justin-mulvey

The failings of this film are in production and special effects. With some better editing and budget, it could have scored even higher for me because the story is a good one and the actors do their damnedest. That's what matters most. The bug man ( you'll know him when you see him) was particularly convincing. The final battle was very well written. The excitement was anime level, a genre in which everything is controllable. The story does not make sense without the previous installments and I am purposefully omitting that shortcoming in my rating. I am assuming you've seen the previous films and are up to date on the story. If so, you're in for some fun!

One of the best lines in literature in my opinion comes at the end of Candide (Review title). This film made me think about life and happiness in a way few other pieces of media have. I suspect that every person who watches this film will take something slightly different from it, but not so different as to make its artistic goals not deliberate - they certainly were.

What is a life, the life of another, one's own life? What is happiness, what is community, what is the effect of consistency, and what is the effect of change? All of these questions tie into a very traditional Japanese concept: ephemerality, though that is but one facet to the complex answers in each person.