Grade: A

This movie blew doors on all my expectations. Don’t let the previews discourage you, for this is NOT just another Michael Cera movie. I went into this out of sheer boredom, expecting to see an hour and a half of a relatively crappy plot with some mediocre whinny dialogue from Cera worth MAYBE a few laughs. I left having seen hands down one of the best films of the summer.

For starters, Michael Cera is actually acting. He plays 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim, a bass player in a local band who lives with his gay friend Wallace, played by Kieran Culkin. Scott is dating a high school girl (a fact which gives him immense pride) at the start of the film, until he eventually meets the Ramona Flowers, the girl from his dreams (literally)–and her 7 evil ex-boyfriends. Scott half dates the two of them for a while and already it is clear that Michael Cera is doing something different—‘acting’—that was very pleasantly surprising.

This movie had me laughing almost to the point of tears from start to finish, especially with the interactions between Cera and Culkin’s characters, Scott and Wallace. The two characters are played incredibly well and what makes them so great is that they are not trying to be funny; the two of them are genuine and believable, and thus the comedy flows naturally. The same goes for Scott and Ramona; throughout the movie, I found myself really pulling for them and really feeling the connection between the two. It’s their relationship that gives the movie its heart.

Believability was one of the best parts about Scott Pilgrim. Outside of its own context, the film doesn’t make any sense; however, as I was watching, I never once questioned what was going on nor was I put off by the fact that none of the things going on could actually happen. Sure, some of us have emotional baggage left over from failed relationships, but this baggage typically doesn’t bust into our lives with a pack of Demon Hipsters and challenge us to a duel. This handiwork can be attributed to the film’s true star, director Edgar Wright. Wright does an incredible job of taking the story of Scott Pilgrim, a very video game/comic-book-esque plot, and turning it into a great movie. Unlike Xavier Gens’ video game based movie Hitman, Wright takes the game plot and turns it into an on screen comic book. The result is a plethora of fantastic visuals that create a movie experience unlike anything seen before, whereas Hitman’s attempt to completely the change the game into a movie resulted in nothing more than a terrible movie.

On top of the witty comedy and original directing, the action in this movie is very well done and gives the movie a very well rounded feel. Throughout the movie, Scott Pilgrim bursts into epic fight scenes as he battles for the heart of Ramona Flowers. The action sequences are what give the film the video game/comic book feel—the striking colors and on-screen comic book homonyms (for instance, whenever someone is punched, the word “WHAM” flashes across the screen) provide Scott Pilgrim with it’s own unique presentation.

I have seen this movie twice already, both times having left the theater talking and laughing with friends about how much we enjoyed it. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is unique, exciting, and hilarious: anyone (and everyone) should see and love this movie.