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.
