Films based on video game sounds like a match made in heaven. Saying so, why have we yet to receive an adaptation that can be considered commercially yet critically successful, while being faithful to the source material that it is based on? Prime examples of video game film failures span as far as when video games were conceived perhaps, with the ill-fated Super Mario Bros. Movie, the embarrassing effects showcase that was Mortal Kombat Annihilation, the Angelina Jolie-led Tomb Raider franchise, and the surge of abominable Uwe Boll-directed adaptations in the noughties.

2016 looks to continue Hollywood's burgeoning effort in creating a successful recipe for video game films, with not one, but four films this year alone. You have probably seen three of those already, depending on whereabout in the world you live in, with Ratchet & Clank Movie, Angry Birds Movie and Warcraft all receiving less than stellar reviews (and Assassin's Creed on the way). On the contrary, it's the films that are inspired, instead of being outright based on the source materials, that have thrived with critics, with recent examples being Disney's Tron series as well as Wreck-It-Ralph. However, what if I told you the best video game film adaptation isn't derived from an existing game at all?


Enter 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs The World, which not only celebrates the video game genre as a whole, but also pays tribute to the graphic novel roots where it is based on by Bryan O'Malley. Taking its name from the series' first issue, the story blends the usual 'boy-meets-girl' plotline with stylised art reminiscent of the video game era of the yesteryears. For its cinema depiction, who better to bring this sort of visual comedy to the big screen than British filmmaker Edgar Wright, known for his master work in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz (part of the Cornetto Trilogy - personal favourites) and to a lesser extent Ant-Man (left the director's chair in 2014, but is still credited as writer/producer).

The film (which we will label as SPvTW from here) introduces us to the titular Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), an awkward teen who plays in a down-on-its-luck band in snowy Vancouver, Canada. He soon meets the new girl in town Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and the two strike up a platonic bond soon thereafter. Their relationship does come with its own assortment of baggage however, with Scott having to break things up with not only his CURRENT girlfriend Knives, but with no less than SEVEN of Ramona's evil ex-boyfriends exes to do battle in order to continue their forbidden love. It is these seven nemesis of Scott, for whom he'll need to defeat, that serve as the film's highlight, as each of these 'bosses' have their own defining characteristics that will either surprise (A Hollywood star? twin DJs?) or perturbed (a physic vegan?!), with varying levels of entertainment (more on that later).

On to our main protagonist, who would have thought Michael Cera could be a badass fighter (see Simon Pegg in Wright's Hot Fuzz), but I feel that his portrayal as a Pilgrim outside of the fights comes off more awkward and dorky than his comic counterpart. Perhaps it's because we're seeing the same Cera performance from Superbad or Arrested Development that the man is confined to playing as 'himself' now, which undersells him as the hero in this story. Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Ramona seems to have more hair changes than standout sequences, but the latter comes in spades.

But it's not Michael Cera that will interest you here, as the colourful supporting casts makes SPvTW such a hilarious affair it's worth the price of admission alone, with some you will recognise across plenty of films/TV shows. Kieran Culkin (Fargo S2) is the funniest among the lot playing Scott's homosexual roomate, Alison Pill (Snowpiercer) is the sarcastic foil of the band, Aubrey Plaza plays her Parks & Rec character, while Anna Kendrick makes a small, pre-Pitch Perfect appearance as Scott's sister. Ellen Wong, in her movie debut, is so bubbly and lovable as Knives you'll grow to resent Scott and Ramona's relationship. The villains here are the icing on this cake, with Chris Evans (Captain America), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns, Arrow), Brie Larson (Oscar winner for Room) and Jason Schwartzman (every Wes Anderson film) all making memorable appearances. Chris Evans and Brandon Routh in particular elevates their scenes, making the duo a joy to watch in their unfamiliar roles as villains.

Characters aside, SPvTW is unlike anything you've seen as it stays true to the comics and video game of ole, with stylised scenes plus editing that look like it's just come straight out of the comic panels, with certain frames meticulously organised to correlate with the exact frames within the graphic novel (quite literally too). Sequences within the film play out like game levels, complete with comic book sound effects and 8-bit animations littered everywhere, while confrontations transform into Street Fighter-style fight scenes (complete with announcer voiceovers) with plenty of comic shtick to lighten the mood. It's where you feel Edgar Wright is right in his element, with the kind of clever quick cuts and visual comedy that we've come to expect since his early days on the Spaced TV series.

It's the latter half of the film that let's the whole thing down. The clever visual cues are still here, but the more evil ex-boyfriends exes Scott face, the more watered down the entire experience feels, not to mention that the ex-boyfriends exes seem to appear in descending order of interest. This can be partly blamed on the film's shift to focus on Scott+Ramona's forbidden love, and in a film where vegan superheroes and Bollywood dance numbers, in terms of entertainment value a romance plot pales in comparison to the dazzling action spectacle on offer. The need to plomp every character into one single film also did itself no favours, as we don't get a full taste of the interesting villains, who are admittedly its main draw, originally laid out over six volumes, and you can feel that the film's rushing to the finish line with the way its blazing past its third act (the final comic volume wasn't even completed while filming, hence the existence of two different endings across both medias).

Ultimately, Scott Pilgrim proved to be too much of a niche concept for mainstream audiences, while having a tacky love story which alienated the target groups, leading to an underwhelming box office that failed to recuperate its budget. It's far from the perfect movie, nor is it one of Edgar Wright's finest, but it excels by being a brilliant video game adaptation... without being a game in the first place, and a film studios should be learning from. If you enjoyed the self-aware comedy of this year's Deadpool (a nice Easter egg here: Deadpool's director Tim Miller was creative supervisor here), or if you're itching for a great video game movie: Scott Pilgrim vs The World is an enjoyable comic/video game hybrid adaptation that might be right in your wheelhouse.