Escaflowne - The Movie

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: As an Escaflowne fan I was excited when they finally released this in America. It is a great movie with awesome fight scences. The only downfall (in my opinion) was that the characters look different. I had gotten so use to them looking one way! But that's easy to get over too. This also has some great back ground music. Everyone should get this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Obviously Streamlined Plot but often Beautiful Images
Review: I've not yet seen a single episode of the Escaflowne series but I am a pretty ardant Anime fan so I bought this DVD out of general interest.

While the plot does feel obviously condensed from the series at times, characters that I'm sure would have been given more screentime and depth in the series are reduced here to cameos, the movie is an enjoyable one, with some moments of truly beautiful imagery.

The action sequences are well directed, with a feel similar to live action (the opening battle scene is given a "shaky-cam" look for example) rather than animation. Also, the Mecha battle late in the film has a real sense of scale and the sword action is beautifully pyrotechnic.

Overall, this is an enjoyable movie, with a number of memorable moments, despite its rather run-of-the-mill story.

Where the DVD shines as a package, is in its interesting extras and in the inclusion of the movie's superb soundtrack.

As a movie, I'd give it 7 out of 10. As a DVD set, I'd give it a solid 8.

Rating:
Summary: Good moviel not as good as series
Review: I'm a big Esca fan and was pretty excited about a movie when I first head about it. To get things straight, the movie isn't a retelling of the series (and it doesnt talk about before or after it either). It basically an entirely different version with the same characters (who have been altered from the original series). So is it a good movie? Yeah sure it is. Is it better than the series? no, and never will be, which isnt a very fair comparison since the series has 26 episodes, enabling for deep characterization and creating that "epic-y" and grand feeling for the Esca world.

The music meets the high standard of all Yoko Kanno work.
The animation for the series was awesome, and animations for this movie greatly surpassed those of the series.
The voice acting is good, most of the characters are still voiced by the those from the series, so nothing new really.

Well, this IS a good movie, and people looking for more out of the esca world (from the series)will most likely be disapointed. All the other stuff (animations, voice, etc.) are excellent and I feel make up for the shortcomings of being a movie. At least see it once.

Rating:
Summary: My friend says it's good...
Review: My friend says it's good but we hate the original series

Rating:
Summary: Cant get enough
Review: This was the best, i had times when i thought that i was actually seeing a movie, in the series i would have characters i would hate and i was practically screaming at some of them, i accually like Millerna, Allen, etc now because they have a better story and they dont act all snooty, and Dilandau... well his voice actor actually doesnt sound like... well a girl, i just love the voice of andrew francis now because of the movie, the only thing i didnt like was the violence... not even the first five min someone was getting their head chopped off but that is just me. I liked the darker kind of thing with it, the music was awesome, no guy was actually a pretty boy they all had rough edges, I just didnt like the noses, the lips on everyone make it seem more realistic and Hitomi's hair doesn look like they just put a bowl on her head and called it done, there was a lot more movement too. They didnt just stand around looking at eachother they actually moved with the scenery and what was happening around them. I have seen the movie about 6 times since i bought it. but that was all the way through, Artistic work was great, especially when Hitomi looked up in the sky when she first meets Van and she sees the yellow sky and the music matching it just gives you a sence of fantasy in it. Magic in the movie they didnt exagerate and they made it look good without making it too childish.

well all in all it was a very good movie and i think ill watch it again tonight

Rating:
Summary: READ
Review: I've read through all of these reviews and found that the mixed bag must be confusing many custumers. So, let's clear this up a bit.

I will admit it, I am a die hard Escaflowne fan and I own all of the dvds of the series. Jumping into this movie is a very difficult thing for someone like me, but I did it with a free mind and thought to compare it later on with the series.

It was very different from the series, and I don't know what made people make this movie in the first place (personally, I find it slightly pointless to make a movie that combines the series, only twisting it). The characters weren't anything truly extrodinary, and the gore and storyline were probably made to satisfy a more manly audience. The music was good, but not great like the series, but for those who haven't seen the series, it is beautiful stuff. The animation was what drew me in further to this movie. Very different from the series (i think i was so use to the noses in the series that I had to look twice at each character to make sure it was them), but very stunning and captivating.

If you are a die hard escaflowne fan, I would reccomend renting it first to see if you like it. But for all those who haven't seen the series, and don't plan on seeing the series, this would be a great thing for you to watch.

Rating:
Summary: Leave ALL expectations at the door.
Review: I have heard so many mixed reviews about this movie, the best advise I could possibly give is also the most cliche. Rent it before you buy it. I've talked with several people, equally fanatical over the original series. They either love the movie or they hate it.

Personally, I love it.

The art is totally differant from the series, less bishonian. The english dubbing effort FAR surpasses that of the series. Taking it down to only having two melef units in the movie really made you belief they were something special. Maybe it's just me, but the Escaflowne, even though it did have some nice tweeks compared to others, still seemed like just another melef unit to me in the series.

As stated before in other reviews, the characters are completely differant from the series. Some characters don't even get more than a few seconds of screen time. I personally would have liked to have seen more of Naria and Eriya. But then, only being 96 minutes long, I can see why they had to cut down some of the characterization. This is also much much darker than the series. The series had it's share of violence, but it's really nothing compared to what's seen here.

Final words: Just because you like the series is no garuntee you're going to like this. Rent it first. Also destroy ALL expectations. This is nothing like the series and really has very little if anything to do with the series. If you go in with any expectations from the series, you will be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Escaflowne
Review: Escaflowne: The Movie is a very good movie, in my opinion, because it recaps the whole series in about an hour in a half (26 episodes) and it has such a great story line. There are, however, dislikes about it. As in I was hoping the movie would be a continuation of the series, but it is a recap (So that's an upside and downside). The actual Escaflowne also is not shown very much, but that's what they strive for. Without Escaflowne, then nothing in this series could happen. True, it didn't have as much interation with Escaflowne as the series did, but it's still an essential key part (Thus, the title of it). The animation is really good as well. There is more...life...to the characters, I guess is how I'd put it. But if you have seen the series, keep in mind that this acts as if it never existed. That's good and bad because if you've never seen the series, you're not left out. You don't have to go buy all 8 volumes just to watch this movie. But if you have seen the series, keep in mind that a lot has changed. But overall, I think it's great. And this Ultimate Edition is also great. I have not looked at the extra's CD, but the soundtrack is comes with is good. Especially track 25, You're Not Alone (which is sung in english).

Rating:
Summary: A big letdown.
Review: The movie is nothing like the series. Keep that in mind when you watch it. It is still wonderful but I expected more. Escaflowne was a wonderful series. The movie is dark and more serious. It is more slowly paced. Not as enjoyable as the tv series.

Rating:
Summary: What is this tripe?
Review: I went into this movie as a lover of the Escaflowne series, but I knew not to set my expectations too high. I read the reviews and most people said that it is best if you take the movie on its own terms without comparing it to the series.

Well I have to admit, that's a little hard to do. People who have seen the series will be absolutely flabbergasted that their favorite characters and storyline have been butchered into something boderline incoherent. People who haven't seen the show will likely be very confused and bored by the storyline which seems to cram way to much into too little time (hardly a surprise considering the source material).

Although I didn't really care for the character redesigns, I have to say that visually Escaflowne is a spectacular movie. The opening scene where Van bisects the crew of an airship is worth a rental at least. The problem is that the creators forgot what made Escaflowne the series so special to begin with. It wasn't the animation, the giant Gymelfs or even the storyline (although it was excellent). No, Escaflowne's biggest appeal was the endearing characters, especially Van, Hitomi and Folken. The problem with the movie is that I actually detested the characters movie counterparts as they exhibited exactly none of the facination of the series.

So what are we left with here? A boring movie with stale dialogue, uninteresting characters and an absolute affront to fans of the TV show that has some remarkably stunning visuals. Would I recommend it? No, visuals alone do not make a movie and if you liked the Escaflowne series even a little bit then you probably don't want to see this movie as it will likely leave a very bitter taste in your mouth over all the wasted potential that is here.