Get an extra life. Play a “Seinfeld” bass line and laugh track in the background of a scene. How ‘bout two sound-wave dragons fighting a sound-wave monster. Confused? That’s but a taste of the roller coaster that is “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”. Prepare yourself, as the fifth comic book adaptation of 2010 destroys the competition as one of the year’s most original films reimagines what a love story, rock musical, action-adventure and comedy can do.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) gears up for another round against his foes. (photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)

Based on the black-and-white “Scott Pilgrim” comic book series, by Bryan Lee O’Malley, this A.D.D. take on the superhero genre lives up to its tagline: “An epic of epic epicness.” Scott Pilgrim (Micheal Cera) lives a mediocre life in Toronto, Ontario, where he spends his time with young girlfriend, Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), and plays bass for a hopeful, up-and-coming band, Sex Bob-omb. But life gets a little less monotonous when he meets Amazon delivery woman, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Love becomes a literal battlefield when Scott must take on her seven evil exes in order to date her.

Equal parts superhero story, video game and musical, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” puts to shame any film that claims to be the anthem of 20-somethings (I’m looking at you, “Garden State”). Finally a film that recognizes both how great my homeland, Canada, is and how insane a comic book adaptation can be.

The storyline feels like a comic book both through sound effects that appear on screen in the form of textual descriptions like “Crash” and “Kroww”, and scenes that capture comic book transitions and timing. Through visual artistry, “Scott Pilgrim” tampers with reality as characters move between flights of fancy and a fantastical real world without missing a beat.

There are few films as self aware as this one, with actors parodying their past superhero performances, like Chris Evans (the Human Torch and currently filming for his role as Captain America) as evil ex #2, Lucas Lee; Brandon Routh (Superman) as evil ex #3, Todd Ingram; a cameo by Thomas Jane (the Punisher) as a member of the Vegan Police; and, even, Winstead (villainess, Royal Pain, from “Sky High”) as love interest, Ramona, who knows how to fight more than swoon for her man.

Jason Schwartzman, as the evil mastermind, Gideon, escalates the film’s absurdity, since he’s normally the nerd with the heart of gold. The real comedy here is scrawny, awkward typecast, Cera (“Superbad” and “Arrested Development”), as the hero. The everyday man takes on the greater odds with the finesse of, well, a video gamer who doesn’t actually know how to fight, but when the game begins, everything becomes as easy as pressing “A” and “B” while moving a joystick. Don’t expect logical answers for Scott’s combat skills or why Ramona’s love life is cursed; just bask in the adventure and remember that love hurts and this film knows just how to externalize that kind of heartache.

In the most postmodern of ways, “Scott Pilgrim” doesn’t worry about saying anything new, but spends ample time on how that recycled story is told, with memorable characters to match the equally unique narrative texture. Cera’s at home, as Scott, but he branches out by performing his own fight scenes and proving that scrawny can win the race.

Winstead, as Ramona, provides one of her more engaging roles to date, branching out from the ditz or mean girl, trying on a more sarcastic persona. The charmers here are Alison Pill, as Sex Bob-omb drummer, Kim Pine, and Kieran Culkin, as Wallace Wells, Scott’s gay roommate and bedmate. Pill’s dry wit and Culkin’s biting sarcasm make for comical apathy towards Scott’s romantic and heroic endeavors throughout the film.

Director, Edger Wright, doesn’t know how to make a bad film, whether it’s his magnificent parody films, “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” or the fake ghost movie trailer during Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s “Grindhouse”, titled “Don’t”. He remains a promising director with a keen understanding of film technique and an eye for reflective storytelling. It’s no wonder Marvel Studios has been in talks with him to adapt the superhero character “Ant-Man”.

It would be easy to write “Scott Pilgrim” off as a just-for-kids movie with no focus, thin characters and a confusing plot, but it’s so much more. This is the struggle of the media generation to find meaning amidst chaos. Something emotional like love doesn’t belong in the realm of internal narcissism but must be on display for all to see.

That can only happen by facing personal demons…or in Scott’s case, questioning his own amorous motivations while he fights villainous exes that very well could have begun just like him. The journey’s unforgettable and the visuals stand up next to the most in-depth of illustrated pages.