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FilmLover wrote on 05/04/2011:

There aren't enough words to describe how it feels to experience 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World' for the first time. If 'Moulin Rouge' was too much for you, you may not be able to handle this one, but if you give this film a chance, it will charm you from the 8-bit video game opening credits.

In his most appealing role to date, Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim as a 20-something afraid to escape the trappings of youth (playing in a struggling rock band, playing arcade games with his teenage girlfriend, breaking hearts without knowing it). Ironically, the catalyst to his growth comes from gaining a schoolboy crush on ultra-hipster chick Ramona Flowers, a recent transplant to his native Toronto.

What follows is 2 hours of non-stop visual and soundtrack references to video game lore a la Street Fighter 2, played with total irreverence by a game young cast of familiar faces under the watchful and inspired eye of British director Edgar Wright, of 'Shaun of the Dead' and 'Hot Fuzz' fame. 'Pilgrim' however is a light-year leap ahead from those two films, and that's saying something.

Criminally overlooked by the Academy's technical wings, the film's visual and sound effects are well-considered and executed perfectly. 'Pilgrim' also benefits from the guidance of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich in creating an excellent score and soundtrack. The musical performances alone put this right up there with some of the best films about bands in recent memory.

Even the stunts used to create the somewhat gimmicky 'defeat-the-7-evil-exes-to-win-Ramona's-heart' rubric are fast, furious, and complex - turning a literate yet nimble love story into the kick-ass piece of filmmaking that it is. There is so much to appreciate in 'Scott Pilgrim,' you'll want to watch it several times, and thankfully, you're rewarded every time that you do.

Amos Lassen wrote on 09/08/2010:

“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”
“An Epic of Epic Epicness”
Amos Lassen
Scott Pilgrim is a member of a band that dreams of success. He dates Knives Chau, a high-school girl five years younger than he is and at the same time he is trying to recover from his former girlfriend having dumped him. Suddenly he notices Ramona Flowers, dumps Knives and begins romancing Ramona. Ramona, however, has seven ex-boyfriends and in order to get Ramona, Scott must battle with each of them.
Each battle is crazier than the last and some are used purely for comedy and not excitement. Almost every other line is a punch line and they all are very funny with references to TV shows, video games and comics.
"Scott Pilgrim," is based on the comics by Bryan Lee O'Malley and this is the third major feature for director and co-writer Edgar Wright, "Scott Pilgrim" is a psychedelic montage of pop culture merging romance, video games, fantasy and alternative rock. Scott Pilgrim is played by Michael Cera who has a gay roommate, Wallace (Kieran Culkin). They live in Wallace’s apartment and Scott doesn't pay rent and falls in love all the time with the ladies. Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) comes into his life. His desperate attempts to win her affections work, but she comes with baggage: seven evil ex-boyfriends and one girlfriend) who all have various powers and have formed a legion bent on killing him. He must defeat them all to win Ramona.
The film pays homage to video game culture and in fact Scott's pick-up line to Ramona is about the origin of the name Pac-man. What makes the film move is imagination: at one point Ramona pulls a giant Donkey Kong-sized sledgehammer out of her purse, echoing countless fantasy games where characters carry around weapons but you never see it on their person during game play until its being used. There is also a spoof on “Seinfeld” and other sitcoms also pop up.
Everything moves quickly with more style than substance. I don’t believe there is a message here and the plot is flimsy but it is all in good fun even if it's not a film for everyone.
The movie is like nothing you've ever seen before and at times I wondered what I was watching and why. However, the movie grows on the viewer and I really enjoyed it. This is alternative movie making and as cool as it is, it really satisfies. It is crazy in its originality and stands apart from any movie I have recently seen or even ever seen.
Wallace (Kieran Culkin) is Scott’s gay best friend and he embodies the stereotype even as he smashes it to pieces. Wallace is one of several characters who observe and comment on Scott’s life while conducting their own dramas in the margins of his own struggle.
I think I have said enough—now go and see the film and see how you feel about it.