Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Sharon Kerr-Bullian I picked this up on a lark because the cover was three hot Japanese babes, and the flick was directed by the same guy behind Ghost in the Shell. For a bargain bin find, it was well worth it.I'll say straight away, if you're not into hard sci fi (especially written hard sci fi), you're probably going to find it dragging and dull, and you're going to hate the intro.If you don't really like Japanese movies/anime/manga, you might struggle to like this film. If this is your first Japanese movie, put it down, and go pick up Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children instead, it has a more universal appeal, and fewer long scenes that don't advance the plot.The basic plot: The world had some big problems, there was a big economic collapse, wars, stuff like that. Afterward, the world fell into a kind of dark ages where everything (technology especially) stagnated. People were no longer satisfied with their lives in the false utopia that followed all the problems. A lot of them found an outlet for their most basic human emotional needs in a video game named Avalon. This movie follows a group of players in a second imagining of Avalon, named Avalon-F, which is basically a MMO/Hunting game on steroids. The characters all start off trying to solo a big boss, which the game informs them is not really possible. However, the gamers are stubborn and want the glory/advancement for themselves, and it takes them a while to come around to working together. The movie is about them finally coming to the decision to work together, and the struggles, internal and external they go through in the process.There are lots of long, pretty shots where you don't see anything that advances the story in a meaningful way, just gives you things to think about. I enjoyed it, I like meandering around in video games and exploring my surroundings, so for a movie about a video game to do that was fun for me. That said, if you're a passive viewer who doesn't like sitting around waiting for action to happen, this movie is not for you.I loved the costume design. Lucifer in particular was great. She appears to have feathers for hair, which will make sense if you keep watching. I love the personal moments that show this character having fun, she's a pretty character, and looks like she really enjoys herself in this virtual world. She finds unexpected ways to have fun, considering the premise of the video game she's playing.My biggest complaint about this movie comes from the choice of having the actors wear masks, but not recording their voices in a recording studio later. It makes their speech very hard to follow because it's muffled all the time. Movie making 101 should have told the director not to make that mistake.Overall, it's a good movie, and it hits all the right points for me. If you can pick it up cheap and like sci fi and Japanese movies, go for it.

ChristerDoo By spoilers, I mean more by way of telling what this movie is not as opposed to what happens in it. I would really not call this a movie per se but more of an experiment in existential nihilism. The entire proceedings are not really explained - you are just thrust into this VR world and see a few player avatars killing giant sand worms a la Dune (or Vexille's Jags). As said, if you watched this expecting a movie which has a start/ middle/ and end and a plot which makes sense, you will be disappointed. If you are someone who likes experimental cinema and is willing to go for the ride, however bizarre and truncated it may be, you will be less disappointed. If you are the former and appreciate anime and video games, and Japanese cinema and culture in general then you will probably find it an interesting watch, even if it is ultimately without true context or meaning in a traditional sense. Slight shades of Final Fantasy and ICO can be seen, as well as perhaps a very roundabout homage to TRON and a more obvious reference to Mortal Kombat or its ilk. So while not really a movie in the traditional sense, it is nonetheless interesting enough to watch.

Paul Magne Haakonsen Oh my god! This was such a waste of time.First of all, it took forever to get through the intro with lousy still photos and a really, really annoying narrator speaking broken English (I believe it is called Japanese EngRish).Then when the movie finally did start it had potential, but it all fell crashing to the floor so hard. The scenery in the movie was fantastic, and it had a kind of Fallout (games) feeling to it, being an all barren and broken wasteland. However, the movie spent way too much time in showing pointless and endless shots of the scenery. It was great at first, but it quickly became boring and annoying to look at.Moving on to the characters. Well, to put it mildly, they were shallow drones without any personality. Their costumes were awesome, however. And a lot of detail had been put into these costumes. And that was one of the better parts of the movie actually. But the characters in the movie were two-dimensional and had no appeal - except for their costumes. And their lovely, funny Japanese EngRish was just priceless. Why not keep the movie all in Japanese? It would have worked so much better for the movie as a whole.The CGI effects were actually cool and believable, and that was also one of the movie's stronger sides; one of the few there were.One of the more annoying things in the movie was the sound effects during the brawling scene between Gray and Jäger. That whole comedy approach failed on an epic scale.In overall, this movie was a major disappointment. It was an empty shell that presented nothing but a feast for the eyes and ears. Trust me, you could send your brain on vacation when you watch this movie, because there is no thinking to be done at all! I was left with one reaction when the movie ended, and I quote "WTF! That was it? You've got to be kidding me!" - and that was my exact thoughts. Now, don't let yourself get lured in (and fooled) by the awesome movie cover - you will be sorely disappointed. There are a lot of really cool and good movies coming out of Japan, and of course, there are also movies in the opposite end - this being one of them! If you like Japanese movies, you can find many others that are a lot more enjoyable.

chicagorob1 The imagery is beautiful, and the special effects and the weaponry/armor were outstanding. But nothing happens! There's little dialog, which is extremely muffled by masks, along with being really poor English.The problem is the director spends 90% of the time with extremely long shots of the shooters walking around or dancing. There are five full minutes spent watching someone fry eggs and eat them. Several minutes alone are spent following a snail around.If they cut out all of the too, too long atmospheric shots this "movie" would have been a 20 minute FX test reel.I have to say, though, the fight between Jager and Gray is pretty funny, but for some weird reason, all too short.