Part of the problem is trying to cram so many events into such a short movie. We barely get a glimpse into Guts' past, and nothing about Griffith or Caska, which is central to understanding them. We don't see all but one of the battles the Hawks win, many of which are vital to the story. And even that lone victory is abbreviated. No one in the Band of the Hawk except Griffith, Guts, and Caska gets any attention. Judeau gets a few speaking lines and is a non-entity. Pippin and Rickert aren't even introduced by name and spend a few seconds in the background of scenes.
Perhaps worst of all, Caska comes across as a dumb bitch. Caska is a fine character and her unique relationship with Guts develops over the course of dozens of interactions and numerous battles over the course of many years. She is intelligent and the third-most skilled member of the Band of the Hawk with a sword. In the movie, she is just loud, annoying, petty, self-centered, and incompetent. A shame.
Aside from bowdlerizing the story and characters, even the presentation of the battles is lackluster. Battles are shortened, and don't convey their awe-inspiring size and scope in the manga or earlier anime. While I'm not as massively against the 3D animation as most are, it's definitely disappointing in several places. Most prominently in the Nosferatu Zodd fight, as the amazing Zodd looks clunky in both forms. Also, there was no "Forces", the iconic song that plays during the battle scenes, and is more perfectly suited for the Berserk universe and its battles than Griffith is for yaoi fan fiction. While it was released 14 years later, the movie is far more primitive and inferior to the anime series in presentation in every way.
I could go on and on. This movie was disappointing, feeling like a cheap cash-in on the franchise.
