Mars Express

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.

Its a cyberpunk noir about a detective hired to track down a missing student from a prestigious tech university. Set in a future where humans have spread across the solar system, some people are a cyborg or synthetic or just augmented and computers are fleshy biocreatures with a single eye. Robots, synthetic humans, holograms and AI are just part of daily life. People can even upload and backup their personalities into robots when they die, sort of like digital immortality.

In this futuristic cyberpunk thriller with parts of detective noir, the rich have settled on the neighboring planet.

If youre familiar with Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell, theres not much here that will surprise you. The scifi concepts feel a bit dated like the T-1000, but the animation looks great, the action is fun and the plot is decent though nothing groundbreaking, love the aesthetics/world building.

Should have been a miniseries!

Visual style reminiscent of Promare, sci fi-cyberpunk world building reminiscent of I,Robot. Immersive soundtrack. That's what this movie does the best.

I also loved all the little details of the future tech: TV screen that moves to wherever you're looking, a bottle topper that acts as another barrier to prevent AA members from drinking, etc.

The weak point is the plot in my opinion, it's just average and I don't think the characters have enough backstory to really make us care deeply about them. These don't ruin the movie, but it does everything else better.

Overall, I would recommend this one. Especially for Sci Fi lovers.

While this might not be a genre bending film there is much to like about it. Starting with the beautiful animation style that is very fluid, colorful and detailed at every turn. The 2D art style meshes well with the story and its futuristic vibe. The music and sounds also compliment the overall feel of the film. The English dubbed version is well done with each voice suiting the characters perfectly. The dialogue is always purposeful providing context or aiding in the characters development. The characters however are not strong enough to be memorable. Even the villain is very stereotypical.

There are some funny moments but just enough to keep things light hearted. The pacing and structure allow for an easy viewing experience. There are some action and chase sequences which break up the exposition but nothing too over the top. The film was fine when it was a mystery thriller but when it changes course to try and be something with a deeper meaning it takes a plunge. Ultimately the ending was a letdown leading to a lower rating. This is still a good film but the ending was underwhelming.

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.