Appleseed (Movie)

STORY: 5/10
The plot wasn't all bad. The internal conflict was a particularly fascinating thing, particularly when you find out who the real enemy is. And the idea that a peaceful society is really a cage may be used a lot, but is still interesting in its own way. However, for people like myself who haven't read the manga beforehand, the history of this distopian universe might be difficult to comprehend, thus decreasing any real enjoyment plot-wise, as you're left wondering "why?" the whole time. All you get is that some global war is going on, and then "bam!" suddenly this "utopia" comes into play, and ... the previous fighting doesn't mean a thing.

ART: 10/10
One thing I can definitely agree to is that Appleseed has some truly fantastic animation. Even if it possessed nothing else, that the art is spectacular is something nobody can deny. The opening sequence was especially eye-catching, with the distopian city design.

SOUND: 8/10
Being something of a dance music fan, I loved the soundtrack to the movie. Basement Jaxx, Boom Boom Satellites and Paul Oakenfold's work gave me something new to add to my rapidly growing iTunes playlist, and I'm a particular fan of the songs "Good Luck" and "Burns Attack." They all seemed to tie in well with the scene in which they appeared also.

CHARACTER: 3/10
Kinda bland, I have to say. They replace character depth with lots of action, and the writers seemed more interested in displaying Deunan's "kick-assery" rather than her personality. There wasn't as much insight into Deunan and Briareos' relationship as I believe there should've been, and while there was obviously some tension due to Briareos' being a cyborg, I still thought that particular aspect could've been portrayed better. Uranus and Hades were interesting in their dislike for bioroids, and Hitomi was a curious choice for Deunan's "best friend." Otherwise, the stage goes entirely to the Elders, and the choices they made.

ENJOYMENT/OVERALL: 5/10
Okay, so, Appleseed is nothing spectacular. Shiny fight scenes, boppy music and pretty animation sequences make it worth the watch for some like myself, though if you're looking for intricate plot and detailed characters it may be best to divert elsewhere.

Appleseed is a film based on the work of Shirow Masamune, the Mangaka behind Ghost in the Shell. The film adaptation was handled by Digital Frontier and the now defunct Micott & Basara. The manga may very well be on the same level as the Ghost in the Shell manga, I don't know since I haven't read it, but the question is whether or not the film is any good.

Story:

Deunan Knute is an elite soldier during a global war. During one battle a strange group barges in and takes her to Olympus, a Utopian society where humans are living a peaceful coexistence with a new ... species that strongly resembles humans but were artificially constructed and have some distinct differences, called “bioroids.” Deunan quickly learns that not everything is as idyllic as it seems. There are some humans who hate the bioroids and she quickly finds herself entangled in the conflict between two factions, one of which is opposed to bioroids existing and the other which wants to safeguard the society that's been built with its peaceful coexistence. Things quickly become more complicated as Deunan starts getting hints that there may be something deeper behind this conflict.

The biggest flaw of this film is that the main antagonists' plan isn't actually bad. I can't go into many details since its only revealed in the last ten minutes or so, but as soon as it's revealed all the tension immediately disperses because even if they succeed it won't be all that big of a deal. Another problem is with the ending. There's a huge deus ex moment in order to force a “happy” ending. Yeah, if you can't figure out a way for the characters to get out of a scenario without making a bigger sacrifice than you want them to, either change the scenario or have the ovarian fortitude to have a tragic ending with some major sacrifices. The deus ex route is the worst way to go. Then we have the romantic subplot. In theory, the setup could work. The problem is that our leads have no chemistry. There's none shown through the narrative, the animation or vocal performances. Deunan has more chemistry with the bioroid girl who supposedly can't feel love than with this guy. Hell, she has more chemistry with her pistol. There are also some clunky exposition moments where characters go into information that everyone on screen already knows just because the audience doesn't and there's a bit where they have three major revelations in a short span of time and it just comes across as rushed and clunky.

On the positive side, there are some really compelling facets to the world that gets built up in Appleseed. There are also some good ideas behind the various revelations and they could have all really worked if they'd been spread out and developed more instead of clustered together. Aside from the clustered revelations, the pacing works really well and there are a lot of interesting ideas behind the whole thing.

Characters:

I'll give the film credit for trying to have complex characters, and none of them are badly done, but most of them just don't move beyond bland. Deunan is a pretty good character and there are some interesting things going on with Athena as well. Then you've got characters like Briareos or the elders who are just kind of generic and characters like Hades, Nike, Hitomi or Uranus who have potential but aren't fully realised as characters so it gets largely wasted.

Art:

The CG in this is kind of stilted and there are a lot of janky movements. There are also some cases of the characters having awkward expressions that don't really match their dialogue. It's vastly superior to the CG in the Galerians OVA, but that isn't saying much. To be fair, it was made in 2004 and you can understand why it looks like cut scenes from a PS2 game since the technology wasn't really there yet, at least I can't think of a purely CG movie from that time that did it better, but it's still pretty awkward.

Sound:

There are some pretty solid performances. Kobayashi Ai, Kosugi Juurouta and Koyama Mami do particularly well. The music is okay. It's not particularly good, but it works fine.

Ho-yay:

There are some scenes, particularly early on, where Hitomi and Deunan seem a bit homo-erotic. Which is a bit disturbing given one of the tidbits of information you get later. There's also a scene where Deunan hugs Athena and her hands go right to Athena's bum. I'm not sure if it's a deliberate yuri moment or just an art fail, though. Since the two of them have barely interacted before that point.

Final Thoughts:

Appleseed is not a bad movie but it's not a good one either. It has some great ideas, but the story is riddled with problems and the characters are largely just mediocre. Maybe the manga's better and features more development for the plot line and characters but for the film I have to give it a 5/10. Tomorrow, I'll continue this week of film reviews with Fusion Reborn.

Appleseed explores humanity's future, who should decide that fate and the consequences of technology in a Utopia populated by humans and bioroids, artificial humans with suppressed emotions and reproduction.

During a spectacular opening battle, the heroine, Deunan, is captured and taken to this Utopia. While this was a really exciting way to captivate the viewer, the battle had absolutely nothing to do with the movie except concrete the idea that Deunan is a superior soldier. Enter her previous partner and lover, Briareos, now in cyborg form. The movie could have explored their back story or the struggle with their current emotions, but they were left ... largely undeveloped. All characters were introduced but never really given life, which is a shame because they had great potential.

The story line was predictable due largely to obvious foreshadowing. The viewer is always aware that the villain in the forefront is being manipulated behind the scenes. The dialogue tried to express the characters' grand moral resolve, but mostly came off as cheesy.

The movie has beautiful choreographed battles, an adept female lead, trendy soundtrack and well executed CGI animation. Appleseed fits the bill if you are looking for a visually stunning, mindless sci-fi action flick. If you are looking for depth, you should probably look elsewhere.

The 2004 remake of the Appleseed story is a watchable affair, but one that seemingly increases the flaws of the original 1988 release while also detracting from its strengths.

Appleseed once again benefits from a strong female lead, one not afraid to kickass, and one not sexualized. Deunan is picked up by members of E.S.W.A.T, an elite special ops unit, and is immediately entrusted with a lot of the most vital secret of Utopia, an attempted, get this, utopian human city. This city is home to a population made up half of human, and half of Bioroids, genetically manufactured being with suppressed emotional states, designed ... to keep the peace.

However, unlike the 1988 version, which set up a largely morally ambiguous conflict, this 2004 version is much more black and white, and it's of detriment to the film. The human uprising perpetrated by the army is one less of legitimate grievances, considering the role humans have in government is substantial this time, and more of a direct power grab. Deunan and her allies stand in the way of the bad guys, as they try to maintain a level of stability in Utopia.

Here's the problem with Appelseed 2004; it attempts to layer on even more subplots than the original, without really explaining any of them. There is quite a lot going on here; a council of elders overseeing the city hand in hand with a giant computer, a quasi-double-triple-cross by Deunan's partner in arms, Briareos. A familial twist with Deunan, and some cruelties committed against her by the very people she is now up against. It all comes too fast and too often, and each plot development is rarely explored nor has its significance justified.

This film also suffers from some pretty cheesy, elementary moralizing speeches, that attempt to convey relevance and importance but essentially end up very pedestrian. The exposition in this film leaves a lot left to be desired, because it rarely focuses on what you want to know, instead delivering heavy-handed explanations of things the viewer probably has already realized.

The Deunan and Briareos relationship is sorely underutilized. Former lovers, Briareos is now mostly machine on the outside due to injuries sustained in battle, but still retains his personality and "humanity." While it would have been cliché, exploring whether or not Deunan's romantic interest could exist with a man that looks more machine now could have been fairly compelling. Sadly, it's never really explored.

All of this combined with plot twists that are predictable, and a very typical - especially to sci-fi - main villain, leaves you feeling like this movie is wasted potential. Still, the main protagonists are solid enough characters to stand on their own, Deunan and Athena the prime minister, in particular. And when the script is not handing them some cheesy speeches, it manages to convey their desperation and struggle well.

The 3D animation is also solid if unspectacular, much like the voice acting and soundtrack. It all helps to lend to my belief that the film as a whole is solid, if unspectacular. The Appleseed universe is a very compelling one, and there's a lot of good moral conflict to explore. Sadly, this film does not really do that.

5/10

This animation is, in my mind, a complete slander to the original manga.

Of course, these things are all a matter of perspective and of one's personal interests and priorities in a film, but the original really captured me in a unique way and was one of my first great loves in manga. It has going for it a wonderful mixture of obvious dedication and craft, high detail, geeky technophilia, memorable and dimensional characters, thoughtful reflection, '80s nostalgia, labyrinthine plot and excitement that make for a real sci-fi manga classic. Like Shirow Masamune's art, his story writing is complex, twisting to the point of being deeply ... confusing (a quality I actually like), and has the feel of something created by a highly talented drooling nerd moreso than a polished professional. This is why I like it.

This movie is completely different, and has almost none of the endearing, exciting and memorable qualities that make Appleseed one of my favorite comics. It's almost like an American action film; the eccentric and personal feel of Shirow's artwork is sacrificed for very dark, glossy and hard-feeling cel-shaded 3D that significantly ups the "dark future" feel but completely changes the tone of the piece and glosses over many of the personal eccentricities that make Shirow's manga art so good and so appropriate for the piece. Much of the plot - many of the good parts, in my opinion - is sacrificed so that a long and complex story can be chopped down to meet the limitations of a feature film. It's more than that, though; it's an action film. The manga is certainly fun, exciting and violent, but an "action manga" it is not; the violence means something. It's there for a purpose. In the animation, it's really just violence for violence's sake. Bri and Deunan have none of the charm and almost none of the character development that underpin the manga, and other favorite characters aren't shown at all. The philosophy of the story is more or less completely glossed over, and what comes out is a shallow, meaningless film. The technophilia is very present, but at what cost? Where went the never-ending, wandering plot? The '80s-tastic big hair? Where are the scenes of quiet reflection, the interpersonal relationships, the confusing developments? This is not the Appleseed I know, which would be less of a problem if the new version were able to live up to the memorable qualities of the original. It doesn't.

Adapting a long, twisting and philosophical piece of violent cyberpunk manga to feature film has been done before, and successfully - more than successfully. Remember Akira?
I wish the creators of this movie - the scriptwriter particularly - had given Akira a closer look. Successfully truncating a story like this one into a movie that retains its magic is a very difficult task, and the creators of the 2004 Appleseed movie failed. Miserably.

First and most importantly, regardless of how generic the film itself was, I will forever cherish it for introducing me to Good Luck by Basement Jaxx.

OH GOD GOOD LUCK IS PURE PERFECTION... THAT 30s INTRO WAS ONE OF THE BEST INTROS OF ALL ANIME, yes, up there with Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop, I said it!

Aaannnnd after Good Luck ends it's all downhill from there.

Set in a world where more stable bioroids take the reins of governance from emotionally unstable humans, the philosophical conflict serving as the basis of the plot is a solid one, with very believable motivations for the villainous human military staging a ... coup to retake power - it's as realistic as humans can get, and the moral conflict over reproductive rights of bioroids as sentient individuals is equally pertinent, forcing us to confront our own fear of others who are different, and reinforces the moral lesson that regardless of difference, the rights of individuals should never be suppressed due to violent discrimination.

Why is the plot and philosophical discussions about expanding definitions of humanity so rich? Remind you of another philosophical work exploring synthetic humanity?

Yes Masamune Shirow wrote Appleseed before the more fleshed out Ghost in the Shell, yes, you can go see the anime now.

I'm saddened to say, unlike Mamoru Oshii's GitS adaptation that enhances the source material, here the brilliant plot is DRAGGED DOWN by mediocre animation and generic characters - the characters aren't humans, they're BARBIE DOLLS with fixed joints that walk like robots. Character development is equally laughably AND tiresomely cliched, a literal pain to endure until action scenes save us from being bored to death.

It's an interesting case study when compared with Oshii's GITS to make us appreciate the subtle ingenuity of true cinematic craftsmanship. Without the rich source material propping it up the film is nothing on its own.

Except Basement Jaxx, I'm going to put that 30s on a loop until I'm brainwashed by it.