Appleseed (Movie)

STORY: 5/10 The plot wasn't all bad. The internal conflict was a particularly fascinating thing, particularly when you find out who the real enemy is. And the idea that a peaceful society is really a cage may be used a lot, but is still interesting in its own way. However, for people like myself who haven't read the manga beforehand, the history of this distopian universe might be difficult to comprehend, thus decreasing any real enjoyment plot-wise, as you're left wondering "why?" the whole time. All you get is that some global war is going on, and then "bam!" suddenly this "utopia" comes into play, andthe previous fighting doesn't mean a thing. ART: 10/10 One thing I can definitely agree to is that Appleseed has some truly fantastic animation. Even if it possessed nothing else, that the art is spectacular is something nobody can deny. The opening sequence was especially eye-catching, with the distopian city design. SOUND: 8/10 Being something of a dance music fan, I loved the soundtrack to the movie. Basement Jaxx, Boom Boom Satellites and Paul Oakenfold's work gave me something new to add to my rapidly growing iTunes playlist, and I'm a particular fan of the songs "Good Luck" and "Burns Attack." They all seemed to tie in well with the scene in which they appeared also. CHARACTER: 3/10 Kinda bland, I have to say. They replace character depth with lots of action, and the writers seemed more interested in displaying Deunan's "kick-assery" rather than her personality. There wasn't as much insight into Deunan and Briareos' relationship as I believe there should've been, and while there was obviously some tension due to Briareos' being a cyborg, I still thought that particular aspect could've been portrayed better. Uranus and Hades were interesting in their dislike for bioroids, and Hitomi was a curious choice for Deunan's "best friend." Otherwise, the stage goes entirely to the Elders, and the choices they made. ENJOYMENT/OVERALL: 5/10 Okay, so, Appleseed is nothing spectacular. Shiny fight scenes, boppy music and pretty animation sequences make it worth the watch for some like myself, though if you're looking for intricate plot and detailed characters it may be best to divert elsewhere.

Appleseed is a film based on the work of Shirow Masamune, the Mangaka behind Ghost in the Shell. The film adaptation was handled by Digital Frontier and the now defunct Micott & Basara. The manga may very well be on the same level as the Ghost in the Shell manga, I don't know since I haven't read it, but the question is whether or not the film is any good. Story: Deunan Knute is an elite soldier during a global war. During one battle a strange group barges in and takes her to Olympus, a Utopian society where humans are living a peaceful coexistence with a newspecies that strongly resembles humans but were artificially constructed and have some distinct differences, called “bioroids.” Deunan quickly learns that not everything is as idyllic as it seems. There are some humans who hate the bioroids and she quickly finds herself entangled in the conflict between two factions, one of which is opposed to bioroids existing and the other which wants to safeguard the society that's been built with its peaceful coexistence. Things quickly become more complicated as Deunan starts getting hints that there may be something deeper behind this conflict. The biggest flaw of this film is that the main antagonists' plan isn't actually bad. I can't go into many details since its only revealed in the last ten minutes or so, but as soon as it's revealed all the tension immediately disperses because even if they succeed it won't be all that big of a deal. Another problem is with the ending. There's a huge deus ex moment in order to force a “happy” ending. Yeah, if you can't figure out a way for the characters to get out of a scenario without making a bigger sacrifice than you want them to, either change the scenario or have the ovarian fortitude to have a tragic ending with some major sacrifices. The deus ex route is the worst way to go. Then we have the romantic subplot. In theory, the setup could work. The problem is that our leads have no chemistry. There's none shown through the narrative, the animation or vocal performances. Deunan has more chemistry with the bioroid girl who supposedly can't feel love than with this guy. Hell, she has more chemistry with her pistol. There are also some clunky exposition moments where characters go into information that everyone on screen already knows just because the audience doesn't and there's a bit where they have three major revelations in a short span of time and it just comes across as rushed and clunky. On the positive side, there are some really compelling facets to the world that gets built up in Appleseed. There are also some good ideas behind the various revelations and they could have all really worked if they'd been spread out and developed more instead of clustered together. Aside from the clustered revelations, the pacing works really well and there are a lot of interesting ideas behind the whole thing. Characters: I'll give the film credit for trying to have complex characters, and none of them are badly done, but most of them just don't move beyond bland. Deunan is a pretty good character and there are some interesting things going on with Athena as well. Then you've got characters like Briareos or the elders who are just kind of generic and characters like Hades, Nike, Hitomi or Uranus who have potential but aren't fully realised as characters so it gets largely wasted. Art: The CG in this is kind of stilted and there are a lot of janky movements. There are also some cases of the characters having awkward expressions that don't really match their dialogue. It's vastly superior to the CG in the Galerians OVA, but that isn't saying much. To be fair, it was made in 2004 and you can understand why it looks like cut scenes from a PS2 game since the technology wasn't really there yet, at least I can't think of a purely CG movie from that time that did it better, but it's still pretty awkward. Sound: There are some pretty solid performances. Kobayashi Ai, Kosugi Juurouta and Koyama Mami do particularly well. The music is okay. It's not particularly good, but it works fine. Ho-yay: There are some scenes, particularly early on, where Hitomi and Deunan seem a bit homo-erotic. Which is a bit disturbing given one of the tidbits of information you get later. There's also a scene where Deunan hugs Athena and her hands go right to Athena's bum. I'm not sure if it's a deliberate yuri moment or just an art fail, though. Since the two of them have barely interacted before that point. Final Thoughts: Appleseed is not a bad movie but it's not a good one either. It has some great ideas, but the story is riddled with problems and the characters are largely just mediocre. Maybe the manga's better and features more development for the plot line and characters but for the film I have to give it a 5/10. Tomorrow, I'll continue this week of film reviews with Fusion Reborn.

The 2004 remake of the Appleseed story is a watchable affair, but one that seemingly increases the flaws of the original 1988 release while also detracting from its strengths. Appleseed once again benefits from a strong female lead, one not afraid to kickass, and one not sexualized. Deunan is picked up by members of E.S.W.A.T, an elite special ops unit, and is immediately entrusted with a lot of the most vital secret of Utopia, an attempted, get this, utopian human city. This city is home to a population made up half of human, and half of Bioroids, genetically manufactured being with suppressed emotional states, designedto keep the peace. However, unlike the 1988 version, which set up a largely morally ambiguous conflict, this 2004 version is much more black and white, and it's of detriment to the film. The human uprising perpetrated by the army is one less of legitimate grievances, considering the role humans have in government is substantial this time, and more of a direct power grab. Deunan and her allies stand in the way of the bad guys, as they try to maintain a level of stability in Utopia. Here's the problem with Appelseed 2004; it attempts to layer on even more subplots than the original, without really explaining any of them. There is quite a lot going on here; a council of elders overseeing the city hand in hand with a giant computer, a quasi-double-triple-cross by Deunan's partner in arms, Briareos. A familial twist with Deunan, and some cruelties committed against her by the very people she is now up against. It all comes too fast and too often, and each plot development is rarely explored nor has its significance justified. This film also suffers from some pretty cheesy, elementary moralizing speeches, that attempt to convey relevance and importance but essentially end up very pedestrian. The exposition in this film leaves a lot left to be desired, because it rarely focuses on what you want to know, instead delivering heavy-handed explanations of things the viewer probably has already realized. The Deunan and Briareos relationship is sorely underutilized. Former lovers, Briareos is now mostly machine on the outside due to injuries sustained in battle, but still retains his personality and "humanity." While it would have been cliché, exploring whether or not Deunan's romantic interest could exist with a man that looks more machine now could have been fairly compelling. Sadly, it's never really explored. All of this combined with plot twists that are predictable, and a very typical - especially to sci-fi - main villain, leaves you feeling like this movie is wasted potential. Still, the main protagonists are solid enough characters to stand on their own, Deunan and Athena the prime minister, in particular. And when the script is not handing them some cheesy speeches, it manages to convey their desperation and struggle well. The 3D animation is also solid if unspectacular, much like the voice acting and soundtrack. It all helps to lend to my belief that the film as a whole is solid, if unspectacular. The Appleseed universe is a very compelling one, and there's a lot of good moral conflict to explore. Sadly, this film does not really do that. 5/10

Surprisingly enough, I prefer the 2004 Appleseed to it's successor, Ex Machina. I haven't seen this art style really applied anywhere but Appleseed, which is a shame really, because the blend of CGI and anime art is really quite cool. Story; 7. Admittedly, this is not really the strong point of either of these movies; moreso this one. While I enjoyed it a great deal more than Ex Machina, the story itself was much less developed. It's difficult to explain really, because the premise here is more engaging, however it isn't elaborated on thoroughly enough and the climactic battle scene paled in comparison to numerous scenesearlier, which made the build up kind of worthless. They had good ideas, they just executed them poorly. And the pacing felt rushed; I wanted more at the end, and sadly there was none. Art; 10. This is probably the high point of the whole Appleseed deal; the art. Unlike CGI films like Advent Children and Resident Evil, Appleseed looks clearly like an anime in many aspects. The characters have the now-traditional doe eyes, impossibly colored hair, and fairly small mouths. However, this traditional anime look was fed through a CG filter, and the end result I think is most closely akin to cel-shaded video games, but much more detailed. And the art served the action well, and all of the characters looked quite cool. Some of the coolest art around, it's a shame no one else really has done anything with it. Sound; 9. The Basement Jaxx are a musical act I have followed for years, so the opening title was a treat. Paul Oakenfold, among others, lent this soundtrack a very befitting cyberpunk feel, and was never used in a distracting manner. Nice work. Character; 7. This should be higher, because I liked nearly all the characters. Hitomi, Deunan, Briareos; they all had awesome character models, and the idea of the continuing romance between a full fledged machine and a human was honestly a sweet idea. But they didn't make this long enough! Therefore, the characters lack a lot of depth, as cool as they all are. Enjoyment/Overall; 8. Appleseed and Appleseed Ex Machina are solid futuristic, scifi thrills. The art is really creative and fun, the music is atmospheric and well placed, and the cast (though undeveloped) is colorful and enjoyable. I'd really like to see a full series come out of these movies, because they have a lot of really wonderful material. But until then, these movies are more than enough for anyone who falls into this niche. I just wish we had more!