First off, a clarification is required. This movie was absolutely necessary. The 2003 show (which I adore) had an ending that was... essentially incomplete. This movie does complete it. But at what cost?
When the anime ended its 51 episode run, we are shown that Edward now lives in mid-1900s Munich, during World War 2, and in a world where alchemy is obviously absent. So he becomes a rocket scientist. Well and good, considering the fact that he had a great aptitude for the sciences in the previous world as well. Who is his partner, you ask? Well, it's a lookalike of Alphonse, who has nothing to do with the original one, but is still named 'Alfons'.
This is a major problem I found with this movie – characters we know and love are brought back as bastardised versions of themselves. King Bradley is a Jewish filmmaker, Envy is a dragon, Hughes is a fucking Nazi. I mean, chronologically it makes sense, but was it really the only way to show how these lookalikes were polar opposites of the characters we knew?
Also, this movie tries desperately hard to shoehorn real world issues like Romani discrimination and trafficking into its story, which to be fair was unfortunately a fact of life at the time, but then does absolutely nothing with it. Rose's lookalike has the ability to read minds for... whatever reason.
The ending is actually very off-putting for me; I realise that Edward made a necessary sacrifice to close the gate, and that Alphonse followed him because he was unwilling to let go once again. I find it satisfying enough. However, the entire buildup to that point is just very convenient and rocky. The whole Thule Society plotline was necessary but disconcerting, for reasons I simply forgot (it's been a while since I watched the movie, and it's rather forgettable).
In conclusion, this is a must-watch sheerly because it actually brings the original saga to a close. Whether this close is good or bad is purely for the viewer to decide.
