The Thousands

Film makers often struggle to incorporate the comic-book form into comic-book adaptations. Dick Tracy tried deep-focus lens tricks and limited colour scheme; Ang Lee’s ill-fated Hulk used split-screen ‘panel’ effects; Sin City and 300 cut-and-pasted Frank Miller’s artwork. But Edgar Wright sets a new standard with Scott Pilgrim’s clever framing, frenetic pace, split-screens, gaming imagery and onomatopoeic textual sound effects. I’ve never seen anything that better captures a certain ’90s indie geekdom.

The dazzling mise-en-scène distracts from the fact that the incorrigibly childish, irritating Michael Cera portrays our titular hero. Since Arrested Development, Cera has amply proven himself a one-note wet blanket. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is also frustratingly enigmatic as Ramona Flowers, whose seven evil exes Scott fights, but whom he never tries to understand.

Otherwise, it’s a treasury of snark (I especially enjoyed the vegan jokes) and excellent supporting performances, from the enjoyably hammy Evil Exes to Scott’s dry family and friends (notably Kieran Culkin as Scott’s gay housemate Wallace). But just as impressionable school girl Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) considers Scott unbelievably sophisticated, this is an aspirational romance for entry-level hipsters. It’s a Gen-Y Reality Bites – with Scott as a Troy Dyer for the Nintendo-and-Seinfeld crowd.