<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the TV series.
Review: As many of you reading this review should very well know, the Nadia TV series is one of the best anime series' of all time, with it's wonderful cast of characters and it's roller coaster storyline. Now we get to the motion picture...
The Specs:
The Story: 2/5 - Weak
Now, keep in mind that when I review a title, I always do it with a very open mind. Even with those that I expect to be mediocre. Nadia: The Movie started off on the wrong foot with me when the first 15-30 minutes or so of the movie was literally nothing but recycled clips from the TV series. In my personal review system, this automically deducts a star. I can safely say that the abosolute worst way to start off a movie based on a TV show is by recapping. Fans of the show already know what's happened, and the don't need to have to have the entire story retold to them before getting into the movie. Of course, this is apparantly a way of getting the movie to last longer. Didn't work for me. I skipped over the entire part. The, we FINALLY get into the main story. Unfortunately, the script is riddled with too many short comings. For one, the story is just not good enough. And while it's true when another reviewer stated that this movie takes place BEFORE Nadia and Jean get married, it STILL ignores key parts from the ending. (Grandis and her crew are thugs again, which, according to the official ending, doesn't happen.) King is mysteriously absent as well. The villain is also laughable, not nearly as intimidating or evil as Gargoyle was.
Animation: 2/5 - Weak
The animation is extremely low budget for an anime movie, even for the year it was made. The TV series was much better animated than this. Not much quality in action scenes either. The whole movie often looks too stilted.
Sound: 3/5 - Mediocre
The music in this movie isn't terrible, but it isn't very inspired either. Most of it lacks the emotion and depth of the TV series soundtrack, although the the opening and closing themes are decent.
Conclusion: I loved the TV series, I really wanted to at least like the movie too, but unfortunately it just doesn't measure up. Unless you own the Second Nadia Collection that already includes the movie, it's just not worth a shelling out the extra cash for the movie. (The movie was NOT made by the original creators anyways.) If you have read this and still want to check out the movie, be my guest. However, you aren't missing much.
Rating: 
Summary: Warning: Do NOT buy this movie!
Review: Gainax's NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER was a brilliant production until a number of mediocre (and some awful) filler episodes plagued it (though the show DID end as strongly as it began). But Gainax was not to blame for this; the executives of distributor NHK Enterprises wanted to squeeze every last ounce of cash from the show, and, consequently, what resulted were stories that absolutely did NOT suit the plot and should have been cut (the Lincoln Island sequence, the King VS King race, and worse, the African episodes *cough, cough*). But, even though the show ended wonderfully, NHK Enterprises still was not satisfied. A theatrical release was attempted -- without ANY input from Gainax or director Hideaki Anno! I have not seen this movie, and I have no intention of doing so at all. The facts that I've heard about this movie are reason enough to skip it. For one, the movie all but ignores the happy ending of the show and tells a storyline which is both contrived and inconsistent with the flow of the series. It is also an excuse for our characters to revert to their old selves; Grandis and her boys are still criminals, Jean is still in his workshop in Le Harve, and Nadia? Get this -- she's a reporter in London! Problem -- since WHEN has Nadia ever aspired such a career? The plot involves a mysterious girl named Fuzzy(!) who reunites the pair after three years, which builds up to a showdown with a mad scientist. The story, such as it is, is only told within 60 minutes of the 90-minute feature. The other 30 minutes consist of RECYCLED FOOTAGE FROM THE SHOW. Very much a waste of time, indeed. This makes the movie all the more a major stinker. Not even a screen kiss shared by Jean and Nadia at the film's end can save it from the pits. Given that I never saw this movie (and have NOT picked up the ADV Films release, though I'm sure Monster Island did a good job with the dub, too -- providing they have to work with an unfortunate script) I have put it upon myself to discourage anyone from doing so. Other fans say its horrible, too, so its probably best to pretend that this movie never happened -- the same can be done with the other filler...which threatened to sink what is otherwise a fine Anime series. One wonders what NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER *would* have been like if it was stripped of the stupidities that were included at the last minute and remained true to its original course of 30 episodes, but sadly, we may never know. In the meantime, DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE!!! Do, and you will be in for a major letdown. And Marie and King are not even in this picture, either! And no, Jean and Nadia's relationship is not "tempestuous", contrary whatever stupid synopsis suggests! Skip it. Trust me. I've heard all these things about the movie (not that I listen to the critics all the time, mind you), and, given that I've already suffered enough bad material, I have no need to do so with this 90-minute waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Warning: Do NOT buy this movie!
Review: Gainax's NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER was a brilliant production until a number of mediocre (and some awful) filler episodes plagued it (though the show DID end as strongly as it began). But Gainax was not to blame for this; the executives of distributor NHK Enterprises wanted to squeeze every last ounce of cash from the show, and, consequently, what resulted were stories that absolutely did NOT suit the plot and should have been cut (the Lincoln Island sequence, the King VS King race, and worse, the African episodes *cough, cough*). But, even though the show ended wonderfully, NHK Enterprises still was not satisfied. A theatrical release was attempted -- without ANY input from Gainax or director Hideaki Anno! I have not seen this movie, and I have no intention of doing so at all. The facts that I've heard about this movie are reason enough to skip it. For one, the movie all but ignores the happy ending of the show and tells a storyline which is both contrived and inconsistent with the flow of the series. It is also an excuse for our characters to revert to their old selves; Grandis and her boys are still criminals, Jean is still in his workshop in Le Harve, and Nadia? Get this -- she's a reporter in London! Problem -- since WHEN has Nadia ever aspired such a career? The plot involves a mysterious girl named Fuzzy(!) who reunites the pair after three years, which builds up to a showdown with a mad scientist. The story, such as it is, is only told within 60 minutes of the 90-minute feature. The other 30 minutes consist of RECYCLED FOOTAGE FROM THE SHOW. Very much a waste of time, indeed. This makes the movie all the more a major stinker. Not even a screen kiss shared by Jean and Nadia at the film's end can save it from the pits. Given that I never saw this movie (and have NOT picked up the ADV Films release, though I'm sure Monster Island did a good job with the dub, too -- providing they have to work with an unfortunate script) I have put it upon myself to discourage anyone from doing so. Other fans say its horrible, too, so its probably best to pretend that this movie never happened -- the same can be done with the other filler...which threatened to sink what is otherwise a fine Anime series. One wonders what NADIA: THE SECRET OF BLUE WATER *would* have been like if it was stripped of the stupidities that were included at the last minute and remained true to its original course of 30 episodes, but sadly, we may never know. In the meantime, DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE!!! Do, and you will be in for a major letdown. And Marie and King are not even in this picture, either! And no, Jean and Nadia's relationship is not "tempestuous", contrary whatever stupid synopsis suggests! Skip it. Trust me. I've heard all these things about the movie (not that I listen to the critics all the time, mind you), and, given that I've already suffered enough bad material, I have no need to do so with this 90-minute waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than you think
Review: I think I found out the problem with this movie. No one thinks first before watching it. This movie really takes place in 1893, not after 1902,so this is actually before Nadia anf Jean get married. So, i Bet Nadia feels more independent when she marries.
Anyway this movie is actually pretty good it has a surprise ending and the songs in the film are great (get the soundtrack) So please, before you watch this , think first. See Ya!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing--watch some TV episodes instead!
Review: If you haven't seen the complete Nadia The Secret of Blue Water TV series, I would imagine you will be totally LOST when watching this. The first 30 minutes of this film are a severely compressed version of almost all 39 TV episodes. I say almost all, because the happy ending of the television series is completely ignored! Instead of leading their lives together, Nadia is trying to be a reporter in London, while Jean lives not far from his Aunt and Uncle--leading a solitary existence in his lab. They meet up again when a former Gargoyle scientist hatches a plot to take over the world by replacing its leaders with dissolving robots. Some new and uninteresting characters are introduced along the way, and Grandis & Co. are back to being villainous goons...for a short while anyway. So what's the result of half an hour of clips and an hour of new material? NOTHING SPECIAL. The animation looks cheap and rushed, the story is less than interesting, and the rewritten history does a real disservice to the charm and originality of one of the most beloved TV series of all time. If I had this to do over, I would not watch this. I would rather remember Nadia, Jean and their friends as they were when the series ended. Skip this movie--go back and watch your favorite episodes of the TV series instead.
<< 1 >>
|
