Though it received mostly positive word of mouth and critical praise from North American critics this summer, the Toronto-centric film chronicling the adventures of an aspiring musician in love with a girl with seven evil exes was barely able to make a dent into its shooting budget estimated at 60 million dollars.
Be that as it may, fans of all ages can now experience the film in high definition, a bonus for fans who've yet to discover this gem of a film which relies heavily on video game themes, as well as viewers knowledge of the comic book's Toronto locales.
The film includes an impressive cast of young actors, from lead Michael Cera (Superbad) to Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore), in a story which is filled with plenty of fisticuffs, guitar action and power-ups, most based on old Nintendo references.
Never heard of the character, the film, or the comic-book which gave it life? Read on...
Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World Overview
Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is an aspiring bass player who, along with his friends in theior band called Sex Bob-Omb, hope to make it big in the music world, by way of winning certain band competitions all over the Toronto scene.
With a devoted teenage groupie girlfriend named Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) hopelessly in love with him and friends Wallace (Kieran Culkin), Kim (Alison Pill) Stephen (Mark Webber) and Neil (Johnny Simmons) questioning why he should be dating someone so young, Scott goes about his rehearsals with the band, hoping for a break.
One night at a party, Scott has a chance encounter with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an independent, no-nonsense American girl. He becomes smitten with her, and immediately sets out to win her affections. The only way he can think of doing so is by ordering something off of Amazon.com, knowing she'd be the courier to deliver it.
The pair begin dating (much to Knives' chagrin) and see the sites all over the city, until Scott gets accosted at one of the music venues by an ex-boyfriend of Ramona's, named Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha). He announces himself as the first of Ramona's seven Evil Exes.
A videogame-style fight erupts, with Scott discovering that Patel is one of several exes who have ganged together in order to foul Scott's attempts at romance, and control Ramona's love life. As the film progresses, Scott must combat action movie star/pro skateboarder Lucas Lee (Chris Evans, The Losers), vegan psychic Todd Ingram (Superman Returns' Brandon Routh, sporting a blond wig), belt whip wielding ex-girlfriend Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman, TV's Parenthood), the Katanayagi Twins (Shota and Kaita Saito) and finally, music mogul (and evil mastermind) Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman, The Fantastic Mr. Fox), who may or may not be behind the creation of the League of Exes.
Fighting his way through these former flames Nintendo-style, acquiring the power of self-esteem in the process, can Scott battle his foes and win the heart of Ramona? You'll need to watch to find out.
Scott Pilgrim a New Visual Experiment for Edgar Wright
Any Gen-X fan of Edgar Wright's previous films, the popular Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, know that he isn't known for his knack for fx wizardry, but rather the simplicity of both dialogue and set design, or a couple of well made-up zombies if the need is called for.
As such, how refreshing is it to see Wright tackle a popular comic-book adaptation with such zest and enthusiasm? The answer: very. Wright captures the cartoonish nature of O'Malley's original characters, yet gives his cast some wiggle room to make the roles their own.
Michael Cera's impish naiveté works in his favor this time around, however the best scenes include scene-stealer Kieran Culkin as Scott's gay roommate Wallace.
Wright also taps into the mass consciousness of the early Eighties, by relying on many early video game concepts, such as the obtention of coins when destroying an enemy, and of course, that ubiquitous disembodied narration voice which usually prompted young players to "Get Ready!" or "Fight!"
Bonus Features to be Found on Scott Pilgrim Vs the World Bluray Combo
It looks like the cool thing these days for directors is to give back to their legion of loyal fans, much like the directors of the recent Alien Anthology or even the Avatar Extended Edition that James Cameron also released, have done.
Similarly, Edgar Wright keeps a great rapport with his following via Twitter, Facebook and other online social programs and sites. It's no real surprise then, to find that there are over two dozen features included in this bluray combo, with items ranging from alternates scenes to bloopers, from a comprehensive hour-long making of featurette, to portions of visual and sound effects shots.
There are a handful of Universal-centric features, such as the option of transferring a free movie to your PS3 or other media console (I opted to download Pitch Black, since my wife's a big-time Vin Diesel fan) or the ability to use your player's BD-Live hookup in order to always watch the most recent Universal upcoming film trailers. Truly, what will they think of next? It appears the future of home entertainment is already here.
Might I suggest you watch the film more than once, if so have the second viewing with the trivia track option, as there's a great chance you don't know as much about the world of Scott Pilgrim as you thought you did. As a Toronto-based critic I found myself learning about a good number of venues used in the film, causing me to take closer examination of the film before me.
The Final Word on Scott Pilgrim Vs the World Bluray Combo
Folks, it's not rocket science: Edgar Wright and his cast (especially lead Michael Cera) had a blast making this film, and they want you to join in. It's a total treat for Torontonians hoping to catch familiar sights, while it's a new chance for people unfamiliar with the Bryan O'Malley graphic novels to pick up a copy, and enjoy the fun, on paper or on film.
Either way, I can promise you a good time, filled with pop culture puns and plenty of visual pizzazz.
Scott Pilgrim Vs the World Bluray Combo: 4 out of 5
Dominic Messier - Dominic Messier is a Toronto-based Film & TV writer, Sci-Fi TV and Film Dramas Topic Editor, and creator of PopCultureLandscape.com
