Nevertheless, the entire movie plays as if someone got excited over the age of eye-catching anime movies that they forgot to actually include actual content alongside the good soundtrack and beautiful art.
If you're just in it to see a slideshow of pretty CG alongside soothing music - I'd say to go watch it. But if you're looking for something more? Please rethink if this is really how you'd like to spend the next 90 minutes of your life.
Story (1/10):
Story? What Story?
I'm pretty sure that if the sounds of horror that resonated at the cinema when the Daoko song started playing and the credits started rolling was any indication of how people felt about the story, it was definitely a good indication that most people were as horrified about the plot as I was.
The most important thing about any series is the plot. Sure, you can add imagery or symbolism in a movie - but if there's no plot or any development in the actual movie? It adds no depth and leaves viewers even more confused.
The entire movie rolled as if someone just wanted to make a movie from the concept of the symbolism of Fireworks and then forgot that they had to include actual plot to make the concept be fulfilling to viewers. From the numerous plotholes to the weak dialogues that added no depth to the storyline (if there was any), it was no wonder that majority of the people at the cinema I was at was disappointed.
As other reviewers have mentioned, the synopsis on the Wikipedia article is literally the plot - or the trailer for the movie.
Art (7/10):
I admit, the art was still gorgeous throughout the entire movie. If you enjoyed the look of the art style in the trailer, you'll really enjoy the different landscapes portrayed throughout the movie.
What threw me off however, was the random CGI at multiple times in the movie that didn't make sense.
Studio SHAFT did well in this aspect.
Sound (7/10):
Great soundtrack that does not disappoint.
Throughout the entire movie, you get music which is very fitting for the scenery or the action that is occurring. However, I'm disappointed that they did not feature the Daoko song as a more prominent aspect of the movie. Used correctly, I believe the trailer song could've added more depth in the movie.
Character (1/10):
When the most exciting dialogue to come out of a character's mouth is in regards to pooping/tetanus - you know the characterisation is terrible.
I don't know how many times I heard the following dialogue;
Character A: "Are fireworks flat or round?"
Character B: "They're flat"
Character C: "Fireworks are round"
I'm pretty sure the above dialogue occurred at least half a dozen times throughout the entire movie, and added nothing to the plot itself other than the symbolism of the changing day.
Look, I love a good time travel/alternate universe/groundhog day plot element - but there's an extent in which you have characters commenting on the symbolising change in environment in this vague way. It gets boring, and we don't even know that much of the characters back stories.
Honestly, when I don't even know the names of the characters other than "oh the funniest character is a secondary character voiced by Miyano Mamoru", it's a let down in characterisation. There was a lot of backstory hinted at the heroine, but as it was never fully explored - both the male and female protagonist ended up being viewed as one-dimensional bland teenagers that we don't really care about.
Enjoyment (2/10):
Honestly? My friends and I felt so disappointed watching this movie. I did not have any expectations and this was a huge let down.
Most scenes I could guess what was going to happen because it was a cliche playing out on screen. Time loops can be either done extremely well or extremely poor and this was the latter.
I could not enjoy this movie over the fact that I was bored, did not understand what was happening nor did not care about the characters because they were not explored/likeable.
Overall:
Please rethink your need to view this movie. What are you looking for in a movie? If it's just pretty visuals and a storyline that can be wrapped up in 5 minutes but dragged on for 90 minutes? Go ahead and watch this.
But if you're looking for anything else - this is definitely not for you.
