Terra Formars

So yeah it's a Miike movie, but it also feels almost normal. Kind of formulaic in a way. Something you can sort of predict and see where it's going. Which is a weird thing to say about a Miike movie. But here we are (again). It's still fun, if you let yourself into it and just enjoy it for what it is (Miike light?).

So just don't expect this to go far out (even though it is mainly in space or beyond) and just take the weird character mix. This is almost like a film like "Man with the Iron Fist". The one RZA made, which is kind of a dream some Teenagers might have had. You know, throw in some ridiculous characters, let them do their thing. It's way funnier than the one RZA made of course, but still not masterpiece and certainly not something Miike fans might have been hoping for ...

If you guys read all my reviews before regarding a japanese movie based on manga. I always make comparison & not happy with the adaptation (except one, Ore Monogatari). But this one, because I never read the original source, I guess its a good interesting sci-fi movie! About a group of human with added superpower versus humanoid super strength cockroaches! (Really?) . I think its really good, with all the cool suit. Fighting scene whatsoever. Its quite enjoyable. Its like watching an anime in live action version. Its so japanese like all japanese movie you ever watch. They have their own style, no one can copy them.

To be perfectly frank, I entered this with very low expectations. Miike Takashi has made some fantastic films, and he's also made some utter rubbish. The question is commonly one of how self-indulgent he will deign to be, versus commitment to actual substance over empty style. With this being a sci-fi action piece, and a manga adaptation at that, I could only assume that the worst of the filmmaker's predilections would take hold here. And well, it becomes apparent very quickly that 'Terra Formars' is not one of the man's better movies. It's not one of his absolute worst, either, but the most we can really say here is that it's very passively enjoyable. Which is fine, I suppose, but if "very passably enjoyable" is our benchmark for cinematic quality, where does that leave us?

Seeing as Miike's whole oeuvre is rather hit or miss, it's reasonable enough to suppose that he's the problem. But in fairness, it's not necessarily all him; maybe Nakashima Kazuki's adapted screenplay is the trouble. Maybe this is an instance of a story told through manga that doesn't work in another medium; maybe the "live-action" interpretation is the issue. Maybe it's the proliferate computer-generated imagery, or the half-measure special makeup. For all I know, the manga itself is just as floundering. Wherever the responsibility lies, I think there are some fun ideas scattered throughout, and some imagery that on paper - literally, on paper - might have looked great. The conception of this adaptation faced a difficult road in the first place, however, and the execution is not just demonstrative of fashion over function, but of flash over fashion. There is value in this flick, but the result is mixed at best.

Except in exceedingly rare circumstances, CGI ages rapidly and poorly, and looks worse the more we see of it. In the case of this eight-year old picture I believe the digital rendering mostly holds up quite well so far, and it might be fine if it were employed more sparingly - but since 'Terra Formars' is filled head to toe with it, it swiftly becomes very tiresome. I can't fault the effects artists, makeup artists, or most anyone else working behind the scenes for the work they turned in, but the use is excessive, and the fundamental designs of many visual elements - the cockroaches, and the augmented humans - generally do NOT look good. With passing exception, they simply don't; we're talking "earnest but not professional" Halloween costumes, or appearances that more closely resemble those from B-grade fare of the 60s and 70s rather than contemporary fare. Again, I trust that on paper all this comes off better, but that doesn't help us with this live-action title.

From violence and action scenes, to sequences of intended spectacle, to effects that tend more toward embellishment, this is shaped with inclination toward bombast and flair more than anything else, and certainly more than judicious, compelling storytelling. I repeat that there are some fun ideas on hand, and for that matter some genuinely good ones; this includes information that gets revealed about some characters, and the powers they have been granted. Unfortunately, the information about powers gets inserted in a way that feeds into the overt stylization; characters' backgrounds are revealed in a gawky manner that fails to achieve the desired dramatic effect, and which routinely halts what momentum the saga had theoretically been building. The dialogue is pretty bad, and those facets of the plot that aren't predictable are just flimsy and less than convincing. Not all characters get fleshed out, either, and those that do not end up feeling hollow. This opens the door for Miike to fill in the gaps with his self-indulgence, as seen with the character of Professor Honda and Oguri Shun's performance, and such bits don't come off well.

Also coming off poorly, for the record: the music. Where an orchestral score is employed it's rather nice; where chords of rock and electronica are employed, it's much too over the top, almost as if Miike reached out to American nu-metal bands who were a flash in the pan fifteen years prior. Whoops.

The good news is that 'Terra Formars' fairly squarely met my expectations. The bad news is that 'Terra Formars' fairly squarely met my expectations. It's not awful, and with what the visuals and the story have to offer at their best, this is entertaining to some degree. It's no ta high degree, however, and this is a feature that neither requires nor inspires active engagement. Sometimes that's all we want to help pass the time, but even so there was distinct room for improvement here. If you like 'Terra Formars' more than I do, I'm glad for you; I won't be giving this a second thought, and I can't bring myself to give it as a recommendation, either.

Initially when I sat down to watch the 2016 movie "Terra Formars" from director Takashi Miike, I must admit that I was expecting a bit more than what the movie turned out to be. Why? Well, because this was directed by the legendary Japanese director Takashi Miike, of course.

Sure, "Terra Formars" was a watchable movie, but it was hardly among Takashi Miike's best work, not even by a long shot.

It was the storyline told in "Terra Formars", as written by Kazuki Nakashima, that didn't really sit well with me. Sure, the concept of colonizing Mars was interesting, but the whole bug vs. Bug concept was one that just was a bit too far out there.

Visually then "Terra Formars" was actually rather interesting. The CGI was good and the visual effects for the transformed hybrids of human/insect was actually interesting to look at, and it had a lot of nice details to it. However, again, the concept was just one that didn't really find a base of approval in my liking. And having great visuals can only do so much when you don't have a fully working storyline and script.

The acting in the movie was adequate, though I can't really point out any particular performances to be memorable or outstanding though.

All in all, then "Terra Formars" was a watchable, albeit somewhat quite far out there action sci-fi movie from Takashi Miike. The movie is also listed as horror here on IMDb. Well, there weren't actually much of anything horror about "Terra Formars".

My rating of "Terra Formars" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars. This was, however, hardly a movie that I will be watching a second time.

It's a really silly,funy movie. Special effects are great and story line is typical manga style.

This is one of those movies where you disengage your brain and grab a case of beer.