Animation:
1) one of the first things I noticed was how detailed the backrounds are
2) the visuals are consistent, fluid and throughout and I didn't notice any particular flaws besides the fact that CGI breaks immersion for me and I'd rather if they had chosen to go "old school" instead.
Sound:
1) There's 2 or 3 seiyuus that I would replace not because they did a terrible job but because I can't stand their voices. I am totally aware this is just a matter of personal taste.
2) the soundtrack and sound effects were a good fit for this movie
Story and characters:
1) I was invested and having a great time until the plot took a turn. I won't be able to fully explain why the score is this low considering that I was enjoying the movie without SPOILERS, so be careful reading this or don't read this at all.
2) SPOILERS: John has this super-power of grammar that causes people to become mass murderers. This was really hard for me to accept as a "plausible mechanic" but this isn't the only issue I have.
3) SPOILERS: Shepherd is ambushed and captured by John and his buddies. Instead of disposing of him or trying to understand who he is in hopes of getting ransom money or whatever could be useful, John decides to have a intellectual conversation with him. After that, Shepherd is taken to the bar and once again more talk is happens between him and John's buddies. Nobody mentions what is the plan they have for Shepherd now that he's been captured. Eventually he gets rescued by his military comrades. This was infuriating because it was so unrealistic that it broke immersion for me.
4) SPOILERS: after capturing a few government officials from a foreign country, Shepherd also captures John and once again this "intellectual conversation" happens. Shepherd was aware of this grammar-based super-power that John has and this time Shepherd has the upper hand so STOP TALKING TO HIM ALREADY, TAPE HIS MOUTH, DO SOMETHING CLEVER FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!!!! But there's more: the helicopter they were using to escape and transport the prisoners gets attacked and crashes. Our heroes free fall from the sky landing in a forest WITHOUT ANY PARACHUTES and they are still alive, no broken bones, all flowers and sunshine. I know they have this system that numbs their pain but that doesn't make them immortal, obviously.
5) SPOILERS: the movie fast forwards suddenly to another country where we can see Lucia in this well-guarded mansion. Our hero Shepherd finds himself in a suite with a notebook filled with sentences. John points a gun behind him and once more they have another "intellectual conversation" about John's real motives for being such a piece of toxic human waste. What we learn is that as long as 3rd world countries are fighting themselves, there's no place for terrorism and so the USA world will always be at peace. Lucia then appears with a gun pointing at John and then there's this stupid remark that she's sinful for sleeping with a married man and that's the way she found to atone for it. It's almost like John didn't cheat on his wife. But the stupidity doesn't end here. Williams shoots Lucia dead, Shepherd goes ballistic (pun not intended) and the besties decide to argue about what's the right thing to do. Williams decides first to say that he agrees with the idea of causing wars on other countries in order to make his country safe and then he backtracks and states that he's just following orders that Shepherd didn't know about. Shepherd gets John to jump off the balcony and hide until an extraction team picks them up... except that another "intellectual conversation" happens. See, Shepherd's goal is to arrest John so that he can be judged for his crimes and justice is served but he still ends up killing John after the talk. This is the part where it's revealed that John's actions have actually been supported by the USA and that's why they wanted John dead if he can't escape Shepherd's chase. So... why the heck did the USA sent secret agents to chase after John in the first place?????????????????????? It completely destroyed the reason why everything happens in this movie. It obliterated the reason why this story exists.
All things considered in relation to the story, a 5/10 might actually seem more than it deserves but I can't forget the fact that it's still 2 hours of entertainment. The story is infuriating but the action is entertaining and that's why it was lucky to get a 5/10 from me.
