As the Gods Will

At core, Takashi Miike's As The Gods Will may seem like another Battle Royale rip-off as we've seen oh so many times before but I don't exactly believe that to be the case.

The cinematography on one hand was gripping, the color scheme meshed so amazingly. This was a rather pretty movie to look at all things considered.

The acting was a bit weak from some of the minor characters but the actors for the main characters was great.

Now as for the movie itself, it was fun which really is all I demand of a movie. To be entertaining. I don't even think the premise was bad.

The concept of the gods playing games with humans in order to test their skills is something that has been around since ancient Greece, but this did it exceptionally well as it never felt too forced. If it had gone to great lengths trying to explain everything it would've ruined the feel of the movie.

It's a ride from the start to the ending, never once did I feel bored during it and there were several moments where it was actually suspenseful.

I know some film snobs might overlook this movie as not being good enough due to it being a bit silly, but I think they are missing out on a brilliant experience.

I recommend this movie if you just want to sit back and enjoy a suspenseful ride with charm, creepiness and gore.

I watched this film without reading the manga prior. I've watched some of Miike's ultraviolent movies before this but going in forward, i've not set any expections for this movie.

I'd like to mention the positive things first. I love Miike's violent movies. I think he's the best director for this genre, and there are a lot of em expecially in the first half of the movie. However, the black comedy moments seemed to shine the most in this film. I remembered laughing out loud in a few scenes in this movie and that's an impressive feat.

That's all the about the good stuff, unfortunately. The film was marred by a lot of terrible aspects. One of them was the antagonist. I believe it's a bad casting overall. The antagonist was portrayed as edgy and the actor seemed to hate this role. It was obvious he tried too hard and it ended up being cringe thorughout the film.

The absolute worst of this film is definitely the ending. It lead to more questions and plot holes, leaving all the viewers begging for answers. Let's just say it's the slimiest, hairiest balls that was shoved on your face. You'll get me when you get there.

I wish I could say that this movie is worth watching but I really don't think it is except for the die hard asian cinema fan. For someone who likes anime, this might be up their alley but for the run of the mill movie goer, I really don't think it would be that enjoyable except for the first twenty minutes or so. The novelty wears off and none of the characters are much deeper than a Dragon Ball Z character. If you didn't get that reference, skip this one.

As the Gods Will is a bloody movie. That said, the blood scenes, at least some of them, weren't that well executed, thus the gore was easier to watch. However, as there are many disturbing daeths, I wouldn't recommend it to someone who can't handle blood. For the story, the plot was nice and there were some interesting characters, especially the lead and that creepy secons lead. And the riddles were entertaining to watch, and not too difficult to follow. However, the ending was not as good. I guess what bothered me was that the movie never went deeper than the riddle part, like, why didn't they asked why this was happening and for what purpose. Also, the ending felt quite open, but there is no second movie of this, so I do have to cut points for that. So, six and a half out of ten.

I frequently like Miike's films, and had missed this one--I only found out about it because of the accusations that it had somehow been ripped off by "squid Game," not that I've seen that series either--so I decided to give it a look. It's certainly well-crafted, but this is a case where his liveliness and skill as a director can't do much with material that is inherently silly and repetitious. It starts to wear out patience even in the first setpiece, and every successive one is the same thing: Another "god" in cutesy CGI critter form killing off teens in a "game" with arbitrary rules just cuz...well, because apparently gods don't have anything better to do.

The characters are too one-dimensional (and mostly too shortlived) to care about, the manga-based action too absurd to work up any real suspense, the action too absurd to be exciting. I admit I didn't make it to the end; there was absolutely nothing of value beyond the slick production values to hold attention. I'm giving it a 5 because it's the sort of "extreme" Japanese cinema some people like (which usually involves comely schoolgirls being slaughtered in "gory" yet patently unrealistic, CGI-heavy ways), but if you want anything more than that pretty dumb level of empty, colorful stimulus, it's one of Miike's least interesting projects. Of course, he makes so many, it hardly affects his batting average.