7/10
I like totally think you should go and see this film, which is way awesome and cool, and the best comic book adaptation ever. Truly.
Apologies for the low grade coolspeak, but I wanted to capture a feel for the prevailing mode of discourse in Edgar Wright's new film. It's the English director's first American (set in Toronto) movie after the UK success of Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. It has gone down poorly in the USA, but since that same country has had The Expendables at No.1. for two weeks, I think we can safely assume that their cinemas are populated by morons.
Michael Cera (Juno's geeky boyfriend) is a 22 year old slacker, currently between jobs, living with his gay friend Wallace (Kieran Culkin), platonically dating a 17 year old called Knives Chau and playing bass for Sex Bob-Omb, a three piece which features Stephen Stills, and a hanger on called Young Neil. (Don't worry if you don't get the Buffalo Springfield reference, but check out the link if you're interested). Life is no more or less complicated than it is for any other kid of his age, until he meets Ramona Flowers, a temptress with pink hair and a lineup of seven exes all of whom belong to a league committed to exterminating the new love of her life.
These include a vegan with superhuman powers (played by ex-Superman Brandon Routh), a pair of Japanese twins, and a film star (Chris Evans) whose Achilles heel is his narcissism. Despite his weak and feeble physique, Scott's experience with computer games stands him in good stead when taking on these fiendish assassins, resulting in fight scenes with rather less gore and danger than a Teletubbies episode. The film is a testimony to a lifelong love of fanboy geekery, with a passion for computer games, comics and the comicbook mentality. Despite being too old and grumpy for that kind of thing, I was enchanted by the wit, originality and panache with which Wright and his team have put the whole thing together; I was hooked from the opening sequence.
Cera has played this kind of role before, but since he is the best in the business at nerdy passive/aggressive guys who are inexplicably irresistible to women, why look for anyone else to play the role? Culkin is a scene-stealer as the too-cool-to-breathe best friend with a predatory eye, Anna Kendrick is Scott's wiser younger sister, and everyone else is just about perfect. You might complain there are a couple more fight scenes than are strictly necessary, but that would be nit-picking, and I'm giving this a big thumbs up. Let's make it a huge hit and show those know nothing Americans that we appreciate good films.
