Friday 26 March 2010

TRAILER PARK: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Friday 26 March 2010

British director Edgar Wright's a few rungs up the Hollywood ladder now, mostly off the back of "rom-zom-com" hit Shaun Of The Dead, itself buoyed by positive US response to his work on Channel 4's slacker-comedy Spaced. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (based on Bryan Lee O'Malley's comic-book series of the same name) feels like a perfect fit for Wright's brand of Sam Raimi-on-acid directing style, telling the romantic story of the titular nerd (Michael Cera) who falls in love with doe-eyed Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), only to be told he must defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends to win her heart...

Cue what appears to be a live-action video-game of Scott going mano-et-mano against Ramona's ex's, all endowed with super powers and played by the likes of Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Sunshine), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns, Chuck) and Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Darjeeling Limited). Superbad meets Kung Fu Hustle? Whatever, it looks like good fun. The energized teaser (embedded above) accomplishes its task of grabbing your attention, but I hope a proper trailer can put some of the visual pizazz to one side and let us see what the story and characters have to offer. As an admirer of Wright's work from the very beginning (incidentally, his "Don't" faux-trailer for Grindhouse was a treat), I'm hoping this is the mainstream breakthrough it's clearly designed and intended to be.

Released: 6 August (UK), 13 August (US), 26 August (AUS)