This is going to sound like blasphemy, but here goes: "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" is way more involving when it focuses on actual people and the palpable angst of young love rather than the video game-style duels to the death in which the title character finds himself.

There. Go ahead and send nasty e-mails. But it's true.

Director and cowriter Edgar Wright ("Shaun of the Dead") certainly generates infectious energy while bringing Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels to the screen, and he sprinkles wonderfully weird little details throughout. But it's the story -- and some lively performances from an appealing, eclectic cast -- that make the movie work. The video game flourishes grab you the first couple of times, but they eventually grow repetitive and tiresome, especially once you realize that Scott really is going to have to fight every one of his new girlfriend's seven evil exes -- the arbitrary task that's placed before him

Scott doesn't have much going for him that would make him a natural fighter. He's played by Michael Cera, and that pretty much tells you all you need to know. Scott is 22, plays bass in a garage band with his friends and lives in a shabby studio, where he shares a mattress on the floor with his gay best friend (Kieran Culkin).

When he meets the saucy and mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a delivery girl with ever-changing hair colors, he's instantly smitten. Then, to his dismay, he's assigned that scary task of defeating her old boyfriends to win her heart. As played by Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman and Chris Evans, among others, the exes are a bizarre cross section of humanity, and the animated flashbacks explaining how Ramona ended up with each of them are brief and amusing.

Trouble is, Cera's Scott is never as interesting as the various freaks who surround him, both friends and foes. There's a ton of great roles here for strong young actresses like Winstead, and Culkin steals every scene he's in. His presence alone is enough to make you wonder how much better "Scott Pilgrim" might have been with a central figure who had a little more personality. Sure, Scott is supposed to be a nerd, but he didn't have to be boring.

Nevertheless, the dialogue and the music keep you engaged, at least while the movie lasts. Once it's game over, though, it may not stick with you for very long -- which probably will suit the short attention span of its target audience just fine.