Metropolis

Rating:
Summary: the film won me over in the end!!!!
Review: First off, i am not an anime buff; i'm not even sure what that means; but I agree with the reviewers that recommend spending time with it as a rental before purchase. Just a few days ago, I sat down with my 8 year old son to watch this incredible film. The characters "look weird" he kept complaining during the first half hour; and i was in agreement. There were scenes where the humans actually looked too toon-ish and even life-less...then before i knew it, the story (which is first class) drew me in as well as the city itself. I could see bits and pieces of "blade runner" here and there- specially in the underground...there is also a "film noir" type detective and a jazzy backdrop to the film...thus i found myself respecting the creators of the film in their choice of animation, and even more so when i understood the old comic book concept behind the whole story...my son and i were pulled in, and won over...although i must confess that many times over i wondered if a fisrt class story like this one would ever make it in a 'live action' film...I found myself loving this film for the same exact reason i loved "blade runner"- it's attention to detail; it's fidelity to it's own expression; even if it may turn off many casual viewers...i think this film will become a classic in it's own right-it has many stark contrasts...it's both moody and uplifting, dark and innocent; childish and mature-it lifts you up just as it throws you down, like a good piece of music that lilts in unexpected directions; it seems so strange yet familar like a dream...There are few films that have me thinking long after the DVD has spun it's course: this is one of them.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, yet Flat
Review: Plotwise, there is nothing new or unexpected about _Metropolis_. If you've seen one movie about political mechanations in a pseudo-Utopian city where all the dirty work is done by robots, you'll have a pretty good idea what's going on here. And that's a good thing, because for all its stunning animation, this flick is really hard to follow.

The basic plot is this: The city of Metropolis is celebrating the completion of its "Ziggurat," a huge tower that for no reaason that is ever made clear inspires the residents to displays of fireworks and parades. Into the midst of this come Kenichi and his uncle, a private invesitgator searching for a scientist accused of typically scientific crimes. This scientist, Laughton, is currently engaged in perfecting a super robot for Duke Red, the builder of the ziggurat. Just as the super robot is being completed, Duke Red's dubiously sane adopted son, Rock, kills the scientist and destroys the laboratory. Of course, Kenichi is on the scene due to his uncle's investigations, and he and the robot escape together. You should be able to take it from there.

_Metropolis_ shares a failing with many animated features like _Wizards_ and some of Bakshi's work: the backgrounds are gorgeous and detailed and the character animations are "cartoony" to the point of idiocy. I could not look at Duke Red without thinking, "This guy looks like a cockatoo." And he was one of the better specimens. There was also almost too much detail for the eye to absorb. Do not watch this flick on a small sceen.

In places the plot was seriously ragged. Scenes and action skips around a great deal, leaving the viewer to fill in the blanks as to what must have happened in the interim. This makes it useful to have seen at least one other similarly plotted movie, so that you have some idea what's going on. The characters are entirely two dimensional in a way that reminded me of the old "Speed Racer" series. Both character and plot take a back seat to the necessity of showing off animation effects, some of which would have become unnecessary had either the characters or plot developed in a complex and realistic way.

On the other hand, a lot of the animations were completely stunning. The music was a beautiful blend of old jazz, blues, and a few soul numbers that made a moving contrast to the futuristic setting, and the synchronicity of the music and visuals was particularly well done. Because of this, _Metropolis_ ended up reminding more of a plotless film on the lines of _Koyanasqaatsi_. Unfortunately, the lame dialog and action sequences detracted from the experience rather than enhanced it.

See this film if you're a fan of the genre, but don't expect too much.

Rating:
Summary: All Killah some Fillah
Review: Well I have to say, this trailer did grab me by the ghoulies when I first saw it. Little did I know it was gonna take me on a trip that would never bring me back. I'm not gonna summerize the story, becuz everyone above has already. What I am going to talk about is the plot outline. I'm gonna say this film leaves alot to be desired. I'm saying its good...but it could have been a hella lot better. There's alot of loose ends throughout the film. For one, why did Duke Red found the Marduk party? to what purpose? If he was going to use a robot to control the Ziggurat, why would he want to destroy them all? Another quick ponder is, Why is Rock the way he is? What's the deal with the homicical tendencies? And probably the most aggravating one that really hurt me the most; there was hardly any love between Tima and Kenichi...You could tell that it was supposed to be there, but Kenichi hardly showed any real love for her, more like an adoration for each other. So it was hard for me to believe the ending becuz the lack of love between them. And one last one would be why the whole confusion between Duke Red, The President, and the Revolutionists? All these must be connected in order for a great story...They were all there but weakly connected. As for the animation, top notch, uncanny perfection in the movement, speaking as an animator myself, the cg was perfect and hit the scene sweetly. And the strongest thing of the whole film I thought was the score. Amazing Jazz, Dixieland, and some techno beats are weaved intricately throughout the film...That is what kept me going. It might seem like I'm really hitting this film hard, but believe me its one of my favorites on my top ten. Don't check it out, get it. I still love it, with its flaws and all.

Rating:
Summary: Breathless anie Masterpiece
Review: This movie has changed my whole look on anime. This movie is a compelling drama that leaves you breathless. The animation is fabulous, even though the characters looked a bit tacky. The ending is so freaky, but amazing on how a small Japanease film can change anime. Much better than any anime you will ever see!

My Grade:
A

Rating:
Summary: Good overall, but a little too Astro Boy
Review: Well, okay, so it is true that the movie has a fairly simple plot. However, visually it is SO breathtaking that at times I found myself unable to pay attention to what was going on anyway-- like during the scene with the gigantic fish swimming around behind the Metropolis Police Superintendant in his office, for example. Now of course, the visually interesting parts of the film are all computer generated, but that doesn't really bother me. If you watch the extras on the bonus disc, you can see that a lot of time and effort went into the CG animation; it wasn't something that they just whipped up because they were lazy or didn't spend time developing.
There IS the issue of the appearance of the characters.... They really do look quite bad in the spectacular CG backdrops that they've been plopped in. In short, they're way too Astro Boy--unrealistic looking people with huge feet. The style of anime just isn't what you go in expecting it to be, because the style is Tezuma's style from his Metropolis manga, which he created in the 1940's. So, therefore it would be bizarre for it to look like modern anime...but it still is a bit disappointing.
Lastly, the soundtrack to the film is interesting and different, and all of it works until the Ray Charles song used during the last scene. It really does detract from things. And, well, that's about it--overall, it's a beautiful movie with a pretty good (but not amazing) plot, and some bizarre flaws.

Rating:
Summary: Strange, unsatisfying.
Review: An exquisitely designed, well written fantasy. The animation is beautifully done, and the combination of CGI and conventional animation is most effective.

The backgrounds and general design are fascinatingly brought to life. The story is interesting. But I simply could not take the film terribly seriously. Quite simply, the film suffers from a devastating overdose of HelloKittyitis. It's as if someone had remade Blade Runner and cast it entirely with characters from Pokemon.

Rating:
Summary: "who...am...I...?"
Review: this movie was far beyond anything I ever could have imagined! I never thought it could happen, but it looks like an anime movie has finally taken Akira's place as the greatest anime film in history! It's no wonder since the writer of Metrpolis is the Creator/Director of Akria. This was directed by Rinatro, who directed "X", my second favorite anime film. the best of the best were all combined to make this film and did a truly fantastic job! The music, animation, computer graphics, and emotion will blow you away! the characters in this film are all very well developed unlike many other anime films. you feel their emotion and really get into the story. the movie borrows from many old classic sci-fi films including "Blade Runner" "Akira" and of coarse, the 1929 films "Metropolis" which is not anyway close to the solid plot of this film. Just the concep of a robot city. anyway, I cant really say much more about this movie here because this film is so great no review can do it justice! just go out there and see this movie! its a work of art!

Rating:
Summary: So-So Story...Fantastic Animation
Review: The story of Metropolis was a bit convoluted and needlessly complicated, it actually detracted a bit from the awesome animation. Another distraction was, and I hesitate to say, the subtitles. Usually, subtitles are better than voice-overs, but in the case of this movie, where your attention needs to be drawn to the animation, it was distracting to read the subtitles and try to look at what was happening. Often times, many key visual elements were missed because I had to read the story. At times the pacing was a bit slow, but the jazzy, up tempo music kept things moving. The story was merely mediocre, but the fantastic fusion of cgi and traditionaly anime animation more than made up for its shortcomings.

Rating:
Summary: You will treasure this forever!
Review: I just got the dvd in today and watched it! It is the best movie I have ever seen! The animation was the awesome! The art was not really anime style but more cartoonish however it goes great with it! Some people might rate the movie one less a star because of its outdated graphics, but the graphics first of all wern't all that bad and they went good with the movie. This is one movie you will never forget! One movie you will treasure forever! A great flick! The music might not be my taste but it went good with the film. I'm almost speachless on what ells to say! This movie is worth it! Better than Princes Mononoke and Akira!

Rating:
Summary: Every Epoch Dreams of its Successor
Review: This is a remarkably beautiful work of animation that pulls at your heart instead of going for your throat. The themes of coexistence between human and robot is a common one for science fiction, but noone in anime has explored that theme like the legendary Osamu Tezuka, reknowned in Japan as the Grandfather of anime. He explored it in the first anime ever, Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy), but he wrote it in Metropolis first.
And no creators were more suited to bring the late Tezuka's work to the big screen than Rin Taro of Galaxy Express fame, and Katsuhiro Otomo, who gave us the breakthrough hit Akira.

The story takes place in the city of Metropolis, loosely modeled after the classic silent film from 1927 of the same name. The rich live in decadence above ground, while the poor starve and labor in the rank subterranean labyrinth beneath the sprawling city.
The city is run by Duke Red, who has secretly had a robot made in the likeness of his deceased daughter. But Duke Red's adopted son, Rock, destroys the laboratory before the robot is activated. She is found by a detective's young nephew, and the two wander the underbelly of the city, dodging Rock's attacks and bearing witness to an uprising by the proletariat.
I can't say much without spoiling the ending, but the film's climax is beautifully done, with Ray Charles singing "I Can't Stop Loving You" in the background.

The extras include interviews with Rin Taro and Katsuhiro Otomo themselves, as well as the voice cast, and the composer of the score, a history of the manga and anime Metropolis, design sketches from the anime, and segments on combining the cel animation with the CG backgrounds.

This is one film no self-respecting otaku should be without.