Appleseed: Ex Machina

I'm not a huge fan of anime or 3D animation, but i am a fan of great animated movies that have substance, a story-line that holds from the beginning to the end, thorough and not rushed out character development, great scenery and camera shots that make sense for the moment.

There are many things i liked about this movie, and a some i didn't like.

Some might say that the animation in this movie was flawless. I say it was not and it has nothing to do with opinion. It has something to do with fact and what is capable to be done. I believe that the animation could have been much, much better. The still objects such as the city, buildings, and vehicles were definitely excellent, but the people didn't stand, move, or talk realistically enough and nowadays it is possible to come VERY close to that - but it seems like they ran through that and didn't put enough effort into it. I'll just assume they had a time limit and that was the least of their worries - a lesser worry than the story-line should be.

So I assume than the story line and character development would be the main focus here, since little was done to better or outdo the first Appleseed movie. I have to say it was in a way equal to the first. A few things i liked the most about this one was the interaction between the character or Deunan and Tereus. The chemistry was well illustrated, and I wish the envelop was pushed a little further and there was some type of physical contact, kissing or something, anything more than just a hug. This way to explore love in a different between a human and a biologically engineered human being that is the copy of someone that you still love.

The cinematographic was entertaining, but the music wasn't that great. I can't stand the upbeat electronic music and wish it had been replaced by something more suitable like some different electronic music that made sense for the movie and the action scenes. A few times i felt trapped in a rave club or some rave party, which i enjoyed when i was in high school, but never enjoyed in a good Sci-Fi movie. I would have stuck with organic or industrial sounds for effects.

Overall this movie isn't better or worse than the first. It's very entertaining and i greatly enjoyed it.

"Appleseed: Ex Machina" is not the future of Japanese Anime' (Japanese animation) but it's still a very entertaining animated feature done in the spirit of its predecessor "Appleseed" (2004), and other classic Anime' such as "Akira" (1988) and "Ghost in the Shell" (1995). It's also wise to not overlook the contributions of American sci-fi like "Blade Runner" (1982), "The Terminator" (1984) and "RoboCop" (1987), with a little helping of "The Matrix" (1999) for extra measure.

"Appleseed: Ex Machina" comes to us from Hong Kong action veteran John Woo and director Shinji Aramaki. It's a continuation of the Manga (Japanese comic book) by Shirow Masamune, who also wrote ye old "Ghost in the Shell." "Ex Machina" is a visually dazzling animated feature from Japan that's almost completely CGI with a little bit of hand-drawn animation and motion-capture work. The story is rich in thematic ideas and intelligence, namely Greek mythology and the unconditional love between humans and machines, but it could have used a little bit more polishing in the character department, allowing "Appleseed: Ex Machina" to rise above above-average storytelling. The characters also seem a little one-dimensional, too.

The film follows the adventures of a paramilitary task force called E.S.W.A.T. and its operations in 2199 Olympus, a futuristic utopia where humans, cyborgs, and bio-engineered human beings called "bioroids" are attempting to live in perfect harmony. However, a series of random terrorist attacks perpetrated by cyborgs and humans alike threaten to throw Olympus into total chaos. As it turns out, these humans and machines have come under the influence of an unknown electronic signal that hacks into their nervous systems and they then become the unwilling servants of a malevolent computerized entity.

Thrown into the action is the plucky female E.S.W.A.T. warrior Deunan Knute and her cyborg lover/partner Briareos as they investigate these bizarre occurrences with the other members of their unit. Things become complicated when a bioroid named Tereus, who resembles Briareous in his human form, joins their unit and threatens to come between their relationship. But these three must put aside their differences to face an even greater threat that promises world destruction in its wake.

From the opening moments of this stunning animated feature, I was pretty drawn in. I can tell that this was a very expensive piece of Anime' from Japan. John Woo's influence is everywhere in "Appleseed: Ex Machina," not limited to dual-wielding weapons and flocks of birds appearing before the action breaks out. Like I said earlier, problems arise with some fairly deficient characters, but with enough action and special effects splashed across the eyes of this viewer, it's only a minor complaint.

Japanese Anime' continues to be a rapidly evolving genre of film-making that shows no signs of going away any time soon. It is clear that more groundbreaking Anime' does need to come out if the genre plans to make a big splash in the West.

8/10

Deunan and Briareos are police in the ESWAT team. Having saved the world in the previous installment, they have been awarded a life of danger and anguish. That's the new world for you. Anyway, somehow they get tangled with the villain in an improbable sequence of events, then he pretty much takes over the world, even if he was dead, only to be defeated in the end in a huge battle with a Borg cube. What is not to like about that?

Anyway, to me it seemed like the animation style didn't progress at all since the 2004 film, perhaps it even went to worse for some reason I can't just put my finger on. Also the story, as action packed as it was, seemed lazy. The typical Woo action scenes didn't impress either, as they go against any reasonable military training I can think of.

There were some interesting parts, though. The Briareos bioroid and the interactions between the characters were funny enough, the villain method of capturing the minds and hearts of consumers (now you know where the Apple in Appleseed comes from :) ) and some hidden gems like the quote "A human, a cyborg and a bioroid working together... Only in Olympus". It was nice to get a glimpse of the world outside Olympus, too.

Bottom line: they tried too hard. I also watched the English dub version, which may or may not have taken some soul out of the film. It was enjoyable to watch, but a simple story dragged on by useless action scenes (and by useless I mean not furthering the story) can only go so far.

On its own singular merit, ExMachina should get a solid 10, however, its target audience has lots of exposure to anime and cgi films. When held up to movies like Akira, The Incredibles and others, ExMachina excels exceptionally at action scenes and choreography, but lacks the grandiose semi-philosophical structure from Akira, and the emotional realistic impact from The Incredibles. Its not wrong to expect such qualities to be standard in a production that clearly had a lot of care and thought devoted to it. ExMachina hardly suffers from this too much, and is actually quite an impressive action movie that delivers some exceedingly thrilling scenes that aren't easily forgotten. The characters are fun, interesting and memorable and are quite unique which is one of Appleseed's biggest strengths. (even the manga)

ExMachina is produced and influenced by John Woo, but stop praising him so much for this! He didn't write or direct ExMachina, stop giving him undue credit. SERIOUSLY. Its NOT a "John Woo" film. Furthermore, ignore the pretentious slobbering half informed fanboys who blindly review ExMachina with less than half of their facts correct... they irritate me beyond belief.

Finally, Appleseed ExMachina is a top quality sci-fi adventure that can be judged independent of its impressive use of CGI. It will 'wow' you. Absolutely recommended.

I really appreciated this post modern SciFi saga. There are some scenes and themes that reminded me of Star Trek Borgs assimilation, The Matrix Sentinels attacks, Blade Runner city atmosphere and commercials, Star Wars space vehicles landings and political environment, Transformers battle of machines and not to forget the zombies from Resident Evil. The graphics are really stunning. The way the city landscape has been designed is phenomenal. The motion capture is seamless. The camera movement is very realistic. The love story in the movie was touching in the way it depicts how love is unconditional. The scene where Deunan is stumbling, and then you see that she took of her high heel shoes to feel comfortable is so hilarious, knowing what a tough cookie she is. What was missing in the story was to understanding better why and when Briareos became extensively replaced through cyborg equipment. I was lucky enough to see the English dubbed version.