally out of his league. However, Scott manages to win her over and on their first date Ramona breaks the news that if he wants to continue a relationship he will have to defeat her seven evil exes who will each challenge him in mortal combat. Although this sounds as ridiculous to Scott as it does to the audience he rises to the challenge and it turns out that he can dish it out as well as take it.

The fight scenes explode on the screen like a mixture of old and new video game sequences complete with sound effects and the victors reward in coins that burst from the unlucky loser. The effects come complete with Batmanesque “KAPOWS” shot in split screens with speedy martial art choreography. I know what you’re thinking this all sounds a bit daft but believe me it works. Think of it like this. Instead of watching the cast in ‘West Side Story’ break into balletic dance routines substitute the dancing for big production fight sequences and it all makes sense.

This is a movie that doesn’t take itself very seriously but at the same time brings us a story of love, romance, adventure and you never know, our hero may even learn something through this experience that might make him a better person? Try to catch your first viewing of this fantasy film (oh! yes, you’ll want to see it again) at the cinema rather than on DVD and enjoy the loud digital soundtrack, the big screen imagery and the over the top seven evil exes and you’re guaranteed to come out smiling.

As Edgar Wright says…this is ‘An epic of epic epicness’ Five stars.