WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3

I was lucky enough to see this movie when it first came out in March 2002. It was featured at the 2002 Hong Kong Film Festival before the rest of the world sees it except Japan. Both the director and the writer of the movie came all the way from Japan to introduce and Q/A at the screening hall. How often do you see that? I had never seen a Patlabor movie before. I was totally blown away by how sophisticated this movie was. It rivals many Hollywood production movies if not better. The detective story, the visual, the soundtrack, the well written dialogues, the action sequences (though there are little) are all world-class beyond reproach. Fans of Patlabor will also be surprised by a change of perspective in this new movie, like that of "Metal Gear Solid 2" for PlayStation 2. This movie is simply amazing!

Mamoru Oshii's first two "Patlabor" films were excellent, both incredible and atmospheric pieces of work that always focused on characters first. For the third movie, you will find almost none of the original production staff involved but for Kenji Kawai, longtime Oshii composer. This said, I entered into the experience skeptical and was pleasantly rewarded.

WXIII, which stands for "Wrecked 13" for an almost indecipherable reason, is a fitting continuation of the series that gets occasionally bogged down in a ridiculous "big monster" plot. Much like the second film (arguably Oshii's best), fans should note that the main characters of the regular Patlabor series appear only incidentally. Asuma and Noa are the first members of Unit 2 to make an appearance, in a non-speaking part, almost 30 minutes in! Goto and Unit 2 don't have an actual speaking role until the last 20 minutes or so of the film. The movie focuses entirely on Detective Matsui, now older and on the injured list, and his young partner. Viewers of the first two films will recognize them, and it's a welcome exploration of their lives. In essence, it's a detective story, although the outcome is never really in doubt.

What makes the film so enjoyable is the excellent characterization of the detectives. The monster plot-line is fun at points and ridiculous most of the rest of the time, but thankfully it's spread out pretty thin. There are some beautifully composed shots, the music is spot-on, and the script is clever and in keeping with the tone of the first two films. There are some annoying plot holes that a Kazunori Ito script would have avoided, but it is overall a good effort from the new screenwriter.

Those expecting an action-fest will get a couple of fun, suspenseful moments, but otherwise look elsewhere. But fans of solid drama and intrigue will be rewarded. The Japanese DVD has excellent subtitles and a number of fun extras, so if you have an all-region player I would recommend it for your collection. Patlabor 3 is very good film that, despite its flaws and the reputation of the previous films, succeeds in the right places. 7 out of 10.

Full disclosure: I'm not a Patlabor fan at all, but I own and really like this movie. I've watched it at different times in my life, with years between viewings, and each time I've liked it more. Now, watching it again at a much more mature age, I fully enjoy it. It's not at all an anime film that kids or teens (or adults wanting to shut their brain off) would would watch to enjoy, and although I don't even enjoy police procedurals like I, ironically, did as a child, I feel this mature story is very underrated. Furthermore, now that I better understand a few things about film, my enjoyment was enhanced, especially regarding shots, editing choices, and themes in particular. Anime tends to bash you over the head with themes, even directly telling you over and over what they are (Gundam Wing, for example, is really bad about this-though I really like it), but, while the themes are clear, this film doesn't do that. It's another reason why it seems to be geared towards mature adults (not implying you're immature if you don't like it). It reminds me of Ghost in the Shell that way, except the action in GITS can draw all ages-but strip that away or minimize it even more and you have a very adult investigation story that would bore people who don't like such things.

I've tried to get into the Patlabor series, but it's always come across as a boring, childish A. D. Police or any other mechanized police unit anime. I don't like the Labors or the uniforms or, really, the characters. But I was fine with how they were utilized in this film.

Also, something I especially like is that the characters in this movie actually look Japanese!! I love colorful characters, BUT if the characters in this film looked like Westerners with Japanese names, I wouldn't have been able to take it as seriously (plus, it would contradict one of the major themes). The point is that it looks and plays more like a live-action film than most anime, making it easier to focus on the subject matter, and I appreciate that.

I would say watch this if you don't mind a slow-burn (that doesn't drag) police procedural with a sprinkle of intrigue and horror.

I don't really know why the hate towards this beautiful, fun, thriller, the pace it's slow but it's intended to be like that, it has action, and motives enough to do what the characters do, yes Mamoru it's not involved, but so what?, this is a very entertaining production, and it reflects how life in that not far away Tokio is held, that means that is not only the characters of the first movies the only ones that live there, basically, this expand the universe of Patlabor series.

It's not perfect, but it's beautiful done, and please, do favor for you and don't watch the dub version, I get that is one of the weak points of the bad reviews.

I was completely jazzed to track down the third Patlabor movie; the first two are among my favorites.

The third lacked that certain something...namely the main characters from the first two, reduced to minor supporting roles at best. We don't see the progression of the characters like we did between 1 and 2, which, to be honest, was part of what I was looking forward to seeing in the third. They showed up, a little; I found it funny when Captain Goto, in a meeting, asked why he was there. I had to laugh, because I was asking the same question, as he seemed to me to be in the scene just so people knew it was Patlabour 3. If Section 2 didn't show up in some form, even a few scenes, people would not have been able to tell. So they did. In a few scenes.

I was disappointed.