Mars Express

For many sci-fi animated movies, audience captivation is driven purely by world building. Neon scenes and expansive horizons are often used to draw attention from a weak story. Not so in this beautifully animated sci-fi detective drama. The story finds the perfect balance between much loved detective clichés and unexpected turns in a story line, that has no need for smoothing by over hyped futurism. Despite this, the imaginative graphics cleanly place the viewer into the future, pushing us just far enough into the 'what could be' to retain a believability that compliments the story. This should be on your list of sci-fi movies to see before you die.

I wasn't prepared for the level of attention to detail and plot in this adult animated thriller sci-fi. The Three Laws of Robotics, which are included in Asimov's Robots novel series, were even used by the writers to explain the behaviour and interactions of the robots with humans.

There is a lot to enjoy about this movie even though it may not be a genre-bending one. Let's start with the exquisite animation style, which is incredibly colourful, flowing, and detailed throughout. I thought Carlos was one of the best-written and most well-designed characters. A lot of attention has gone into creating the futuristic environment, down to the smallest elements, which provide realism to the film.

However, everything happens very quickly, and several significant personalities or events are merely skimmed over. 'Mars Express' needed a bit more screen time to better develop these elements, but official sellection of the Cannes Film Festival usually doesn't like overlong animations, and this was one of those films in 2023!

Overall, it was a great animated feature to enjoy!

This was a surprisingly good thriller for adults; I wasn't expecting such attention to detail and story.

The animations and backgrounds are well-made. Although they may not stand out by modern art standards, they are enhanced by carefully designed details and innovative ideas. The characters are very well written and designed - I really liked Carlos. The way the futuristic world functions is also thoughtfully constructed; there are many small details that make the movie feel very realistic.

On the other hand, everything moves quite fast, and some important characters or events are only briefly shown. 'Mars Express' needed a bit more screen time to better develop these elements.

Overall, it is a solid sci-fi film.

Good animation, excellent worldbuilding, interesting characters, exciting action sequences and an intriguing plot. What else could we hope for? A good ending, instead of this rushed convoluted mess, that makes the entirety of the characters actions in the movie completely inconsequential. I'm not kidding. Everything our protagonists do, every mystery they uncover, is ultimately pointless. I understand what the filmmakers where going for and perhaps it could've worked in a longer format, but less than 90 minutes wasn't enough time to properly stick the landing. I don't regret watching Mars Express, because 90% of it was awesome. But that ending is such a letdown I'll never watch it again and I can't recommend it to others.

Extremely derivative work but in a good way. It reminded me of The Matrix, Terminator, I, Robot, Fifth Element, Blade Runner, Scavengers Reign, Minority Report, Chinatown, Ghost in the Shell and other cyberpunk animes. And these are just a few I didn't even write down.

But the fact that it is derivative it doesn't matter that much. It's just a very interesting and kinetic animation about robots and robot A. I., all part of a big conspiracy conducted by a cool duo formed of a woman and her partner, Carlos, a human in the body of a robot. I can say I was just absorbed by the story and animation. It's not something new but it's just something I enjoy.