Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Level Up! Collector's Edition

Comic book cool meets pop culture craziness in this rom-com with a twist

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a tough film to pin down. Adapted from Bryan Lee O’Malley’s six volume comic book series and directed by Edgar ‘Shaun of the Dead’ Wright, it’s an anarchic love letter to pop culture, cool music and… well… love.

While Michael Cera’s onscreen shtick has been getting tired for a while now, he excels here as the self-obsessed Scott, a 20-something slacker and guitarist who falls in love with the new girl in town, only to discover that’s she’s got even more emotional baggage than he does – not least of which are her ‘Seven Evil Ex’s he must battle to win her heart. Full of imaginative special effects, off-kilter gags, epic fights, videogame parodies and even a musical number during a fight, Scott Pilgrim.. is a uniquely entertaining piece of pop art cinema.

Picture: For all of its brash videogame and comic book references, Scott Pilgrim…’s primary aesthetic is that of lo-fi indie flicks; loaded with muted creams and browns coupled with a diffuse lighting style. Because of this, it’s never quite as vibrant as you might expect, and some shots can look a little soft (albeit intentionally so). But before anybody starts panicking, it’s also worth pointing out that the AVC 1.85:1 1080p encode also delivers some very impressive detailing in close-ups, patches of bold colour can be pleasingly vibrant (such as Ramona’s hair), it features a naturally filmic veneer of fine grain, and generally excels with the frantic editing and inventive visual effects that litter the screen without falling prey to motion artefacts.
Picture rating: 4/5

Audio: While the film comes up a little shorter than expected in terms of visual wow factor, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix on this Blu-ray release truly is a thing of beauty. The soundtrack is every bit as complex and inventive as the film’s visuals (if not more so) and this ensures that every speaker in your surround system is constantly being used for some sort of aural trickery. But, despite all of this and incredibly potent bass frequently unleashed by the LFE-channel, the mix never sounds muddied or confused, thanks to the precision and positioning of the effects and the crispness and clarity of the dialogue.
Audio rating: 5/5

Extras: As with his previous films, director Edgar Wright sets out to please fans with an abundance of bonus goodies served up by this impressive disc. There’s a whopping four audio commentaries (all worth a listen), a picture-in-picture storyboard U-Control mode, 21 deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary, a 50min Making of… documentary, a 16min music featurette, a virtual guitar lesson, bloopers, alternate edits, almost an hour-and-a-half of animatics, rehearsals, hair and makeup tests, and auditions, various music promos, visual effects reels, a 6min featurette about the film’s inventive sound design, the animated short Scott Pilgrim vs. The Animation, a reel of TV-safe dialogue alterations, 46mins of blog videos and a pop-up trivia track.
Extras rating: 5/5

We say: A refreshingly inventive hymn to young love, music and videogames on a stunning Blu-ray.

Universal Pictures, All-region BD, £25 approx, On sale now
HCC VERDICT: 4/5

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