*Note: this comment is based on the Japanese language version with English subtitles.*
The first 10 minutes of this film, had it been "live action", would have cost well over $100m (or pretty much been CGI animated anyway), so I see no reason why anybody should hold the medium of this story against it.
I'm not particularly an "anime" fan, but do like good stories, so when I heard about this, I thought I'd check it out.
The basics of the plot are that android development, beyond a certain degree, was banned by the U.N., so Japan withdrew from global trading and threw up some kind of barrier to stop the world prying. 10 years later and a team of exo-skeleton-wearing Special Ops are - quite illegally - sent to infiltrate the nation, on suspicion of... well, who's sure? Japan withdrew from the U.N. to obviously continue android testing and development, but that's an over-sight you'll not let trouble you whilst watching.
Firstly, I have to point out how impressed I was by the directing. Normally, I'll read comments here and it's clear that most reviewers don't have a clue what a director does - or should - indeed do; this film boasts excellent shots and camera movement for an overall, stunning cinematic experience. So yes, impressive directing.
Another problem I usually have with Japanese cartoons is the annoying dub tracks: the men are all so mysterious or overly masculine, and the women whiny; I won't say that the Japanese do a better job, but this film had solid, natural actors give life to each and every CGI character, so that after a while, I wasn't even consciously aware that I was watching an animation.
The storyline was definitely interesting and had some subtle things to link all the characters, but come the end, I simply didn't much care about them. I think a lot of this was due to the "big reveal" being much too early on, but it could also have been that, ultimately, the characters simply weren't very engaging.
I'd recommend anyone into sci-fi to watch this, but I'd also warn them not to expect to get too much out of it.
The first 10 minutes of this film, had it been "live action", would have cost well over $100m (or pretty much been CGI animated anyway), so I see no reason why anybody should hold the medium of this story against it.
I'm not particularly an "anime" fan, but do like good stories, so when I heard about this, I thought I'd check it out.
The basics of the plot are that android development, beyond a certain degree, was banned by the U.N., so Japan withdrew from global trading and threw up some kind of barrier to stop the world prying. 10 years later and a team of exo-skeleton-wearing Special Ops are - quite illegally - sent to infiltrate the nation, on suspicion of... well, who's sure? Japan withdrew from the U.N. to obviously continue android testing and development, but that's an over-sight you'll not let trouble you whilst watching.
Firstly, I have to point out how impressed I was by the directing. Normally, I'll read comments here and it's clear that most reviewers don't have a clue what a director does - or should - indeed do; this film boasts excellent shots and camera movement for an overall, stunning cinematic experience. So yes, impressive directing.
Another problem I usually have with Japanese cartoons is the annoying dub tracks: the men are all so mysterious or overly masculine, and the women whiny; I won't say that the Japanese do a better job, but this film had solid, natural actors give life to each and every CGI character, so that after a while, I wasn't even consciously aware that I was watching an animation.
The storyline was definitely interesting and had some subtle things to link all the characters, but come the end, I simply didn't much care about them. I think a lot of this was due to the "big reveal" being much too early on, but it could also have been that, ultimately, the characters simply weren't very engaging.
I'd recommend anyone into sci-fi to watch this, but I'd also warn them not to expect to get too much out of it.