Edgar Wright is a fantastic director. Starting with Spaced, through Sean of the Dead and especially Scott Pilgrim vs the World (I don’t think Hot Fuzz or The World’s End are as good, though many disagree), he’s got a brilliant visual style that few other directors working today can touch.
Other directors have distinctive styles (*Boooooom* *spinny camera move*…Michael Bay), but Edgar Wright manages to make me fully aware of how much thought goes into good direction, while still utterly serving the story.
Scott Pilgrim, in particular, is a film that utterly lives or dies on it’s direction (though the performances are great too). It’s one of my favourite films because of how well that every little detail adds up to build an incredibly well-realised world. You can see, and revel in, just how much thought has gone into absolutely every frame.
It’s insanely stylistic, but all the visual ticks and tricks have purpose, whether it’s to support the plot, to build atmosphere, or to sell a punchline.
This video, by Tony Zhou, breaks down the last point; how Edgar Wright is one of the few directors working on comedy films who understands that funny, clever direction is just as important as a funny script or funny performances:
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