May 7, 2024
Man this one's a toughie to review. To start, it's tropey, stereotypical, predictable and kinda cringey. But MAN if that isn't true to source. The movie opens with an interview that admits they've promised it for a while, and complaint, every eye-roll is true to for for Gundam Seed: 200s anime tropey soap opera romance? Check. Telekinetic mind powers and kidnapping the main love interest? Check. Main character moping about it for an extended period of time until his bestie literally punches it out of him? Double check. New characters who are obviously destined to be turncoats or main villains, set in some new nation
...
that TOTALLY isn't plotting to restart war? CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK CHECK. But that's just it; only the last point is new to the Gundam Seed franchise, so it's kinda nostalgic just how dated these steretypes are.
Which is entirely swept away once act 3 begins, cause it's kinda great. With great moments both character wise and action-wise. I even forgot about the CG MECHs for a second. Was some of it completely nonsensical (cough Stella cough)? Yeah. Was the main villains plan just "Hey, we like Durandal, let's just do that again with less subtlety/buildup and slightly more r*pey"? YEAH. BUT DAMN if it didn't have some great moments. Finally seeing an extended ship vs ship fight in space? With all the mechanics and nuances? Yup. Finally having enough non-named ships for the not-Archangel (because it went down... AGAIN) to destroy and actually show off Murrue's prowess? Ayup. Lunamaria actually being pretty dope as a pilot? yupyup. Shinn actually have some great character growth and some of the best moments in the fight? Hell yeah. And then angel winged Freedom Lacus-beaming an entire battlefield's worth of missiles and then cutting a base in half while Kira does his hand to hand shit? FUCK YES. And that's not even spoiling Mu or Athrun's moments. GOD WHY COULDNT THIS MOVIE HAVE JUST BEEN THE SECOND HALF ONWARDS?!?!? But yeah, it wouldn't have been a Gundam Seed product without all the moping and angst I suppose. Wanted to give this a 7, just for the 3rd act, I didnt like it as much as say Lelouch of the Ressurection (which is abs not perfect lol) but I found the ending kinda weak, weaker than the ending of Destiny.
For all it's faults, Destiny's ending, with Shinn meeting Kira again, coming to terms with everything and working together was pretty sweet. And then the after-ending (OVA bits?) of Kira joining Zaft to work with Lacus showed progression and a hint of the future. The SPOILER ending here, as cute as seeing Kria and Lacus post-coitus on a beach is, doesn't really feel final and certainly doesnt resolve the central conflict of the film; that Kira's exhausted by the endless nature of conflict and Lacus is powerless to actually enforce peace so they can retire together. Yeah I get it, he can face anything with her by his side, and he doesnt have to worry about his purpose as a warrior when she's with him, but it doesnt really feel final y'know, that shit's not even new. Maybe if they OVA/Blu-ray edit it to have an edited ending (FOR THE THIRD TIME) I 'd come back and make it a 7+ but as it is, it's a cute but mopey nostalgia trip with a badass third act that never really rose above it's roots. Just kinda more of the same, but with a weaker villain that's just less charismatic Durandal.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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