sal’s review published on Letterboxd:
Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the most enjoyable film experience I've had in a long time, possibly ever, and that's not an exaggeration. From the moment the movie started, I was absolutely hooked on the story, the characters, and the so uniquely energetic visuals. Seriously, every new frame is a whole new journey, bringing you along through the same dreamlike adventure that Scott Pilgrim is taking.
-"Step up your game, Scott. Bring out the L-word."
-"Lesbian?"
-"The other L-word."
-"Lesbians?"
The humor in this film is just ABSOLUTELY some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen in a film. The script successfully avoids all of the traps of writing a comedy: it's not cheesy, it's not overdone, it's not childish, it's not repetitive, and it never relies on being offensive. I actually found myself laughing the whole way through, which incredibly rare for me. It almost felt like this humor of the film was made specifically for me. Hell, it honestly felt like the whole movie was made for me.
-"Guess we're even, Natalie."
-"...Natalie? No-one calls me that anymore."
Humor is far from the only thing that Wright brings to the table. Case in point: the characters. Oh my god, the characters are so perfect. The character design, the character writing, the character dialogue, the character development, and the acting are all just so. perfect. When you think of a Rom-Com you expect to follow two main characters and put everyone else to the side. And while I do think that method works quite well for many Rom-Coms, the route that this movie took of giving depth to side-characters as well just improved this story all the more. Having a group of fleshed-out characters with real emotions that you can connect to is something I'll always value in a story.
-"I'm in lesbians with you."
-"What?"
-"I really, really mean it."
All of that being said, the most important and most well-crafted characters are still undoubtedly the protagonist and the love-interest, Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) and Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). I love how these characters are built. Without any spoilers, either character is strong in their own ways, and has their own flaws as well. How the two interact and how the relationship progresses is heavily dependent on these strengths and weaknesses, and which of the two prevails. I just love every part of it.
I just love every part of this whole film. So much. But this review has rambled on far too long already. So, speed round: I took an extreme liking to the choreography of the film. The fight scenes are extremely fun to watch and done to an absolute shining perfection. The music (both the soundtrack chock-full of great artists and fantastic original songs and the emotional and exciting score done by Nigel Godrich) fit the film absolutely perfectly. Without the music this film would be pretty much nothing, so it's simple enough to say that the music had to be good, and it absolutely was. The visuals in this film are incredible, and so unique. They really encapsulate the feel of a graphic novel, and they're just absolute eye-candy.
Okay, you can take a deep breath now. This film has definitely taken a spot in my small collection favorite movies. And I only expect to fall in love with it even more over the next few days.