Rating: 
Summary: Human or ...
Review: What on the surface appears to be a political conflict between the Martian colony and the terrestrial parent government turns out to be an corporate economic struggle over the ability to make robots, and the rights that near human (or better) intelligences deserve to have. Demitrio Mardini, of Earth Robotronics has devised a plan to use third generation cyborgs as breeding vessels for enslavable humans. His ruthless plot puts one of the thirds, Naomi Armitage, her husband Ross Sylibus and their daughter Yoko square in his sights.This is a pure techno-thriller. Mardini kidnaps Yoko to force Ross to vote against the robot rights bill, and pry the secret of the thirds' ability to procreate from Naomi. The couple fights back with everything they have, culminating with a series of tightly choreographed fights between Naomi and several of her evil twins. In addition to the primary plot, the nature of being human is an important subtext, which finally reveals itself to be the primary theme. It takes a robot to teach a human about love. How much you like this feature may depend on how familiar you are with previous Armitage stories. On its own, it is an interesting story with good artwork and animation. Technology, of course, is ever present, but it doesn't overwhelm the more human aspects of the story. Yoko's active role keeps centering the story back on its core values. But the film is a bit flat and two dimensional when compared to previous Armitage efforts. My guess is that long time fans will be less satisfied than newcomers will be. Actually, the film relies very little on its precedents, so it is a good starting point. I liked it, although it didn't blow me away - 'Dual Matrix' is certainly worth a look.
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