Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a finger-blistering time capsule of right now, yet in a hundred years it will still be so crammed with charm, wit, brio, and exuberance it will still be irresistible. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera, Superbad) is an accidental heartbreaker, a Canadian slacker who obsesses over the girls who've dumped him but hardly realizes how he's dumped other girls. But everything else in his life (including playing bass in a band) fades to insignificance … mehrwhen he lays eyes on Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Live Free or Die Hard), his deadpan pixie dream girl. Unfortunately, Ramona has some serious baggage: seven deadly exes, and Scott must battle them all if he wants to date Ramona. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is saturated in pop culture, particularly video games. Many events make almost no sense, but it doesn't matter--sheer narrative ferocity and glee of invention sweep the viewer along. Cera pushes his geek/dork dreamboat persona to new heights of sweet twee-ness; if this movie doesn't shoot him into the stratosphere, we live in a cold, unfeeling universe, bereft of justice. The whole supporting cast (including Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Anna Kendrick, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and a host of less familiar but excellent young actors) plays every moment for all it's worth. This movie is supremely uncool and passionate, which makes it essential viewing. --Bret Fetzer weniger