Britain’s own Edgar Wright has made a career from doing a lot with little resources- ‘Shaun Of The Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’ aren’t what you’d call big budget blockbusters, but still managed to be hits in both his home country and the US. We now get to see what he can do ‘sans Simon Pegg’, and with a big old studio budget, in quirky comic book adaptation ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs The World’. 

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is a young man with many issues- nursing a broken heart by having a rebound relationship with a schoolgirl, put upon by his gay roommate (Kieran Culkin) and desperately trying to get his band noticed. All these fade into the background, however, when he meets Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), the girl of his dreams. The pair begin dating, but there’s one catch- Scott must defeat all of her seven deadly exes, who have formed the ‘League of Evil Exes’ and are determined to take down anyone after Ramona’s heart.

Looking like a live action Manga movie, this is without a doubt an accomplished Hollywood debut from Wright and the best film he has made to date. Combining the quirky humour with amazing visuals, and a cast so well chosen even die-hard fans of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic series will have to nod in approval at how faithful it feels. It doesn’t always deal in logic, you do have to suspend disbelief and accept you are along for the ride, but that’s the fun of it as you’re taken into a world of multi-coloured characters and hilarious circumstances.

At this point, you either love Michael Cera or you hate him. There’s no denying that thus far in his career his performances have not exactly been diverse, but he gets away with it in Scott Pilgrim by adding pompousness to the vulnerability. He provides the audience’s viewpoint and so it’s hard not to cheer him on as the exes come and go. Of those exes, the standouts include Chris Evans in a superb send up of his action man persona; Superman himself Brandon Routh as a Vegan-powered villain; and Mae Whitman as Ramona’s ‘Bi-Furious’ ex lover. By far the funniest performance is Culkin, wandering through the story dispensing put downs and pep talks in evil measure.

Overall a film that delivers in every way that this type of movie should- visuals, script and performances all turned up to eleven to provide an assault on the senses that may not be to everyone’s taste, but certainly will stay in your mind for days to come. A big movie from a director with a big future.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is out today!