Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Kanketsu-hen - Saigo no Rensei

THE FINAL ALCHEMY is the final instalment of the FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST trilogy...and thank heavens for that! It was shot back to back with the second film, and while I didn't particularly like that or the first one, this one is astonishingly bad, complete with CGI that would look out of place in a modern video game. It's a bloated, overlong affair which mainly consists of different characters squaring up to each other and making various threats while CGI swirls and flows in the background. Some of the visuals are okay, but as a competent, coherent film this is a huge mess and has to rank as a disappointment whichever way you look at it.

I don't remember much of how the manga was, but I know that I was both disappointed with the ending and angry because the story did not continue. So much universe, so much magic and interesting ideas and what... it was just over?! Something similar I felt for this third and final film in the trilogy, two hours and a half to tie up all the open story ends, which was both too little and too much. However I did not experience the same sense of loss when the film ended. It was necessary, just as it wasn't to make a live action film of any anime :)

The film was epic, I give it that, with all the characters coming together to defeat the final boss. Unfortunately, the story gets rushed, inconsistent with some ideas in the first two movies and with the same almost horrible acting as the first two movies. Can I rate it higher? Should I rate it lower because after all that setup it gets to a stupid all character fight where everybody talks too much and everything feels weird? Nah, it was just below average.

I highly recommend you read the manga or watch the anime. The films are for people who, just like me, felt a terrible loss when those ended and are able to watch anything, even the same story told horribly, just to not end. Hmm, the Alchemist Stone as a metaphor for our desire for our favorite stories to never end? Could be.

This looks more like a cheaply produced television soap than a fantasy movie. Honestly, I cant this serious. Perhaps only suited for a diehard kind of niche group of fans who are into these kind of stories?

The bad; this movie has got incredibly cheap looking special effects. That's a real bummer for a fantasy movie, in which it is paramount that we, as viewers, get to believe in another fantasy world. None of that.

More bad: the actors look the part, with all sorts of weird kinda hairdos and makeup, but that's about the only thing positive that sets them apart from C-listed actors who would usually only star in television soaps.

This movie is by no means perfect, but I still had a lot of fun watching it. No live action adaptation of an anime is ever going to be good, especially when they're working with 27 volumes. Still, it was a fun watch.

Uchino as Hohenheim is by far my favorite part of the film, and seeing his ending scene with Trisha was really sweet. I was always bummed that hadn't made it into the anime, so I'm glad this film included it. Also, his voice acting for Father as a blob was really enjoyable! I was also happy they included Hohenheim's "vintage armor" line, as the anime didn't. Overall, I think these films do a better job at adapting Hohenheim's funnier/softer side than the anime does, but that's just me.

The CGI was definitely not great, but I was able to look past it.

My main complaint was how long this film was. I think cutting out the Briggs stuff entirely would have benefitted them. As much as I liked that arc in the manga, it didn't work here. I think they could have removed it, and still made the film work. Still, Olivier's actress was really spot on.

I also felt the ending scene was a bit awkward, as they only show one image of Edward while no music plays. I think it would have been cute to show multiple cast photos, like the manga does, along with some music.

Speaking of music, the score for these films is really disappointing. Especially if you've seen both the 2003 anime and Brotherhood, the scores there are incredible.

Overall, the main parts I enjoyed were Hohenheim's scenes. I'm a sucker for hot dads with depression.

I certainly wouldn't recommend these movies to people with no knowledge of the manga or anime, but if you are a fan then sure, watch 'em. Just don't go in expecting anything groundbreaking. These movies are just fanservice at the end of the day.