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The above verse from the Bible leads into a nearly five minute long battle sequence between unknown soldiers in an unknown urban wasteland, non stop action punctuated by not a word of dialogue. So begins Appleseed- The Movie. First, the story. Super soldier Deunan Knute is fighting in a world war that no longer seems to matter. Her parents are long gone, her boyfriend, long dead, but still she fights on. Soon, she is captured, and awakes in a city known as Utopia- a gleaming, ultra high tech paradise where war is obsolete, and mankind’s natural compulsion to destroy himself is tempered by the Bioroids- artificial people who cannot reproduce and feel emotion in only the most limited fashion. Who has brought her here, and why? As the story unfolds, Deunan will be reunited with her lover (though he is not the same man he once was), and long forgotten memories will reveal her special place in a brewing power struggle that threatens to destroy Utopia- and all of humankind. Sound interesting? It is, but only in the most superficial of ways. This is because Appleseed: The Movie is a study in contrasts. When I watched this feature, I was constantly contrasting the CG backgrounds with the 2-d cell-styled characters; contrasting the clichéd story with the amazing visuals; and contrasting my compulsion to keep checking how much time was remaining until the end with my desire to see what was going to happen next. All of the elements for a great feature are there, but on many levels, Appleseed misses the mark. The overuse of sci-fi clichés leaves the movie feeling a bit shallow, yet it is not bad, by any means. One is left with the feeling that with a better writing team to back up the fantastic visuals and excellent directing, it could have been much better, perhaps even a classic. The battle scenes in Appleseed are some of the best in memory. Slick CG combined with very lifelike motion capture and a pumping soundtrack combine to keep the viewer’s attention glued to the screen, giving the whole thing a music video feel. And if Appleseed were a collection of music videos, that would be great, but its not- it is a movie, and therein lies the problem, because when the action stops, the viewer’s attention will begin to wander. Certainly, there have been far worse stories and dialogue in anime features- Appleseed does not suck, by any means- but poorly defined ideas and occasional bouts with techno babble can serve to reduce the overall level of viewer involvement in the film. Great action sequences are a blast to watch, but ask anyone who has seen the last two Matrix films, or the Star Wars prequels, and they will tell you- great action sequences do not a great movie make. There has to be more. Again, though, I do not want to give the impression that Appleseed: The Movie sucks, or is a major let down, because it’s not. It’s frustrating because you see what could have been, but at the same time, the fantastic battle sequences and the beautifully directed CG are worth the price of admission. These are where Appleseed excels. I know that there are many purists who can’t stand the ever increasing use of CG in anime, but I doubt it’s a trend that is going to end any time soon. Personally, I don’t mind it, so long as the two different elements flow together, harmonize, and compliment one another- something that does not seem to happen enough for most viewers. The 3-d CG environments in Appleseed are quite simply stunning, but there is a definite disconnect between them and the 2-d characters. The animation of the characters itself looks good, and the motion capture is very lifelike- problem is, they don’t gel well with the CG a lot of the time, and most people who watch anime appreciate it exactly because if it’s un lifelike nature- they would have done well to skip the motion capture and animate the characters in the traditional fashion, or render the characters in 3-d. Even still, the battles are fun to watch, once you can accept the disparate visual schemes going on and focus on the action as a whole. As for the particulars of the UMD version, this one does not fail to impress. The visuals are crisp and sharp, and the excellent display qualities of the PSP screen actually serve to lessen the inconsistencies of the disparate animation styles. The subtitles are clean and easy to read, and the audio heard through the PSP headphones is clean and breaks down nicely. So, what is the final verdict on Appleseed: The Movie on UMD? If you want to watch some cool battle scenes while you wait in line at the doctor’s office or while waiting for a movie to start, Appleseed is just the thing. So long as you check any expectations for depth or originality at the door, you won’t be disappointed. Appleseed: The Movie is predictable, but the action sequences are a blast, and worth the investment of your time and money. -Ed-
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