Appleseed Alpha

Another solid entry in the Appleseed series. Action packed with a solid story line. It is beautifully rendered and if you have the option to see on blu-ray, choose that one. The character designs are excellent (well for the main character especially). The storyline would have greatly benefited from a multi episode arc instead of being crunched down to 90 minutes, but it delivers in the end, and lets you look forward to the next in the sequence without beating you over the head with the half-assed open ending. There were so many plot points that could have been expanded into their own episodes, I would have much enjoyed further detail on the relationship with Two-Horns and Olympus, and even the backstory of the villains themselves. Solid voice acting and direction deliver the goods and the action is solid and engaging.

The IMDb rating is pretty much on.

For a 3D cgi flick in the tradition of Final Fantasy, it is no slouch, it is fun, it holds attention.

The CGI improves from year to year. When the characters walk off scene for example you would swear these are real people. Other movements, not so much. In 40 years they will be able to recreate any great actor from the past, I think, perfectly.

Hopefully I will not be here to see that.

The problem? Why mess with Appleseed? The thing about the AS franchise was the anime. You tune in for the anime. You get lost in the anime.

I even printed outside an oversize pic of Deunan from the original and keep it on the wall. I don't do that a lot. The point is not that I am crazy. The point is that Appleseed is to anime what Godfather is to live action.

So, no disrespect, but what's the point...?

To be perfectly honest what this movie misses most is a game controller. The movie consists of good action scenes great boss battles and over the top weapons and abilities. Why then do I have to sit still and watch instead of actually engaging in the battles?

The plot of this movie is nothing to write home about. You have seen it in one form or another a million times before, often better executed. Would've done nicely for a game though.

The artwork however: sublime. I really doubted in the beginning of the movie whether it was animation or live action (other scenes are less convincing but still). The ruins of New York look like a delight to wander around in and to just explore.

I can honestly say I watched this movie for the art, not the story.

I remember little from the Appleseed anime that I saw when I was younger so this is basically me commenting on this movie as standalone. The Third World War came and went, leaving the entire planet in chaos. The story follows two former soldiers that are now working as mercenaries for a thug. They meet a mysterious girl and her cyborg protector and decide to help them out in their mission against some psychopathic bad guys.

The end of the world theme, the political or social commentary usual in Masamune Shirow's work, they are all downplayed, almost not existent. Instead the entire flow of the movie is centered around fighting. The animation is decent, considering it is 3D CGI in its entirety, but when you think about it, they worked with about 10 body models. All the henchmen look alike, for example. They did a good job, but I think the physics looked off for most of the time: nothing gets destroyed unless it explodes, the cars are moving in weird ways and the hand to hand combat is clumsy.

Bottom line: as vaguely as I remember the 1984 Appleseed anime, I remember seeing it. This one will probably be forgotten by the time I save this review. Not bad, but not terribly good either. Animation was decent, but not great, the story simple and the characters formulaic and hard to empathize with. I think the fact that the character I connected most with was the thug, rather than the various heroes and villains, says it all. And I am still waiting for 3D animation to make me feel like a good anime does.

Watched #AppleseedAlpha....

Basically it's an anime sci-fi action movie.... A guy thing. The animation is so brilliant that sometimes it looks like a filmed movie. The action sequences are good. The characters are very cool with cyborgs, drones and robots. The chief characters are a two humans and three more cyborgs. The weapons are pretty cool and so are the villains....

Done saying all that there ain't much after that.... There ain't any sub plot. The main plot I a bit predictable and something we are used to. Over that the second part is full of serous goofs. The kind of goofs we see in sub standard action movies where good guys survive everything,gets new vehicles out of nowhere etc....

#watchable....