So, if you feel woefully under prepared for this cinematic extravaganza that’s headed your way in August - never fear! In the mould of all great heroes we’re here to save your street cred and provide you with a blaggers guide to Scott Pilgrims’ heroic journey to claiming his one true love...
So what’s this film actually about?
Based on the hugely successful comic by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World tells the story of charming and jobless Scott Pilgrim played by Michael Cera (of modern classics Juno and Superbad). Having just met the girl of his dreams – Ramona Flowers - Scott learns that he must engage in outrageous and awesomely dangerous battles against Ramona’s Evil Exes if he is to have any chance of dating her. Creator O’Malley describes it as musical, except instead of bursting into song the characters burst into extensive fight sequences – get it?
Um, Ok...but who exactly is this Scott Pilgrim?
Scott is a 22 year old slacker-turned-bass guitarist for garage band Sex Bob-omb. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Scott is overall a pretty cool guy (those wily Canadians eh?), who has always had a way with the ladies. That is, until he meets Ramona Flowers. Now, the only problem darkening Scott’s horizon is that Ramona has a League of Evil Exes who keep showing up at the worst times, and they’re all ready to fight him to the death to stop him from being with Ramona. In order for Scott to end the game and thus claim his love he must vanquish each Ex in turn via a series of extreme life-or-death duels.
Wow...so what’s so awesome about this Ramona Flowers then?
Ramona is the kind of girl that most guys can only dream of (in fact, Scott does). Think of her as the coolest girl at the party, you know, the one every guy wants to be with and every girl wants to be seen with. That said, this is a girl with baggage and her eclectic league of fierce and peculiar Evil Exes suggest Ramona has had a pretty wild life thus far. Let’s hope for Scott’s sake she’s worth it!
What makes this League of Evil Exes so evil?
1) Let’s begin with Matthew Patel, Ramona’s first evil ex from her middle school days. Used by Ramona for a week and a half’s worth of fun, poor emo Matthew still hasn’t quite managed to get over her 9 years later. Now a brooding, angsty, adult that looks like a Pirate, but who is able to summon demon-hipster girls to aid him in battle, Matthew clearly hasn't grown as an individual at all.
2) Next up is Lucas Lee, a professional skateboarder turned sell-out actor whose filmography is a somewhat less than impressive catalogue of cheesy rom-coms and action flicks. Having been cheated on by Ramona (a fact that can still bring a tear to the eye of this ultra-tough, super-cool Evil Ex) Lucas lacks any special powers to defeat Scott, but overall actually seems like a pretty good guy!
3) Todd Ingram, a vegan rocker bassist, comes next on Ramona’s list of nefarious Exes. An arrogant, vain and insensitive cheater, Todd uses telekinetic powers as his weapon of choice. He is also in rival band The Clash at Demonhead and currently dates Scott’s own rather Evil Ex, Envy Adams – ouch! However, Todd is certainly not the ‘sharpest tool in the box’ and his intelligence leaves a lot to be desired, possibly offering Scott an opportunity to be defeated.
4) Evil Ex number four is Roxy Richter, whose half-ninja status and odd looks have left her somewhat insecure. Her relationship with Ramona seems somewhat amicable, until Ramona describes their past as a bi-curious phase! Cue more fighting for Scott, but can he hit a girl?
5&6) The twins; Kyle and Ken Katayanagi are numbers five and six in the Ex-league. In a superhuman battle of the bands Sex Bob-omb will have to defeat the twins if Scott wants to reach the boss level against the most Evil Ex of them all...
7) Gideon Graves. The most evil of all of Ramona’s Exes, Gideon is the Mastermind behind League of Ramona's Evil Exes. Gideon, as well as being an epic womanizing manipulating genius and fighter, has a certain unnatural hold over Ramona that she struggles to fight. Oh, and a further complication is that Gideon is interested in signing Sex Bob-omb to his record label, yes he also owns a record label, awkward.
And err, why is it exactly that Ramona has a league of Evil Exes?!
Evil Ex number 7 Gideon Graves is the raison d'être for Ramona’s league of nefarious Exes. He put the league together for a specific purpose but if you really want to know why, well, you’ll just have the see the movie when it’s released on August 25th
So, I get the story, but will I have to like video games and comic books to like the film?
No – of course the comic and gaming references are in there, and they’ll probably add a few extra laughs for those in the know, but that’s not the point of the film. It was written, directed and produced by the same guy who did Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, British legend Edgar Wright, so if you like action, comedy, great visual effects and fresh storylines, then Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is the film for you.
