Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel series, this techno-oriented, coming-of-age romantic comedy set in Toronto stars Michael Cera in a spot-on performance as the bright, sensitive, and cluelessly insecure titular hero. The only thing 23-year-old Scott really loves is playing bass guitar in the garage band Sex Bob-omb, much to the consternation of his younger sister Stacey (Anna Kendrick), gay roommate Wallace Wells (Kieran Culkin), and even fellow band members (Alison Pill, Johnny Simmons, Mark Webber), who blame Scott's slacker mentality on an earlier disappointment when his then-girlfriend Envy Adams (Brie Larson) not only broke his heart but also became a rock star. Scott is currently admired by Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), a soulful 17-year-old high school student, but everything changes when he falls madly in love with fuchsia-haired hipster Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who's burdened with “seven evil exes” whom Scott must vanquish to win her heart. Scott takes on these former beaus (including Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwartzman) in a series of action-packed, cartoonish duels—frenetically paced, artfully spliced skirmishes that are backed by the music of Beck, Plumtree, and Metric, among others. Employing a dizzying audio-visual barrage of pop culture references, filmmaker Edgar Wright successfully captures the angst of first romance and the empowerment of self-discovery in this splashy, stylish film inspired by contemporary video game/comic book culture. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include four audio commentaries (the first with director/co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer Michael Bacall, and graphic novelist Bryan Lee O'Malley; the second with Wright and cinematographer Bill Pope; the third with costars Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong, and Brandon Routh; and fourth with costars Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Kieran Culkin, and Mark Webber), deleted scenes (28 min.), bloopers (10 min.), a trivia track, galleries (photo, storyboard, poster, and conceptual art), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a picture-in-picture track with storyboards, a “Pre-Production” behind-the-scenes documentary (88 min.), a “making-of” featurette (50 min.), a “Director's Diary” (46 min.), a music section with videos and remixes (20 min.), alternate footage (19 min.), a soundtrack featurette (17 min.), visual effects comparisons (15 min.), a “Soundworks Collection” audio featurette (6 min.), a “Scott Pilgrim vs. the Censors” segment with edited tracks (5 min.), the Adult Swim-aired short “Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation,” (4 min.), “Phantom Montage Hi-Speed Footage” clips (4 min.), a “You Too Can Be a Sex Bob-omb” guitar tutorial (3 min.), and a brief “Roxy Fight Ribbon Version” segment. Bottom line: a whopping extras package for a fun film.] (S. Granger)