027 4 It seems that people either love or hate this revived anime franchise . I for one , find myself drawn into its post-apocalyptic world of technological marvels and complex political struggles . The emotional side of this film is much more developed than in the previous installment . The characters ' personalities and flaws are explored on a deeper and more satisfying level . But not to worry fellow action buffs , there are still plenty of genre-defining fight sequences that take full advantage of the innovative computer assisted graphics . The influence of the inclusion of legendary director John Woo on the project makes itself apparent in scenes of gun-slinging glory . Anime fans , show this one to your non-believer friends for a sure convert . The attention to detail and sophisticated graphic rendering should help displace that cartoons-are-for-kids mentality . All-in-all , Ex Machina is a welcome amendment to the series .
044 4 This is an excellent movie . The graphics is incredible and so realistic ! I would recommend this movie to anyone
049 4 I'm very happy I purchased Appleseed Ex Machina . I really enjoyed this movie . I have been a fan of the Appleseed franchise for many years . The John Woo touches were deliciously over the top . Every highly stylized scene had me saying , Nice !
051 4 what can i say on blue ray this is a stunning work with high quality animation and a splendid story that continues the Appleseed franchise very well only problem is with some of the voice actors but that's standard for anime in general , if curious this was viewed on a PS3 connected via HDMI cables to a HDTV . So i did enjoy it to the fullest .
066 4 State of the art ! Japanese animation at its full potential ! Great Computer Art Work , with details that value a level up an already excelent screenplay . Two tumbs up !
094 4 This was a fun movie and one that is just nice to have for fun .
133 4 while the cg style of animation was very lush and stimulating , the plot unfortunately was not . if you like grand action sequences and don't mind a storyline and ending you can see coming a mile away , then you shouldn't be disappointed . On a side note : John Woo needs to give the doves a rest . Yeah we know your trademark John but you were just a producer on this one so quit stroking your own ego and go spend some of your big pile of money .
033 4 Though written like the plot of a big budget video game , that is to say it has an obviously linear increase in the scale of the conflict from a skirmish to an end boss , it does have some attempt at characterization that make it worth watching , and although you see the limitations of 3d animation in clunky robotic movements in the characters , the set design and action scenes really shine
100 4 Well , this movie is great but still the same animation and not a complex history . The features were GREAT and also the audio and subs options were extemely complete . . . this is a must .
138 4 I am a devoted fan of REAL animation . CG just doesn't do it for me . . . . but I must say of all the CG animation features I have watched , I found this one the most enjoyable . Obviously a lot of work went into this production , even if it wasn't created through sweat and blood over the drawing table . It's like watching a very long cut scene from a video game .
076 4 For an action release , this is very good . The action is intense and is driven by a plausible story , characters and animation . The plot holes and sometimes less than stellar writing will take audiences out of the element sometimes but overall there isn't a lot here to complain about . Despite how much I didn't care for the earlier release from this series , this release is surprisingly entertaining to watch . While it won't be something that I personally suggest to anyone who will listen , fans that are looking for a strong action release to spend an evening with would be well advised to keep their eyes open for this one .
008 4 usually when u watch a movie , u just kinda sit there and absorb it all in without moving around at all . i don't know about anyone else , but i could hardly sit still watching this . there is SO much to see and experience , i doubt anyone could take it all in one time through . the world is just absolutely stunning , and that is putting it lightly . the story is right along the lines of previous appleseed installments , it makes ya think , makes ya excited , makes ya sad , takes you on an emotional rollercoaster . the voice-actors did a superb job . not a dull moment in this one . highly highly recommend it !
022 4 I felt that this was an anime that I enjoyed . I would call myself an average anime fan that really felt that this movie pulled its weight . My wife who also enjoyed it is not that much of a anime fan at all ! This was a good action anime that I felt served its purpose . I would recommend it to anyone who is into action and not so much into plot .
074 4 This movie was amazing . It's especially great when you see it in HD . Although the format is pretty much done , there's no sense in getting rid of it being how you already spent the money on it . This movie has an awesome story line and is really easy to follow . The ending is fantastic too . I highly recommend this one to anyone .
124 4 Whilst , the animation is top notch , the story line felt a lot like I was watching a young adult romance novel converted to an anime . There was a lot of room to improve character development , especially the conflict between the main character's new partner and old . I would have liked to see less love story , more character development , and more combat .
079 4 The second installment of the Appleseed movies is another excellent effort in both art work and story development . This should be in the library of every anime fan .
110 4 This movie was good but its characters looked a bit rubbery they should stick with orginal artwork and it arrived a week early
091 4 A very close competition to its former movie , this one has pluses and minuses . I liked the story line and the animation is beyond its predecessor by far . But the only minor problems I saw was the hair movement which reminded me of Final Fantasy movie from a few years back , and that the Osprey like C - 130 was removed for the newer ships - - which are in the comic - - but I liked the old Osprey-C130 . A minor point . This version is more CGI looking than Anime looking , but everything moves great . There is even jaw movement when they talk , and the dubbing to English is so perfect you won't even realize it was filmed in Japanese until you watch the making videos . Very Enjoyable .
018 4 The story was pretty interesting , and the action was phenomenal . However , I thought they could have done better with the character animation . Final Fantasy had better animation . Still , the movie is is still worth watching .
020 4 I ordered this for my husband . He was really interested in it . Reluctently I sat down and watched it with him and I really enjoyed as well .
037 4 The action is better , and the story is more complex . I can't wait for the next installment !
088 4 This movie , or I should say animated film is awesome but I only gave it 4 stars cause it has quite a few slow spots . What can I say I like my movies flowing constantly .
101 4 The sequel to 2004 ' s Appleseed is worthy of its predecessor and absolutely stunning . Dissecting out its components , you have great anime direction , a producer that knows how to make action enticing , intricate conceptual and graphic design , storylines that hold their own lot more than many hollywood live action flicks , a rich original soundtrack and edgy techno sounds lining the action scenes and a love story that binds it all together . You can't lose with Appleseed . There is enough romance , angst , drama , adventure , fight choreography , views and futuristic technology for everyone to find something , or all to like . From the mind of master Masamune Shirow via Shinji Aramaki and John Woo to our screens .
003 4 What a cool flick , much better than Appleseed 2004 . Great actions sequences it has John Woo written all over it . It even has some scenes from the Matrix trilogy . See it in HD my friends , beautiful vivid picture .
069 4 Wonderful ! the animation and graphics are absolutely brilliant , and the characters and plot are magnificent !
119 4 Animation and story line was excellent . We need to see more animation like this come out . Looked fantastic on my PS3 . Blu-ray is the way to go .
139 4 When i first heard about this release i was very happy to find out that it was going to be released in blu-ray , and given the first Appleseed Movie ( conventional animation ) i expected this one to have the same intense gripping action scenes and storyline . How dissapointed i was when i watch the whole movie , it literally bored me to death with the weak plot and lackluster action sequences , if it weren ` t for the beautiful visuals and stunning CGI effects of this movie ( first by anime standards on blu-ray ) i would have given this movie a 1 star . There was not enough action and drama to keep you excited , the story was shallow and simple and the voice acting was mediocre , even the climax of the movie was pretty lame . Overall this movie is a must have for hardcore fans only , if not you be better off renting it from Blockbuster or Netflix ( if they have it ) or just buying the dvd version which is alot cheaper than the blu-ray edition . I wish they should just have released FFVII : Advent Children on blu-ray instead of this , i would have been alot happier .
134 4 The producers of EX MACHINA have robbed Appleseed of its uniqueness and given us something that resembles a video game cut-scene . The shiny cell shading that made the previous film so visually appealing is completely gone . Everything looks like it's made of rubbery plastic and the people look and move like dolls . Deunan's cute anime look has been removed . Her eyes are much smaller and her lips are too thin . The corners of her mouth are turned down much of the time , giving her an odd pouty look . Briareos now has green eyes instead of red . The streets are no longer paved with reflective material and the vehicles , for the most part , move on tires rather than hovering . The city of Olympus has only one mirrored dome rather than two . Furthermore , the music is nothing special . There are no Boom Boom Satellites or Paul Oakenfold tunes to accentuate the action . The English voices are all different and the dialogue is peppered with profanity . Yet , much of the commentary track is devoted to telling viewers how rushed the 2004 version was and how much better this version is . And the features on the bonus disc are devoted to telling us how great anime is , despite the fact that this sequel has been stripped of all its anime-ness . Sorry guys , EX MACHINA is okay , but the first movie was not broke and therefore should not have been fixed . Simply put , if you loved Appleseed 2004 , you will most likely be disappointed with this effort .
004 4 Appleseed Ex Machina is a sequel to 2004 ' s Appleseed ; produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki , the duo comes with an entertaining futuristic thriller adapted from the manga by Shirow Masamune ( Ghost in the Shell ) . The revolutionary CGI animation is astonishing , combined with awesome action sequences reminiscent of John Woo movies , Appleseed Ex Machina looks very promising . Thankfully , you do not need to see the 2004 film to appreciate and comprehend this new film's premise . The plot itself lacks depth , it is so predictable that everything is laid out for the viewer ; this animated feature is more about CGI and action than anything else . It definitely feels to be geared to international audiences than to Shirow's native land .
The year is 2133 , civilization is recovering from the global war that almost devastated the world . Utopian cities are on the rise , technological advancements are dominating the world and humans have a fresh new attitude to match their new surroundings . Cyborgs are very common , machine parts are used to replace severed limbs and body parts . Bioroids are being cloned from humans to use as soldiers that lack human emotion and violent tendencies that often get humanity in trouble . Quoted as incapable of hate and anger , will only fight and kill when absolutely necessary . . . or are they ? The passive bioroids are intended to keep order so that the world can maintain the peace without the hostile influences of hatred and rage .
Special forces specialist Deunan and Briareos are partners from the days that Briareos was human . Briareos is a special case , since he is the only human being who managed to survive being 100% cyborg without going insane . When Briareos was injured ( or damaged ) , he becomes replaced by Tereus , a bioroid cloned from his human DNA .
When an unknown enemy plans a stealth attack by reducing common folk into technological zombies who turn the city into a war zone , the trio must settle their differences to quell this threat .
Appleseed isn't as bad as I first thought it would be . Renowned action scribe John Woo definitely showed his hand with most ( not all ) of the action sequences . The action is visually stylish and definitely looks cool . Woo's usual gimmicks are omnipresent in the proceedings ; bike stunts , stylish bullet ballet and helter skelter action sequences are what's in store for the viewer . Ex machina also has the same mecha action in its previous installment . The film definitely feels like it is geared towards an specific audience and therefore lost some of the atmosphere and depth that contemporary sci-fi anime has been known for . Ex Machina is about the action , it is a straightforward film with one-dimensional antagonists with motivations completely predictable and something that has been done through the years .
The emotional aspect of Deunan and Briareos ' relationship is quite interesting and serves as the film's main premise . Despite the fact that Deunan has kept her humanity and Briareos has lost 85% of his body , their commitment and love for each other remains strong . However , their relationship is thrown into a loop when Tereus gets into the mix , since he is a clone from Briareos human DNA . Yes , there is a bit of a sappy love triangle here that has the same elements that we've all seen before .
The animation is quite good . The film sidesteps the usual anime style and effectively combines modern and contemporary anime . The backdrops are astounding and definitely catches the architecture of the future . The characters look almost photorealistic without the usual over expressive , super fair complexioned characters . Deunan is rendered to look like a lethal but sexy woman , with the designer , Prada taking a hand in one of her outfits . The graphics are definitely an improvement over the 2004 film , but still falls short to the quality of Final Fantasy Advent Children and Biohazard : Degeneration .
Appleseed Ex Machina is overall a success I suppose . Fans of the 2004 film will definitely appreciate this sequel and newer fans will be impressed . I'm not saying that this film should be your first experience with anime , there are definitely more worthy titles than this film . This film is more about entertainment and not the usual philosophical and existential fare that contemporary Japanese Anime has been famous for . It fell into the usual plot holes and predictability that is so reminiscent of animated films geared for a younger audience . It is a popcorn movie more than anything else . APPLESEED Ex MACHINA is good but NOT essential .
Recommended timidly , rent it first . [ 3 ½ - Stars ]
I considered the fact that the entertainment value is extremely high for this film , and rated it slightly lower than Vexille . Vexille
Vexille - Movie
had more of an intricate plot while Ex Machina is slightly better in animation .
032 4 definitely worth having in the collection . i'm not even an anime or big comic movie fan , but this was unique . i rewound so many scenes because they looked so cool . i rented this from netflix on SD format , but can't wait to get the HD-DVD format !
055 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
If you miss EX MACHINA you will miss half of your life .
just buy it .
056 4 If you miss EX MACHINA you will miss half of your life .
just buy it .
146 4 This is the best unintentional comedy of the year ! I spent so much time rolling my eyes that it hurt . The movie has poor writing and bad dialog , not to mention horridly awful attempts at character development . Do not make a drinking game out of this someone will die of alcohol poisoning in less than 20 minutes . I started chuckling when I saw the talking killer but I had a hard time breathing when the Borg Cube showed up along with matrix drones . Not to mention the go on without me and we're not leaving you behind speeches as well as the collapsing fortress . This movie is so bad it is a laugh riot ! The movie is pretty though . If the characters had SOME charisma or the action scenes had some emotional anchor it might have elevated this movie to being a bad flick . It does have one thing over the bad action movies of the 80 ' s . . . It is quite pretty to look at . I am glad I bought this it was the funniest thing I have seen all year ! I can't wait to show it to my friends . This thing takes bad writing to a whole new level .
067 4 THe effects were Great ! Top Notch all the way . THe story was a little difficult to follow but if you pay attention it is still a great picture ! If you like lots of gunfire this is your movie ! Check it out !
109 4 If you have a Blu-ray Player then this movie is what you want . I thought the Graphics were jaw-dropping ! I hope there will be other movies that use the same kind of graphics and style shown in this movie .
125 4 I was a little disappointed in the second appleseed movie . The action was there , it just all felt re-hashed . The finale was a total matrix rip off . The action scenes were OK , it just wasn't as cutting edge as the first . I was also surprised to see the Blue-ray only had a dolby digital sound track . No new generation codec . If you like anime , you'll probably enjoy it , if you don't , I wouldn't suggest this as your first view . I would have been happy to have rented this one , not purchased .
150 4 I hate this DVD . Ok why do I hate it ?
The story is all over the place , it seems like several people worked on the story and threw a final version together . Also the story does not follow any of Mr . Shirow's original books , which is a shame since his original story is such an Excellent original mix of CyberPunk and Greek mythology . I wonder if the movie writers read the original stories at all !
The Animation quality is not up to the standard of the first movie . The characters are not rendered is the same beautiful style of the first DVD . It is close , but it is different .
One Star . There are alot of cool Mech models in this the 2nd Appleseed DVD movie . And the city models and sets are also quite awesome .
If you are expecting a SHIROW Appleseed movie , forget it , it's not here .
Very disappointed !
011 4 I thought I'd just grab a nice video game looking movie . While the prices are accessible ( bye bye ! HDDVD ) not much of a big fan over anime , but must say that I am pleased with this movie .
111 4 I got this today and was surprised to find that there were no inserts in the DVD case . Not even a page with the track listing . There were clips in the case to hold inserts ? The previous Applseed movie release , in the same deluxe two-disc format , had inserts ( three in fact : a track listing that opened into a small poster ; an add for the OST ( Original Soundtrack ) ; a feedback card from the distributor ( Geneon ) . Did anyone actually get any inserts with this new realease ? Thanks .
144 4 This film looks great , but it's story is about as predictable and hackneyed as most 80 ' s-era action movies . It's predictable , bland , and boring . None of the complexity of Shirow's manga is present in this cash-grab despite a multitude of opportunities to expand the philosophical edge of the story . Unfortunately , this is one to skip entirely .
147 4 this movie sucks bad enough to be laughable . some one else reviewed it and said it it's like watching a video game cut scene . and there right.it's like . . . actualy it's like a crappy john woo movie ( thats not to say the all suck i actually like hardboiled . )
153 4 So I'm looking at my Open and Recently Shipped Orders and I wonder why the price on this item is still so high . So I come here and see the new pic for it . Looks like another Steelbook , just like the one from the first movie's 2 - disc edition . Which is good because it'll fit next to the original quite nicely .
062 4 After you watch this awsom movie you'll run out and try to find Appleseed . both are just remarkable .
071 4 I love this kind of animation . CGA has a lot to evolve and i'll be waiting for
097 4 Cool movie with great CGI . . . and its a combo so you could watch it on HD or stardard
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
I've never been a huge fan of John Woo . I think Hard Boiled ( 1992 ) is one of the greatest action films ever made , and I liked The Killer ( 1989 ) , A Better Tomorrow ( 1986 ) , and Bullet In the Head ( 1990 ) , but we need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that this guy sold his soul to Hollywood in the mid - 1990s and hasn't made a great film since 1992 .
He has , however , completely destroyed a sequel to one of the best American movies of recent memory ( Mission Impossible ) by over-Hollywoodizing a uniquely non-Hollywood film made by Hollywood . That's quite an ironic feat that he should be particularly ashamed of . Now we have Appleseed : Ex Machina ( 2007 ) to add to the list of Woo-ish debacles over the past 16 years .
This sequel to the exceptional anime drops the ball in a number of respects , yet still proves to be a marginally entertaining movie . The most obvious fault is that numerous events are near copies of science fiction movies from the West , thus making this endeavor much too conventional for a Japanese anime . In addition , the storyline wasn't as well-conceived as the original . Luckily , this movie has just enough positives to earn a watch . The protagonists are very likable characters , the plot is engaging , and the visuals are very good . The action scenes don't reach the levels of exoticism or quality of the original , but they are still moderately entertaining . In the end this is a very flawed picture that will only satisfy anime action junkies that can look around some mediocre elements .
Now , there were some very specific Woo-ish aspects that really annoyed me . First and foremost are the doves . Yes , there are heaping amounts of flying doves in this Japanese anime film ! Why the hell is John Woo so obsessed with doves ? Yeah , they provide some ironic symbolism during action scenes , but using them to the degree that he does I have no doubts that he touches himself to pictures of doves when he's alone at night . And the fact that he uses these little birdies in almost every one of his movies proves to be almost as annoying as Rob Zombie's habitual use of white trash folk in his movies . Yes , it's that annoying .
But wait . Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions regarding just how much influence Woo had in this watchable ( yet severely disappointing ) sequel . So I fired up the Special Features option on the DVD menu and watched the 16 - minute Making Of featurette that focuses specifically on John Woo's influence as a producer . It provided some much needed information regarding just how far this has-been shell of a director has fallen . Let me run down some of the statements made by the Japanese director and producers of this film :
This is the first time a big time Hollywood director has tried to tackle Japanese Anime .
So Woo isn't even recognized as a director of Chinese cinema anymore . How quaint . No one in this Making Of feature even mentioned his Chinese filmography .
Japanese producers wanted to expand into the Western market and saw that working with John Woo would be a good match .
Nice . If your name is dropped by someone as the foremost expert in Hollywoodization , would you really take that as a compliment ? Man , this guy has really hit rock bottom .
John brought his years of experience in Hollywood to it .
Well , he certainly brought all of the negatives of Hollywood cinema to this production . That was obvious from watching the movie . How many times do you see a Japanese Anime film copy scenes from I Robot and The Matrix Revolutions ? Yes , it's really , really pathetic .
The most enlightening statement was with regards to the preliminary Japanese storyboards .
John took a look at it and came up with some really great notes .
What was particularly hilarious about this statement is that on-screen you see John Woo's head shaking in a disapproving , almost disgusted manner while watching the initial storyboards . It's almost like he's saying to himself , This is way too Japanese for an American audience . We need more slow-mo shots and conventional elements to reach a wider audience and make more money . Nice job Johnny boy .
Director Shinji Aramaki apparently conceived Ex Machina to be nothing more than a tribute to Woo's work . He says :
We devised the Cathedral scene before John showed up to pay homage to his work .
It's really too bad that Aramaki was so accommodating to implementing all of Woo's ideas into the film . It effectively crippled a movie that should have been as good as the original .
I hate to say it , but John Woo is a no-talent has-been who has only harmed the international film industry since making Hard Boiled in 1992 . I have no problems with him making tripe in America . Heck , that's what American cinema is for . But don't you DARE to take your new-found money-grubbing mediocrity to Japanese anime - one of the most unconventional genres of cinema in the world today .
Someone needs to stop this guy before he attempts to wreck another Asian movie .
005 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
One of the more underdeveloped storylines from Appleseed was the relationship between Deunan Knute and her cyborg love , Briareos .
Well , Appleseed Ex Machina more than makes up for that . In fact , this CGI action flick boasts upgrades in every area - - a tighter plot , more complex conspiracies , and more lifelike animation . It's a stunning experience with loads of fiery , spinning action scenes , albeit with a slightly improbable villain .
Olympus has a new threat - - brainwashed cyborgs that are kidnapping officials , and disrupting planetary peace . During a rescue mission , Briareos is injured and hospitalized for awhile - - and Deunan introduced to her new partner Tereus - - a warrior bioroid cloned from Briareos ' DNA . She's furious , Briareos is depressed , and all three are confused by Tereus ' similarities to Briareos .
But when President Athena calls an international conference , E-SWAT only narrowly stops an attack force - - of cyborgs and ordinary humans who have somehow been possessed by a mechanical goo . Their message : I am Halcon . . . all will be one . And worst of all , Briareos is somehow being affected by the baddies , so he decides to do some investigating on his own . Now Deunan , Briareos and Tereus must join forces despite their tension , and stop a malevolent conspiracy that threatens the entire world . . . .
While the first Appleseed movie had a rather simple plot , Appleseed Ex Machina tends toward complexity . Everything is bigger - - the conspiracies , the mad scientist stuff , the potential warfare , and even the love story . And despite its fuller plot , the sequel actually manages to cram in some quiet moments between robot battles and personal scuffles .
Director Shinji Aramaki does a pretty good job with a pretty good plot - - he unrolls it gradually , filling it with tension and horror at all the right moments . It kicks off strongly with an explosive , fire-and-darkness battle in an abandoned cathedral , and doesn't slow much down . Lots of explosive battles and zombiesque attacks , but not so many that it overwhelms the storyline .
Along the way , Aramaki drops in some very human scenes , such as a funeral and Hitomi's glammy birthday party . In fact , there are even some funny , cute moments such as Briareos and Deunan tussling over some monitoring wires in the hospital . These moments keep them acting like people .
What's the problem ? Well , while Aramaki succeeds in surprising us with the main villain , it's revealed rather late in the movie , and there's never much of a motive .
But the CG animation is stunning . There's everything from mid-air shootouts to serpentine silver tentacles . Even the settlings are striking , with their Greco-futuristic marble , columns and sci-fi gadgets . And there's a breathtaking level of detail - - reflections , light , raindrops on Briareos ' metal face , and tiny facial chances . Some character still have doll face , but not as much .
But this movie gets its heart from the love triangle , which is thankfully handled in a mature manner . Deunan and Briareos ' loving , intense relationship gets plenty of cute moments , despite the confusion that Tereus causes them . And Tereus is a well-drawn rival , with a lot of Briareos ' rough kindness , but also the insecurities of being a copy .
And Aramaki particularly concentrates on Briareos ' fears that Deunan will prefer a flesh-and-blood lover , and that he is gradually losing his sanity . There's an undercurrent of raw pain when he screams at Tereus , why do you have everything I've lost ?
Appleseed Ex Machina is a worthy sequel that actually tops the preceding film - - a stunning CGI shell around a solid sci-fi / love story . Definitely worth checking out .
013 4 Ok , first of all , if you're not an anime-fan , you'd feel a bit lost on what's the big deal with this .
If you don't know Shirow Masamune , then you'd definitely feel lost .
If you know John Woo and had followed his work . . . then this will catch your attention . thumbsup.gif
Imagine , Mission Impossible 2 , Face Off , Hard Boiled , A Better Tomorrow 1,2,3 , The Killer , Once a Thief and Hard Target in animation .
If you like The Matrix cyberpunk story , this is for you , except its not dark to hide its flaws . This movie actually celebrates details . And details are abound in here . Even if its a close up in the eyes , the mouth , the lips , the jawlines .
If your a gamer that starves into details ; who spends $500 on a videocard so you can see the textures of those leaves in Crysis , then this movie is definitely for you . This movie does not cut any corners in textures and details . If a character is wearing a leather jacket , you'll see leather . The CGs in this movie is tremendous . I've seen it twice in a 24hr-span I'm still seeing things I've never noticed in the beginning . The motion capture technology is simply amazing .
Ok , but does it have a story ?
Does Jason and the Argonauts have an interesting story ?
Is it really ground breaking ? When Gene Roddenberry introduce the communicator , he brought in the cellphone .
Shirow Masamune introduced a theory in sci-fi , brings a story into this , but continues by illustrates it also .
It tackles a love story , technology available now and the future , politics , ethics , ideology , and the dilemma that each brings into the story . If you look closely at the armor protections , paddings and vest , you'll see them in current Blackhawk vest , and those riot gears worn by cops worldwide . Even the the FN PN - 90 resembles one of the Seburo PDW
With all talks about eye-candy , then maybe perhaps this is a guy movie . The hero in this movie is a woman .
The people in power are women . The women here are powerful in the sense of strength , character , and conviction .
This Matrix with Trinity as the center of the movie .
Is this a date movie ? Was Open Water a date movie ? I thought so , since it deals with emotions on both the joy that a relationship brings and the love of separation , of acceptance . Bioroids / synthetic body parts / cyborgs may seem cold , but the emotions in each character are delivered . Despite one of the major character , Briareos Hecatonchires faceless facade , his body language are enough to say or deliver his lines .
There are topics that discusses the nature of being a human vs a clone . Would you continue to have feeling towards someone who is a clone ? Would you let someone go to save your own ?
I bet the ladies will notice the style and textures differently from guys .
The guys in these forum will love the shooting gallery scene
Shirow Masamune's mind something to be admired and ponder . Here he writes a story about the future , yet he discuss are slavery towards technology like the Bluetooth earpiece . I know ppl who seems to sleep , shower , and have sex with a Bluetooth earpiece . Politically , he shares the idea a utopia where everything flows like clockwork and smoothly , yet vulnerable to terrorism , as we are now . He brings the technology in medicine that allows us to continue life and existence , yet prone to the devices that makes the delicate-geniuses-in lab coats criminally insane .
If there is a movie that deserves to be in HI-DEF , this is that movie .
025 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD ) ( HD DVD )
If you saw the original Apleseed , you will definitely enjoy its sequel , Ex Machina . The characters are back in unbelievable visual and audio quality . Excellent plot as well ; highly enjoyable to any anime / sci-fi fan !
Now that HD-DVD is going the way of the dodo , you can get a great deal on this movie if you already own a player .
026 4 If you saw the original Apleseed , you will definitely enjoy its sequel , Ex Machina . The characters are back in unbelievable visual and audio quality . Excellent plot as well ; highly enjoyable to any anime / sci-fi fan !
Now that HD-DVD is going the way of the dodo , you can get a great deal on this movie if you already own a player .
040 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
I love Appleseed and the Creator the talented and very cool Masamune shirow
sadly when i ordered this dvd set i never received it the seller who used Amazon.com
screwed me over Gohastings screwed me over .
But i was able to see it with Netflix !
Damn good story .
damn good CG .
A + all the way !
043 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Single-Disc Edition ) ( DVD )
This is an excellent movie . The graphics is incredible and so realistic ! I would recommend this movie to anyone
047 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Single-Disc Edition ) ( DVD )
A new take on the Appleseed story . This anime does NOT follow on from any of the other Appleseed stories and is instead a new take on it .
The CG animation is impressive , the story fun and enjoyable , the fight scenes brilliant . This is a good addition for your collection if you enjoy futureistic , sci-fi animes . I actually enjoyed the story more than in the original Appleseed .
060 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
it simple one of the most extreme anime that i ever see , it has action , romance , but the grapichs are GREAT , the trama is just the right one for the type of movie , you have see it .
063 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
I've enjoyed anime in the style of Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed . Appleseed Ex Machina is a worthy sequel to Appleseed . While the plot is not as intricate as one of the GITS movies , it's still engaging enoough to be enjoyable and a fun escape from reality . I recommend this movie .
070 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Single-Disc Edition ) ( DVD )
I love this kind of animation . CGA has a lot to evolve and i'll be waiting for
078 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Single-Disc Edition ) ( DVD )
The second installment of the Appleseed movies is another excellent effort in both art work and story development . This should be in the library of every anime fan .
080 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
Appleseed Ex-Machina is certainly a step up from the first Appleseed . The visual effects are superb and the action sequences are terrific . However , the story line is a little weak and the love triangle was not resolved satisfactorily . All in all , Ex Machina is as solid as any live action movie .
086 4 The CGI is good , mind you ( not as good as Beowulf ) , but I do miss the look of the hand drawn animation that I grew up with and then got me hooked during my college days .
Although , given the trend of todays current animation ( dead leaves style ) maybe I should be glad that they decided to go CGI and not something like that .
Anyone who likes action anime and a story and world in the vane of Ghost in the Shell will like this . Maybe a rental before purchase , but given the inexpensive nature of the HD-DVD / DVD combo disc , 2 rentals will get you this !
090 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
A very close competition to its former movie , this one has pluses and minuses . I liked the story line and the animation is beyond its predecessor by far . But the only minor problems I saw was the hair movement which reminded me of Final Fantasy movie from a few years back , and that the Osprey like C - 130 was removed for the newer ships - - which are in the comic - - but I liked the old Osprey-C130 . A minor point . This version is more CGI looking than Anime looking , but everything moves great . There is even jaw movement when they talk , and the dubbing to English is so perfect you won't even realize it was filmed in Japanese until you watch the making videos . Very Enjoyable .
099 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
Well , this movie is great but still the same animation and not a complex history . The features were GREAT and also the audio and subs options were extemely complete . . . this is a must .
104 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
My only beef with this was the hand of god scene in the end that reminded me too much of Matrix Revolutions .
That being said this is still a FANTASTIC adventure !
The story telling is done superbly .
The relationship between Briareos and Deunan is fleshed out very nicely .
The inner conflict that Briareos has between his humanity and cyborg chassis is played out very well as an external conflict with his genetic equal .
There is a lot of good to say about this film .
1 ) High action ( you would expect from a John Woo film ) .
2 ) Close attention to details that make the world believable .
3 ) Story telling that compels you to watch .
4 ) High production quality .
5 ) And , a solid love story that displays integrity and loyalty for one partner . ( Who could blame Deunan if she fell for Briareos's bioroid ? But in the end she stayed true to what is left of the man she loves . . . that is a fine display of how relationships should be . )
The animation and overall production quality is even higher than the first of these done in 2004 . I have to admit , I didn't realize the production quality could get better until I saw this one .
The characters have lost a bit of their traditional anime look but it really is an improvement .
I can't wait for the next installment of the Appleseed Saga .
114 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
I've never been a huge fan of John Woo . I think Hard Boiled ( 1992 ) is one of the greatest action films ever made , and I liked The Killer ( 1989 ) , A Better Tomorrow ( 1986 ) , and Bullet In the Head ( 1990 ) , but we need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that this guy sold his soul to Hollywood in the mid - 1990s and hasn't made a great film since 1992 .
He has , however , completely destroyed a sequel to one of the best American movies of recent memory ( Mission Impossible ) by over-Hollywoodizing a uniquely non-Hollywood film made by Hollywood . That's quite an ironic feat that he should be particularly ashamed of . Now we have Appleseed : Ex Machina ( 2007 ) to add to the list of Woo-ish debacles over the past 16 years .
This sequel to the exceptional anime drops the ball in a number of respects , yet still proves to be a marginally entertaining movie . The most obvious fault is that numerous events are near copies of science fiction movies from the West , thus making this endeavor much too conventional for a Japanese anime . In addition , the storyline wasn't as well-conceived as the original . Luckily , this movie has just enough positives to earn a watch . The protagonists are very likable characters , the plot is engaging , and the visuals are very good . The action scenes don't reach the levels of exoticism or quality of the original , but they are still moderately entertaining . In the end this is a very flawed picture that will only satisfy anime action junkies that can look around some mediocre elements .
Now , there were some very specific Woo-ish aspects that really annoyed me . First and foremost are the doves . Yes , there are heaping amounts of flying doves in this Japanese anime film ! Why the hell is John Woo so obsessed with doves ? Yeah , they provide some ironic symbolism during action scenes , but using them to the degree that he does I have no doubts that he touches himself to pictures of doves when he's alone at night . And the fact that he uses these little birdies in almost every one of his movies proves to be almost as annoying as Rob Zombie's habitual use of white trash folk in his movies . Yes , it's that annoying .
But wait . Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions regarding just how much influence Woo had in this watchable ( yet severely disappointing ) sequel . So I fired up the Special Features option on the DVD menu and watched the 16 - minute Making Of featurette that focuses specifically on John Woo's influence as a producer . It provided some much needed information regarding just how far this has-been shell of a director has fallen . Let me run down some of the statements made by the Japanese director and producers of this film :
This is the first time a big time Hollywood director has tried to tackle Japanese Anime .
So Woo isn't even recognized as a director of Chinese cinema anymore . How quaint . No one in this Making Of feature even mentioned his Chinese filmography .
Japanese producers wanted to expand into the Western market and saw that working with John Woo would be a good match .
Nice . If your name is dropped by someone as the foremost expert in Hollywoodization , would you really take that as a compliment ? Man , this guy has really hit rock bottom .
John brought his years of experience in Hollywood to it .
Well , he certainly brought all of the negatives of Hollywood cinema to this production . That was obvious from watching the movie . How many times do you see a Japanese Anime film copy scenes from I Robot and The Matrix Revolutions ? Yes , it's really , really pathetic .
The most enlightening statement was with regards to the preliminary Japanese storyboards .
John took a look at it and came up with some really great notes .
What was particularly hilarious about this statement is that on-screen you see John Woo's head shaking in a disapproving , almost disgusted manner while watching the initial storyboards . It's almost like he's saying to himself , This is way too Japanese for an American audience . We need more slow-mo shots and conventional elements to reach a wider audience and make more money . Nice job Johnny boy .
Director Shinji Aramaki apparently conceived Ex Machina to be nothing more than a tribute to Woo's work . He says :
We devised the Cathedral scene before John showed up to pay homage to his work .
It's really too bad that Aramaki was so accommodating to implementing all of Woo's ideas into the film . It effectively crippled a movie that should have been as good as the original .
I hate to say it , but John Woo is a no-talent has-been who has only harmed the international film industry since making Hard Boiled in 1992 . I have no problems with him making tripe in America . Heck , that's what American cinema is for . But don't you DARE to take your new-found money-grubbing mediocrity to Japanese anime - one of the most unconventional genres of cinema in the world today .
Someone needs to stop this guy before he attempts to wreck another Asian movie .
121 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
This second installment of Appleseed is a pale shadow of the first movie .
The story is nowhere near as engaging . The animation is second rate at best compared to the first . At least in the first one the voices sync with the animation pretty well , not so in this one . I give it 3 stars only as a gift .
126 4 I second many of the reviews here in recommending the high definition version of the film . The visuals are simply amazing . The detail is crisp , and the animation is fluid . Out of all the high definition films I've seen this one impressed me the most with its visual clarity .
The story content of the film is disappointing when compared to the first film or the graphic novels . The story , while more complex than the previous movie , is poorly paced and far too predictable . The plot seems to be more of an excuse to string together the fantasticly over-the-top John Woo action scenes .
Perhaps my expectations were too high . Based on Masemune Shirow's other works , such as Ghost in the Shell and the earlier Appleseed stories , I expected a much deeper and well organized story .
This is a fantastic film to demonstrate the power of HD , but don't expect a huge emotional payoff when the story's over .
130 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD ) ( HD DVD )
This is the sequel to Appleseed , but not an exact sequel . Graphics are gorgeous . I bought this because it was dual ( DVD / HD-DVD ) so when HD died , I still have a viable format . I would recommend waiting for Blu-Ray , unless you are happy with your upconverter .
131 4 This is the sequel to Appleseed , but not an exact sequel . Graphics are gorgeous . I bought this because it was dual ( DVD / HD-DVD ) so when HD died , I still have a viable format . I would recommend waiting for Blu-Ray , unless you are happy with your upconverter .
141 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
Much like the last installment , this movie has a couple big action sequences that may excite the small child within you followed by an hour and a half's worth of pandering , formulaic writing you'd have to actually be a small child to sit through without rolling your eyes . It's like they took the first Patlabor , added a couple of subplots from Star Trek , tacked on some insipid romance dreck and then threw in a re-creation of JFK's funeral just in case they'd still failed to evoke any semblance of emotion . This fails on more levels than I could even hope to count , and the already weak story's progressive disintegration into techno-zombies are very slowly attacking the city ! is just painful to watch .
Shirow clearly had little to no involvement in either of these films , which is a shame because the original story ( as he wrote it ) was actually fairly interesting . All this is is a committee designed licensing agreement and you can pretty much shut it off after the first 8 minutes without fear of missing out on anything important . The packaging is nice at least .
145 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
This is the best unintentional comedy of the year ! I spent so much time rolling my eyes that it hurt . The movie has poor writing and bad dialog , not to mention horridly awful attempts at character development . Do not make a drinking game out of this someone will die of alcohol poisoning in less than 20 minutes . I started chuckling when I saw the talking killer but I had a hard time breathing when the Borg Cube showed up along with matrix drones . Not to mention the go on without me and we're not leaving you behind speeches as well as the collapsing fortress . This movie is so bad it is a laugh riot ! The movie is pretty though . If the characters had SOME charisma or the action scenes had some emotional anchor it might have elevated this movie to being a bad flick . It does have one thing over the bad action movies of the 80 ' s . . . It is quite pretty to look at . I am glad I bought this it was the funniest thing I have seen all year ! I can't wait to show it to my friends . This thing takes bad writing to a whole new level .
152 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Two-Disc Special Edition ) ( DVD )
So I'm looking at my Open and Recently Shipped Orders and I wonder why the price on this item is still so high . So I come here and see the new pic for it . Looks like another Steelbook , just like the one from the first movie's 2 - disc edition . Which is good because it'll fit next to the original quite nicely .
Appleseed Ex Machina [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
Movie - 3.5
No , I've not read the manga . No , I've not seen the original Appleseed OAV , but yes I have seen the first Appleseed movie made in ' 04 , and yes it's been a while and I don't remember much . Regarding Ex Machina , however , I got what I expected after hearing John Woo was attached - - an action movie . The plot reminded me of so many other stories that tried to illustrate humanity's over-reliance on technology and how it almost led to their own downfall . But where something like an I , Robot or WALL * E succeeded , Ex Machina faltered by diverting too much attention to art , animation , and action sequences instead of a consistent plot or even a little more characterization , which resulted in a somewhat underwhelming feature . Granted , I , Robot was more of an action / thriller than drama , but even with a few more minutes in run time , it managed to tell a similar story much more effectively . In Ex Machina , I felt there were a lot of little things crammed in such as the interactions between Deunan and Briarios , Briarios ' conflict with seeing himself in Tereus , or even Deunan seeing Briarios in Tereus . I felt it tried so hard to establish the characters in such a short amount of time that it ended up losing presence to concentrate on the message or at least tell it in a more poignant narrative . Regardless , though , the actions sequences definitely have that John Woo-ness to them . So if anything , this could probably equate to a decent summer blockbuster if ever produced and cast well enough by Hollywood .
Video - 4.5
As perfect as CG should be on a BD , I'm actually not sure if this was a perfect transfer . Colors , blacks , contrast , and sharpness are all pretty sleek on the very intricate character designs and backgrounds , but I could've sworn I noticed maybe 2 or 3 instances of macroblocking within the very thin lines of some characters . It may have just been some kind of light transition from a dialogue part to an action sequence ( one particular scene kinda ' lit everything up ) , or it could be that disregarding a large majority of the fluid animation , the crew may have actually slipped up . Other than those minor flaws , though , Ex Machina would probably make for a reasonable demo choice if you wanted to show off something animated not by Pixar . As stated before , the gunfight / action sequences are pretty cool to watch .
Audio - 3.5
As typical of Warner , they decided this was a less than worthy title to give any lossless audio to . And while the regular Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese track ( I hate ADV , so no I don't care about the dub ) did enough , I can't help but wonder how much better it COULD。 VE sounded had it been bumped up a notch to a Dolby TrueHD encode . Directionality and dialogue are pretty good for what it's worth in the front sound stage , but I felt the surround channels were vastly underutilized , especially given the bombastic action and gunfire scenes that definitely would've given this entire feature that extra oomph . But for whatever reason , Warner , even with a 50GB disc , didn't feel the need to do it . Idiots .
Extras - 4.5
I actually watched the special features before even watching the movie because I was eating dinner and am not very adept when it comes to grabbing food while reading subtitles . But I have to say that thanks to that , I actually enjoyed the film a little more than I might have initially . All extras are presented in HD and cover various topics ranging from the atypical production notes to the history and study of Masamune Shirow and the Appleseed franchise to even some cultural factoids and observations about Japan , anime fandom , and its carryover / reception into the U.S . Being an anime fan since I was around 10 , but being out of the loop for a little over half a year , I found it to be refreshingly informative to see these people discuss the cultural phenomenon that most Americans are probably alien to . It was a good watch for the new , old , and uninformed , giving great perspective on the whole thing .
Overall - 4.0
Appleseed : Ex Machina had the right concept going , but as most anime movie features go , there just wasn't enough time for everything . I can respect movies that are supposed to be a straight dose of whatever their intended genre like actioners ( Ninja Scroll , Vampire Hunter D : Bloodlust , or Fatal Fury : The Motion Picture ) , mind trips ( anything by Satoshi Kon ) , or dramas ( anything by Makoto Shinkai ) . However , you get the feeling some times that a movie can be so much more . Unfortunately for Ex Machina , while full of some great action sequences , it was short on a good screenplay , concentrating a little too much on subtle character interactions and less on the themes and story at hand . If you can get past that , though , the rest of the disc is good enough for a recommendation
009 4 Back in 2004 , Appleseed came stateside , after being in Japan for years . For it's time , it had great special effects alongside some of the best CGI seen . Now its 2008 , and Appleseed Ex Machina is here . I must say , CGI just keeps getting better , and this is a shining example of that . Animations , facial expressions and the lip-movement when the characters are talking help bring this anime life . Since John Woo helped produce the sequel , expect to see some of his trademarks , like the doves and slow motion sequences . But they all fit into the movie perfectly . For being a sequel , I am surprised how this turned out . However , if I have to pick out one gripe , that would be the dialog . Some of the lines can get on the cheesy side . Other than that , be sure to give this a look if you've seen the original . Otherwise , if you are the least bit interested in GCI / Anime , still give this one a chance .
016 4 it amuses me that there's always a handful of people who can give a 1 star rating for just about anything . if you wanted to watch shakespeare in the park then you're to blame - not the people who created this awesome work . the animation is incredible , the action scenes are fantastic , the repeat viewability is very high . if you're looking for serious brain stimulation , do sudoku . if you want to enjoy a fun animated film - this is 5 stars for sure .
028 4 ExMachina is a sequel to the 2005 Appleseed . It continues the story of Deunan and Briarios as they go about their lives in ESWAT . Even though I did not find the new story as compelling as the previous , this time there is much more character development with a deeper background for the both of them . The CG really shines in Blu-Ray , and provides some of the most life-like and vivid scenes ever encountered in an animated movie .
058 4 Movie - 3.5
No , I've not read the manga . No , I've not seen the original Appleseed OAV , but yes I have seen the first Appleseed movie made in ' 04 , and yes it's been a while and I don't remember much . Regarding Ex Machina , however , I got what I expected after hearing John Woo was attached - - an action movie . The plot reminded me of so many other stories that tried to illustrate humanity's over-reliance on technology and how it almost led to their own downfall . But where something like an I , Robot or WALL * E succeeded , Ex Machina faltered by diverting too much attention to art , animation , and action sequences instead of a consistent plot or even a little more characterization , which resulted in a somewhat underwhelming feature . Granted , I , Robot was more of an action / thriller than drama , but even with a few more minutes in run time , it managed to tell a similar story much more effectively . In Ex Machina , I felt there were a lot of little things crammed in such as the interactions between Deunan and Briarios , Briarios ' conflict with seeing himself in Tereus , or even Deunan seeing Briarios in Tereus . I felt it tried so hard to establish the characters in such a short amount of time that it ended up losing presence to concentrate on the message or at least tell it in a more poignant narrative . Regardless , though , the actions sequences definitely have that John Woo-ness to them . So if anything , this could probably equate to a decent summer blockbuster if ever produced and cast well enough by Hollywood .
Video - 4.5
As perfect as CG should be on a BD , I'm actually not sure if this was a perfect transfer . Colors , blacks , contrast , and sharpness are all pretty sleek on the very intricate character designs and backgrounds , but I could've sworn I noticed maybe 2 or 3 instances of macroblocking within the very thin lines of some characters . It may have just been some kind of light transition from a dialogue part to an action sequence ( one particular scene kinda ' lit everything up ) , or it could be that disregarding a large majority of the fluid animation , the crew may have actually slipped up . Other than those minor flaws , though , Ex Machina would probably make for a reasonable demo choice if you wanted to show off something animated not by Pixar . As stated before , the gunfight / action sequences are pretty cool to watch .
Audio - 3.5
As typical of Warner , they decided this was a less than worthy title to give any lossless audio to . And while the regular Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese track ( I hate ADV , so no I don't care about the dub ) did enough , I can't help but wonder how much better it COULD。VE sounded had it been bumped up a notch to a Dolby TrueHD encode . Directionality and dialogue are pretty good for what it's worth in the front sound stage , but I felt the surround channels were vastly underutilized , especially given the bombastic action and gunfire scenes that definitely would've given this entire feature that extra oomph . But for whatever reason , Warner , even with a 50GB disc , didn't feel the need to do it . Idiots .
Extras - 4.5
I actually watched the special features before even watching the movie because I was eating dinner and am not very adept when it comes to grabbing food while reading subtitles . But I have to say that thanks to that , I actually enjoyed the film a little more than I might have initially . All extras are presented in HD and cover various topics ranging from the atypical production notes to the history and study of Masamune Shirow and the Appleseed franchise to even some cultural factoids and observations about Japan , anime fandom , and its carryover / reception into the U.S . Being an anime fan since I was around 10 , but being out of the loop for a little over half a year , I found it to be refreshingly informative to see these people discuss the cultural phenomenon that most Americans are probably alien to . It was a good watch for the new , old , and uninformed , giving great perspective on the whole thing .
Overall - 4.0
Appleseed : Ex Machina had the right concept going , but as most anime movie features go , there just wasn't enough time for everything . I can respect movies that are supposed to be a straight dose of whatever their intended genre like actioners ( Ninja Scroll , Vampire Hunter D : Bloodlust , or Fatal Fury : The Motion Picture ) , mind trips ( anything by Satoshi Kon ) , or dramas ( anything by Makoto Shinkai ) . However , you get the feeling some times that a movie can be so much more . Unfortunately for Ex Machina , while full of some great action sequences , it was short on a good screenplay , concentrating a little too much on subtle character interactions and less on the themes and story at hand . If you can get past that , though , the rest of the disc is good enough for a recommendation
093 4 This DVD set is mind blowing . . . It comes in a beautiful metal case . The movie itself is flat out AWESOME ! Sharp picture , sound , color and non stop action from start to finish . This is a must for any Anime Otaku's collection . Even my wife loved it .
Ex Machina ( 2007 ) to add to the list of Woo-ish debacles over the past 16 years .
This sequel to the exceptional anime drops the ball in a number of respects , yet still proves to be a marginally entertaining movie . The most obvious fault is that numerous events are near copies of science fiction movies from the West , thus making this endeavor much too conventional for a Japanese anime . In addition , the storyline wasn't as well-conceived as the original . Luckily , this movie has just enough positives to earn a watch . The protagonists are very likable characters , the plot is engaging , and the visuals are very good . The action scenes don't reach the levels of exoticism or quality of the original , but they are still moderately entertaining . In the end this is a very flawed picture that will only satisfy anime action junkies that can look around some mediocre elements .
Now , there were some very specific Woo-ish aspects that really annoyed me . First and foremost are the doves . Yes , there are heaping amounts of flying doves in this Japanese anime film ! Why the hell is John Woo so obsessed with doves ? Yeah , they provide some ironic symbolism during action scenes , but using them to the degree that he does I have no doubts that he touches himself to pictures of doves when he's alone at night . And the fact that he uses these little birdies in almost every one of his movies proves to be almost as annoying as Rob Zombie's habitual use of white trash folk in his movies . Yes , it's that annoying .
But wait . Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions regarding just how much influence Woo had in this watchable ( yet severely disappointing ) sequel . So I fired up the Special Features option on the DVD menu and watched the 16 - minute Making Of featurette that focuses specifically on John Woo's influence as a producer . It provided some much needed information regarding just how far this has-been shell of a director has fallen . Let me run down some of the statements made by the Japanese director and producers of this film :
This is the first time a big time Hollywood director has tried to tackle Japanese Anime .
So Woo isn't even recognized as a director of Chinese cinema anymore . How quaint . No one in this Making Of feature even mentioned his Chinese filmography .
Japanese producers wanted to expand into the Western market and saw that working with John Woo would be a good match .
Nice . If your name is dropped by someone as the foremost expert in Hollywoodization , would you really take that as a compliment ? Man , this guy has really hit rock bottom .
John brought his years of experience in Hollywood to it .
Well , he certainly brought all of the negatives of Hollywood cinema to this production . That was obvious from watching the movie . How many times do you see a Japanese Anime film copy scenes from I Robot and The Matrix Revolutions ? Yes , it's really , really pathetic .
The most enlightening statement was with regards to the preliminary Japanese storyboards .
John took a look at it and came up with some really great notes .
What was particularly hilarious about this statement is that on-screen you see John Woo's head shaking in a disapproving , almost disgusted manner while watching the initial storyboards . It's almost like he's saying to himself , This is way too Japanese for an American audience . We need more slow-mo shots and conventional elements to reach a wider audience and make more money . Nice job Johnny boy .
Director Shinji Aramaki apparently conceived Ex Machina to be nothing more than a tribute to Woo's work . He says :
We devised the Cathedral scene before John showed up to pay homage to his work .
It's really too bad that Aramaki was so accommodating to implementing all of Woo's ideas into the film . It effectively crippled a movie that should have been as good as the original .
I hate to say it , but John Woo is a no-talent has-been who has only harmed the international film industry since making Hard Boiled in 1992 . I have no problems with him making tripe in America . Heck , that's what American cinema is for . But don't you DARE to take your new-found money-grubbing mediocrity to Japanese anime - one of the most unconventional genres of cinema in the world today .
Someone needs to stop this guy before he attempts to wreck another Asian movie .
001 4 The visuals are nothing short of stunning , especially in HD . It's worth the download just to check out how beautifully the cg animation is rendered . The action scenes are tight , with Matrix-esque slow motion shots , crazy camera angles and an emphasis on heavy gun play , indicative of producer John Woo's style . One drawback on the cg animation though is that when characters interact with each other physically it seems awkward . They don't feel like they are touching . I imagine that when you make something with animation like that you'd run into clipping issues when the characters intereact heavily . In fact , it reminded me of cut scenes from Eternal Sonata , a video game using similar animation techniques but on a bigger scale obviously .
The story is an upgrade from the first movie , although the main antagonist borrows heavily from classic Star Trek villain , the Borg . There's even a Borg like cube of sorts that serves as it's foundation . The subplot consists of a triangle between Deunan , Briareos ( the main protagonists from the first movie ) and Tereus , a biroid created mostly from Briareos's DNA who becomes Deunan's new partner after her lover falls in battle .
If I were to make a criticism I'd say that the main antagonist was revealed a tad too late , making the final resolution a little anti-climactic . At a runtime of about an hour and 40 minutes I felt like another 20 minutes would have been justified . When it was over , I couldn't quite believe it at first . Also , and this may be a good thing , events from the first movie go almost completely without mention . This means that you won't have to have seen the first one to appreciate this , but at the same time there is a lack of continuity for those that did .
All in all though , it's a good film and worth a watch .
006 4 One of the more underdeveloped storylines from Appleseed was the relationship between Deunan Knute and her cyborg love , Briareos .
Well , Appleseed Ex Machina more than makes up for that . In fact , this CGI action flick boasts upgrades in every area - - a tighter plot , more complex conspiracies , and more lifelike animation . It's a stunning experience with loads of fiery , spinning action scenes , albeit with a slightly improbable villain .
Olympus has a new threat - - brainwashed cyborgs that are kidnapping officials , and disrupting planetary peace . During a rescue mission , Briareos is injured and hospitalized for awhile - - and Deunan introduced to her new partner Tereus - - a warrior bioroid cloned from Briareos ' DNA . She's furious , Briareos is depressed , and all three are confused by Tereus ' similarities to Briareos .
But when President Athena calls an international conference , E-SWAT only narrowly stops an attack force - - of cyborgs and ordinary humans who have somehow been possessed by a mechanical goo . Their message : I am Halcon . . . all will be one . And worst of all , Briareos is somehow being affected by the baddies , so he decides to do some investigating on his own . Now Deunan , Briareos and Tereus must join forces despite their tension , and stop a malevolent conspiracy that threatens the entire world . . . .
While the first Appleseed movie had a rather simple plot , Appleseed Ex Machina tends toward complexity . Everything is bigger - - the conspiracies , the mad scientist stuff , the potential warfare , and even the love story . And despite its fuller plot , the sequel actually manages to cram in some quiet moments between robot battles and personal scuffles .
Director Shinji Aramaki does a pretty good job with a pretty good plot - - he unrolls it gradually , filling it with tension and horror at all the right moments . It kicks off strongly with an explosive , fire-and-darkness battle in an abandoned cathedral , and doesn't slow much down . Lots of explosive battles and zombiesque attacks , but not so many that it overwhelms the storyline .
Along the way , Aramaki drops in some very human scenes , such as a funeral and Hitomi's glammy birthday party . In fact , there are even some funny , cute moments such as Briareos and Deunan tussling over some monitoring wires in the hospital . These moments keep them acting like people .
What's the problem ? Well , while Aramaki succeeds in surprising us with the main villain , it's revealed rather late in the movie , and there's never much of a motive .
But the CG animation is stunning . There's everything from mid-air shootouts to serpentine silver tentacles . Even the settlings are striking , with their Greco-futuristic marble , columns and sci-fi gadgets . And there's a breathtaking level of detail - - reflections , light , raindrops on Briareos ' metal face , and tiny facial chances . Some character still have doll face , but not as much .
But this movie gets its heart from the love triangle , which is thankfully handled in a mature manner . Deunan and Briareos ' loving , intense relationship gets plenty of cute moments , despite the confusion that Tereus causes them . And Tereus is a well-drawn rival , with a lot of Briareos ' rough kindness , but also the insecurities of being a copy .
And Aramaki particularly concentrates on Briareos ' fears that Deunan will prefer a flesh-and-blood lover , and that he is gradually losing his sanity . There's an undercurrent of raw pain when he screams at Tereus , why do you have everything I've lost ?
Appleseed Ex Machina is a worthy sequel that actually tops the preceding film - - a stunning CGI shell around a solid sci-fi / love story . Definitely worth checking out .
007 4 With so few anime movies made these days ( and much less their CGI sisters ) , Appleseed : Ex Machina is a fresh addition to the sci-fi / fantasy genre . But is it worth your time , effort and money ? I will leave that decision to you . But I shall present to you my opinion .
The one thing I loved the most about Ex Machina was the voice acting ( eventhough the timing was a bit off at times ) . It has been done perfectly , right on top with the likes of FullMetal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell . Luci Christian ( although I am not too fond of her ) does a wonderful job as Deunan , BTW you may remember her a Kaname Chidori from Full Metal Panic .
A new character , Tereus bring a fresh look to the cast . You can view him as the human part of Briareos . I , sometimes , felt that director Shinji Aramaki could have dwelled more into Deunan's and Briareos's romance ( same thing with the first movie ) . Battle scenes are awesome , as expected from John Woo . Character models look like plastic barbies sometimes , but other times , they will blow your brains out .
Although , people will view this sequel as just a fan service to the original movie , I believe it is definitely worthy of being added to your anime collection . I cannot say anything about its DVD counterpart , but Appleseed : EX Machina ( Blu-ray ) on a 46 Bravia played on a PS3 with 5.1 surround sound at 1080p will make you wonder if there is anything else better in life .
010 4 I enjoyed the 80 ' s version of Appleseed when I was a teenager and when I learned of the
Appleseed ( Widescreen ) ( 2004 )
reboot I immediately went out and got myself a copy of the DVD . It was pretty damn good and figured that it was a one-off . But now we have this sequel which proves that there is actually loads of potential and imagination in the Appleseed universe and certainly enough to warrant further sequels .
Denaun Knute and her mostly robotic , rabbit-eared boyfriend Briareos are still working for ESWAT in the Utopian future city of Olympus when a new personal device , a sort cross between a cell phone and a holographic visor , goes haywire and turns the population into a bunch of techno-zombies . Briareos suffers seizures of his own too and a duplicate of his old human form has been recruited to work with them and save the city from this mysterious evil .
Yes , it's nonsense . But entertaining nonsense and a weird cross between
Robocop [ Blu-ray
] , Star Trek : First Contact [ Blu-ray ] and
The Ultimate Matrix Collection [ Blu-ray
] . But the animation is gorgeous and the story and action absurd enough to keep your attention .
Come on , John Woo , give us another ' un .
The Blu Ray features a very nice 1.85 : 1 1080p transfer with Dolby Digital Plus sound and a decent amount of extras . I recommend .
014 4 I really loved the storyline and graphics . I'm not going to spoil the movie for you but if you loved the first Appleseed then you will love ExMachina .
015 4 This DVD is a sequel to the movie released in 2004 [
Appleseed ( Widescreen ) ( 2004 )
] not a remake . This is a must see not just for Appleseed fans but for all fans of Japanese Anime . The bonus features are entertaining and informative . Add to cart , you won't regret it . ( AliasQTip is a real person , not a paid celebrity . ) : D
017 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
The story was pretty interesting , and the action was phenomenal . However , I thought they could have done better with the character animation . Final Fantasy had better animation . Still , the movie is is still worth watching .
019 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD ) ( HD DVD )
I ordered this for my husband . He was really interested in it . Reluctently I sat down and watched it with him and I really enjoyed as well .
023 4 Great visuals , fun combat scenes . Story starts off ok but I didn't care for the finale , too old school video game like and not the usuall gritty realism i'd expect from Appleseed .
Still it's a fun movie and worth a watch .
030 4 This friggin movie rocks . You might want to wear a helmet when you watch the action sequences so you don't make a mess when it blows your mind . Word .
034 4 Appleseed Ex Machina is one of those good old school 80s style sci-fi animes with a lot of action , a lot of robots , guns and ridiculously acrobatic girls . The first movie was an acceptable ( see : pretty and light ) but standard anime , relying heavily on its look to distinguish itself . The cg in Ex Machina is far superior , the animation has improved quite a bit , and the storytelling is much more streamlined . Exposition is definitely there , just like the first , but the pacing is way superior . Sure , its got a lot of nonsense science , but any fan of anime in general will find something here . It's got stuff to appeal to girls and boys and in blu-ray it looks freakin ' amazing . A great purchase , and a visual contender with heavyweights Beowulf and Final Fantasy TSW in the cg category .
Pros +
+ More Briarios
+ Improved English Voice Acting Dramatically
+ Better Pacing
+ Amazing Visual Quality and Sound
Cons -
- English dialogue sync has an iffy moment or two
- The story is particularly ridiculous
- The final sequence's location is very particularly ridiculous and reminds me of Xenosaga .
- People with an affinity for realism and diplomacy may find this irreverent .
038 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
Appleseed Exmachina picks up where the original Appleseed leaves off . I won't go into plot details as it would spoil your viewing pleasure but just let me this is a well thought out anime with just the right amount of action to keep things interesting .
A must see for Appleseed lovers .
BTW , while I am sure the DVD version is good , if you have an HD TV I would strongly recommend the Bluray version . The quality of the animation shows through better in full 1080p if you have it .
039 4 Appleseed Exmachina picks up where the original Appleseed leaves off . I won't go into plot details as it would spoil your viewing pleasure but just let me this is a well thought out anime with just the right amount of action to keep things interesting .
A must see for Appleseed lovers .
BTW , while I am sure the DVD version is good , if you have an HD TV I would strongly recommend the Bluray version . The quality of the animation shows through better in full 1080p if you have it .
041 4 I love Appleseed and the Creator the talented and very cool Masamune shirow
sadly when i ordered this dvd set i never received it the seller who used Amazon.com
screwed me over Gohastings screwed me over .
But i was able to see it with Netflix !
Damn good story .
damn good CG .
A + all the way !
042 4 Appleseed Ex Machina is the sequel to the 2004 Appleseed film that was directed by Shinji Aramaki . It continues the story of Deunan and Briareos , and also introduces a couple of new characters ( Tereus and Aeacus ) .
The languages menu for the Appleseed Ex Machina DVD is a little on the frustrating side . It is done in such a way that the language option for each country is written in that respective country's language . Unfortunately , this means that the Japanese and Chinese options are written with the Japanese and Chinese characters . If you want to choose either of those as a language option , you have to have some familiarity with the written characters . Also , after you choose the language , you are automatically returned to the main menu . In order to indicate that you want subtitles , you have to return to the languages menu and choose the subtitles .
The regular release of Appleseed Ex Machina also has two short documentaries on it . The first is Team Up : John Woo and Shinji Aramaki . This runs for about sixteen and a half minutes , and through interviews with Shinji Aramaki , crew members , and anime journalists , you find out what each of these individuals brought to Appleseed Ex Machina . The other documentary is Revolution : Animating Ex Machina . This runs for about eighteen and a half minutes , and it talks about how the animation was done for the film , and it also delves a little bit into the English dubbing for the project . The trailers feature only includes two anime-related trailers ( both of which are for the live-action version of Speed Racer ) . There is also an audio commentary .
There was also a two-disc special edition version released for Appleseed Ex Machina . The second disc includes two documentaries . The first is The Appleseed Chronicles . It runs for about twenty minutes , and goes into the history of the Appleseed manga . Personally , I was a little disappointed that this feature never touched on the 1988 OVA version of Appleseed or the 2004 Appleseed film directed by Shinji Aramaki . The other documentary is East Meets West , and it runs for about eighteen and a half minutes . This feature talks about how anime crossed over into the west , and how various terms and ideas involved with anime have been cross-pollinated between the Japanese and American cultures .
In my opinion , Appleseed Ex Machina was a strong follow-up to the Appleseed film . The computer animation used in this film is even better than in the first film , and there are some shots and sequences where you truly feel like you're watching a live-action film .
Appleseed Ex Machina is a PG - 13 rated film . It's a violent film , so I really wouldn't recommend it for young children . However , if you're a fan of the first Appleseed movie , you won't be disappointed by Appleseed Ex Machina . It's a DVD that should be in the anime library of anyone who considers themselves a fan of Appleseed .
045 4 The cell shading looks like a graphic novel rather than a traditional cartoon .
The story is pretty decent for anime .
You know how anime often has really bad stories .
This is one of the better anime movies .
Worth watching .
046 4 Japanese animators continue to push the envelope in creating drama in animated features which seem to blur the lines between reality and fiction . The complexity of the plots and characters is a testament to their attention to detail and has a tremendous influence in American films ( The Matrix , Transformers , etc . ) . This film is an animated feature and not a cartoon which addresses the idea of man vs . machine and how they co-exist . Filled with cyborgs , hybrids and heavily armored vechicles this movie is very entertaining and never lets go of the throttle once the action starts .
048 4 A new take on the Appleseed story . This anime does NOT follow on from any of the other Appleseed stories and is instead a new take on it .
The CG animation is impressive , the story fun and enjoyable , the fight scenes brilliant . This is a good addition for your collection if you enjoy futureistic , sci-fi animes . I actually enjoyed the story more than in the original Appleseed .
052 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
This movie is cool . Lots kickbutt action , good story , but just a little bit too similar to the first one as far as the action goes . The blu-ray version of this movie is not much better quality than a DVD , I couldn't notice much of a difference between the clarity of this blu-ray and the clarity of the first movie which I have on DVD . So I think would have rather have gotten this on DVD . Overall it's a good movie though .
053 4 This movie is cool . Lots kickbutt action , good story , but just a little bit too similar to the first one as far as the action goes . The blu-ray version of this movie is not much better quality than a DVD , I couldn't notice much of a difference between the clarity of this blu-ray and the clarity of the first movie which I have on DVD . So I think would have rather have gotten this on DVD . Overall it's a good movie though .
054 4 I really loved the first 3D animated Appleseed movie when I saw it in the theater a few years ago . This movie however was visually superior in every way , and I thoroughly enjoyed it . The action scenes are great and the story was pretty engaging as well . I felt an emotional connection with the characters , and the english voice acting was also well done . Extremely well done 3D visuals , FX , and superb animation blended with motion capture made this movie one of the favorites of my entire collection .
Personally I don't have any complaints except one scene where a part of the character Brearios's head clips through his body a little when he is laying in a hospital bed , it was the only serious visual flaw I noticed during the whole movie .
065 4 Only the action is over the top . But it's ' just ' a cartoon , so that's OK , right ?
Visually , Appleseed Ex Machina is overwhelming in detail , design , and in the illusion of camera movement . The city scapes are so detailed you'd think they were rendered from photos of real urban environments . Textures of fabric and surfaces are incredible , only a small step from photo realistic . Only human skin is visibly simplified , consistant with the animé aesthetic . The opening sequence was set in what appeared to be the cathedral in Koln , Germany , down to the gothic detailing in the buttresses and the stained-glass windows , except you'd never be able to film that kind of action there . The sci-fi gadgets were equally well done , mostly with a very plausible and appropriate feel . Pulling in Prada to design costumes for the animation was innovative , and added another layer of depth to the cartoon .
Yeah , the action was over the top . Noted . It was no more extreme than ' Matrix ' , despite having less limits than a photography type movie . Still , it was appropriate to the medium and plot .
The complexity of the story , the relationships , the character flaws , and depth of the characters pushes out of the Saturday morning league , and past the level of many conventional films . There is a mixture of flaws , tensions , caring , and bravado entirely fitting the story , but well done . In the story , there are several layers from a chaste romance between colleagues , questions of trust and loyalty at many levels , to international power games .
I don't normally hold animé in high esteem , but Appleseed Ex Machina exceeded all expectations .
E . M . Van Court
P.S . Nice analog watches .
V
072 4 Technically this is surely state of the art CGI for Animation today . Only final Fantasy seems to be more advanced for me .
Story and characters are ok .
Only the fact that it is the obvious bad guy theme at the end gives the 4 star rating - a more intelligent plot for the bad guy and it would hav ended um with five . . .
073 4 I purchased this blu-ray a while ago and never watched it till last weekend . And I have to say I am really impressed . The quality is amazing and in FullHD it is a real eyecatch . That is what High Definition stands for .
I enjoyed watching this flick . But as I am not that huge anime expert / fan I cannot tell you if this fits in the Appleseed Universe .
I do not regret buying this disc . But I think rental would have done it as well . . . . .
075 4 Ex Machina fulfills its potential in almost every way . It is amazing to look at . The characters are beautiful and human . The music is awesome , though it often takes a back seat to the spectacle of the choreography .
While some reviewers have mentioned that the main villain is revealed late in the film , I disagree ( though , yes , it is in many ways a borg ripoff ) . The villain of Halcon is present throughout the movie , both literally and symbolically . The man vs machine , individual vs collective , is what the movie is about from start to finish . This obviously isn't the first story to tackle the subject , but it does so very ably . It is about identity , and the struggle to retain our necessary humanity while accepting the benefits of a technological lifestyle . It is a love story at least as much as an action flick , and that love was the hero in the identity-centered story is entirely appropriate .
I believe this movie has set a new standard for full-cg films , both visually and emotionally . Well done , I look forward to watching it again .
082 4 I'm a professional animator and a huge 3D tech-buff - and this movie fed both addictions ; ) If you liked the first Appleseed , you'll love Ex Machina - the animation is better ( still mocap - but better action ) , the characters are redesigned and look a little less stylized ( but manage to avoid the uncanny valley effect . Set design , rendering , and effects overall are improved . The story , while not what I would call amazing , is good , and is a little less Japanese in that there is a more clearly defined good and evil - so it's more palatable for those not familiar with hard-core Anime ( i.e . most American viewers ) . Overall , this video is a visual feast filled with over-the-top action - a must see for Anime , Sci-Fi , and Action fans .
083 4 Appleseed Ex Machina is one of the best anime movies ever ! Excellent graphics , good plot , and wonderful voice acting ( in English ) ! Don't miss it !
084 4 Ex Machina is a pretty good , but not as good as the first Appleseed movie :
Appleseed ( Limited Collector's Edition )
. The CG animation is much improved though . The story line was not as good as it could have been , but the beautiful graphics make up for it . All-in-all though I'd have to say this movie is definitely worth buying for any anime fan , aspiring CG artist , or action movie lover .
087 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
This movie , or I should say animated film is awesome but I only gave it 4 stars cause it has quite a few slow spots . What can I say I like my movies flowing constantly .
092 4 Appleseed Ex Machina is the third movie in the series . As the movies have been substantially spread apart in their realease dates , there are substantial differences in animation between them . The second movie was a huge step up from the first , melding cinematic graphics with excellent animations . Ex Machina takes it yet a step further : cinematic graphics are used exclusively , with no animation . At first I didn't think I'd care for it as much , but the characters have been infused with an even further level of development through the plot and scripting . I was also pleased to find that the annoyance level was turned down ( i.e . main character didn't yell out ' Briarios ' name 300 times through the movie ) . All in all , I felt this movie was a worthy installment in the Appleseed series . Here's a brief breakdown of the movie for ease of reading . . . .
- Graphics / Animation : Top notch , character realism nearly rivals that of FF Advent Children .
- Music : Heavy hitting techno tunes for the action sequences ; quite pleasing
- Scripting / Voices : Admirable job on voices and scripting , no complaints
- Plot / Character Development : Great focus on main characters , although almost to the point of making the plot a bit hazy . If you liked GITS storyline concepts , you'll definitely like this one ; very in depth .
096 4 The Good :
The story was really interesting , the idea of a PDA that directly interfaces with the brain being used by a malevolent AI to control people was pretty clever , and though a little predictable , the twist at the end was nicely done . What was also pretty intriguing was the concept of what makes us who we are : Deunan experienced some truly odd feelings when she discovered that her partner , a cyborg named Briareos , had been cloned while laid out in the hospital , and the resulting Bioroid would be her new partner while Briareos was recovering . This new clone looked like and acted like her original partner before he became a cyborg , and he retained some of his knowledge of their relationship . It made for some wonderful moments of WTF . The body animation was motion captured well , and for the most part worked . What was truly amazing was the environment - The art direction and modeling on this show was spectacular , from the city sprawl and it's enormous layout , all the way down to the Landmates and their intricate detailing - utterly mind blowing .
The Bad :
The movie went along pretty smoothly until the end . Unfortunately , the third act played more like a video game than a film , complete with a floating anti-gravity fortress built with the idea of easy access , squad members who are pretty disposable and the neverending stream of bad guys who come out of an undisclosed location . If the staging weren't as good as it was , this stereotypical gamer battle might sink the film . Once again , facial animation was terrible . Also , the cleanup on the hands was pretty weak , making them feel like dead things on the end of their arms . And some of the motion captured animation made the characters jitter in the non-action segments of the piece , most noticeably during Deunans tour of the Bioroid facility and during the party . The general look of the characters was also out of place , a weird hybrid of standard cartoon anime with detailed texture maps . It gave off a vibe that the directors couldn't decide whether they wanted hyper-real or straight up cartoon , and I wish they had made a decision one way or another .
The Summary :
The movie was great . The positives outweigh the negatives enough to make it throughly awesome to watch , and because of the art direction and character development , the movie felt like it was part of a real world . Though I wish they had made some different decisions with regards to animation and the unrealistic boss battle at the end of the film , the story was strong enough to stand on its own .
102 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina ( Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD ) ( HD DVD )
The visual effects are breathtaking . The action sequences and fight scenes are creative and very cool . The story is good , but my problem is with the idea that the police will save humanity .
I think the movie deserves four stars , but the fifth star is for the price . The HD DVD combo format costs less than the regular DVD , and the DVD version is included ! Even if you don't have an HD DVD player , you should buy the HD combo disc .
103 4 The visual effects are breathtaking . The action sequences and fight scenes are creative and very cool . The story is good , but my problem is with the idea that the police will save humanity .
I think the movie deserves four stars , but the fifth star is for the price . The HD DVD combo format costs less than the regular DVD , and the DVD version is included ! Even if you don't have an HD DVD player , you should buy the HD combo disc .
106 4 We get a decent story , but what the heck happened to the characters ? First off , the voice actors have been changed for a number of characters . This is more an issue with the dub , but the sub also has some key characters with changed voices . To add to this we have characters with complete personality changes and even major appearance changes . While we never got a real good look at Briareos before he became a cyborg in the last movie , we got enough of a look to know that how he is represented in this movie looks completely different .
This movie is also too dependent on cheesy and flashy action sequences . Heck , the movie opens with an action sequence and once that ends and we move on to the next scene we're pretty much thrown in to yet another completely separate action sequence . We understand that these guys know what they're good at , but developing the story would be kinda nice .
Once the story gets going it isn't that bad , although weaker than the previous movie in my opinion . It seems to exist simply as a means of find excuse after excuse to show action scenes rather than existing to tell a good story .
The animation itself , and the appearance of the characters especially , is far better in this version than the previous one . The action scenes , while over the top and a bit tiring , are still great to watch and are really what makes the movie worth watching . This movie is like Advent Children in that it seems to exist simply to show a lot of action and flash . The main difference is that the action in this one is worth sitting through the faults for .
The voice acting , despite being different , isn't that bad . I feel they should have kept the actors the same for the sequel , but you get used to them for the most part . The music is pretty standard and not quite up to the level of the last one , but still decent enough , especially considering it wasn't that notable in the first film .
All in all it's great for action , but when it comes to the story and how it performs as a sequel , it was honestly a disappointment . If you like Appleseed it's worth viewing , but I wouldn't set your expectations to high if you're expecting anything other than a lot of flash and little substance .
108 4 This review is from :
Appleseed Ex Machina [ Blu-ray ] ( Blu-ray )
If you have a Blu-ray Player then this movie is what you want . I thought the Graphics were jaw-dropping ! I hope there will be other movies that use the same kind of graphics and style shown in this movie .
112 4 Saw the ' love letter ' review at Ain't It Cool News and decided to check it out myself . A top-notch movie - this is what Beowulf should have been .
Was a bit bewildered when I heard John Woo was involved - but I see now that action works well with his style . . . . haven't seen anything like this before .
Loved all the gorgeous details in HD presentation - I recommend getting Blu-Ray if you got the setup . It's got so much details you find something new everytime you watch . . . sorta like ' eye crack ' .
Good story though somewhat predictable at times , very engaging and emotional . Music pretty good , good acting and decent extras . . .
Overall highly recommended
113 4 After watching the first 5 minutes of the intro scene at the church , I was hooked ! Deunan kicks serious butt ! ! The end of the movie really reminded me of the final Matrix movie ( Matrix 3 ) where all of those machines were pouring into the dock and those dock loader things with the machine guns kept blasting away . At any rate , I encourage you to enjoy this movie and prepare to enjoy mind-blowing animated action !
115 4 I've never been a huge fan of John Woo . I think Hard Boiled ( 1992 ) is one of the greatest action films ever made , and I liked The Killer ( 1989 ) , A Better Tomorrow ( 1986 ) , and Bullet In the Head ( 1990 ) , but we need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that this guy sold his soul to Hollywood in the mid - 1990s and hasn't made a great film since 1992 .
He has , however , completely destroyed a sequel to one of the best American movies of recent memory ( Mission Impossible ) by over-Hollywoodizing a uniquely non-Hollywood film made by Hollywood . That's quite an ironic feat that he should be particularly ashamed of . Now we have Appleseed : Ex Machina ( 2007 ) to add to the list of Woo-ish debacles over the past 16 years .
This sequel to the exceptional anime drops the ball in a number of respects , yet still proves to be a marginally entertaining movie . The most obvious fault is that numerous events are near copies of science fiction movies from the West , thus making this endeavor much too conventional for a Japanese anime . In addition , the storyline wasn't as well-conceived as the original . Luckily , this movie has just enough positives to earn a watch . The protagonists are very likable characters , the plot is engaging , and the visuals are very good . The action scenes don't reach the levels of exoticism or quality of the original , but they are still moderately entertaining . In the end this is a very flawed picture that will only satisfy anime action junkies that can look around some mediocre elements .
Now , there were some very specific Woo-ish aspects that really annoyed me . First and foremost are the doves . Yes , there are heaping amounts of flying doves in this Japanese anime film ! Why the hell is John Woo so obsessed with doves ? Yeah , they provide some ironic symbolism during action scenes , but using them to the degree that he does I have no doubts that he touches himself to pictures of doves when he's alone at night . And the fact that he uses these little birdies in almost every one of his movies proves to be almost as annoying as Rob Zombie's habitual use of white trash folk in his movies . Yes , it's that annoying .
But wait . Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions regarding just how much influence Woo had in this watchable ( yet severely disappointing ) sequel . So I fired up the Special Features option on the DVD menu and watched the 16 - minute Making Of featurette that focuses specifically on John Woo's influence as a producer . It provided some much needed information regarding just how far this has-been shell of a director has fallen . Let me run down some of the statements made by the Japanese director and producers of this film :
This is the first time a big time Hollywood director has tried to tackle Japanese Anime .
So Woo isn't even recognized as a director of Chinese cinema anymore . How quaint . No one in this Making Of feature even mentioned his Chinese filmography .
Japanese producers wanted to expand into the Western market and saw that working with John Woo would be a good match .
Nice . If your name is dropped by someone as the foremost expert in Hollywoodization , would you really take that as a compliment ? Man , this guy has really hit rock bottom .
John brought his years of experience in Hollywood to it .
Well , he certainly brought all of the negatives of Hollywood cinema to this production . That was obvious from watching the movie . How many times do you see a Japanese Anime film copy scenes from I Robot and The Matrix Revolutions ? Yes , it's really , really pathetic .
The most enlightening statement was with regards to the preliminary Japanese storyboards .
John took a look at it and came up with some really great notes .
What was particularly hilarious about this statement is that on-screen you see John Woo's head shaking in a disapproving , almost disgusted manner while watching the initial storyboards . It's almost like he's saying to himself , This is way too Japanese for an American audience . We need more slow-mo shots and conventional elements to reach a wider audience and make more money . Nice job Johnny boy .
Director Shinji Aramaki apparently conceived Ex Machina to be nothing more than a tribute to Woo's work . He says :
We devised the Cathedral scene before John showed up to pay homage to his work .
It's really too bad that Aramaki was so accommodating to implementing all of Woo's ideas into the film . It effectively crippled a movie that should have been as good as the original .
I hate to say it , but John Woo is a no-talent has-been who has only harmed the international film industry since making Hard Boiled in 1992 . I have no problems with him making tripe in America . Heck , that's what American cinema is for . But don't you DARE to take your new-found money-grubbing mediocrity to Japanese anime - one of the most unconventional genres of cinema in the world today .
Someone needs to stop this guy before he attempts to wreck another Asian movie .
116 4 This would've made an * excellent * shooter / RPG . The CGI is almost identical to what you see in good video games these days , and the music is on about that level . The settings would've made for great game battles . As a movie . . . well , let me give you the good and the bad :
The Good :
* Getting to see Deunan and Briareos fight as a team . On their own , they're incredible . Working together , they're devastating . These two could take out half an army on their own .
* The fight scenes in general are slick and polished , at times reminiscent of Equilibrium and The Matrix .
* The settings : We're shown a bit more of Olympus , and it's high-tech , without being overwhelming . Battle sites are appropriately menacing and - - what I especially liked - - flying debris / shrapnel posed an actual threat to the characters fighting , a degree of realism most anime , CGI , or even live action movies gloss over except when the plot calls for it .
* THe comraderie between the ESWAT members . You really got the feeling they were a team * and * a dedicated branch of law enforcement .
* Glimpses of the world outside of Olympus . Where the first movie gave us just a glimpse of the Badlands , here we had references to and characters from Poseidon .
* Bioroids acting like . . . well , Bioroids , as opposed to escapees from ' The Stepford Wives ' .
The Bad
* The changes in voice actors . I'm with pretty much everyone else on this . This movie would've been better if they'd kept as much of the old English-speaking cast . There are many familiar ( to anime fans ) voices in this movie , but they don't mesh well with memories of previous movies . I especially missed Jamieson Price as Briareos .
* Changes in character design : Athena and Nike are recognizeable only by their hair color and name . Even Deunan's eye color looked different . Many of the characters looked more like rubbery ' posable dolls ' , or wax figures . ( Especially that close-up of Deunan at the party . She reminded me of a Barbie doll . )
* The music . I can't say much about it , as none of it made any kind of impact on me . It was background noise , nothing more . It didn't even help set the mood ( aside from one awful attempt at choral music at a critical moment that failed badly ) .
* Failure to develop current plots , much less include anything from before .
The introduction of Tereus looked promising , but they did almost nothing with him . He looked like and often acted like Briareos , but there was no development beyond a single uncomfortable moment between himself and Deunan in a resturant . Briareos's later outburst seemed to come out of nowhere , as there'd been no interaction between Deunan and Tereus to warrant it . ( That he'd witnessed , anyway . ) Tereus is supposed to have ' taken a shine ' to Deunan , but it wasn't portrayed very well at all . I saw very little that couldn't be called concerned professionalism .
Tereus himself was lackluster , his sole contribution to the story was that he looked like the original Briareos . They could have used this opportunity to explore the ethics of the proposed addition to Bioroids to ESWAT , and what problems their emotional inhibitions might bring . There could have been an opportunity for debate over the ethics of using genetic material from still-living people to create Bioroids . ( And what happened to ' all Bioroids have some of Karl's DNA in them ' ? )
Even more disappointing , the key element from the second movie , the result of the Appleseed data , is non-existant . They're still growing Bioroids in vats . While the changes in the appearance of Olympus could have easily been explained away by the fighting in the previous movie , it then makes no sense to ignore that key plot point .
Instead , we got a weak political plot , an enemy whose motivations made little sense , and a see-through conspiracy .
Overall , I can't call this a bad movie , but it's a better rental than a permanent addition to your collection , unless you are a die-hard Appleseed fan .
122 4 This second installment of Appleseed is a pale shadow of the first movie .
The story is nowhere near as engaging . The animation is second rate at best compared to the first . At least in the first one the voices sync with the animation pretty well , not so in this one . I give it 3 stars only as a gift .
127 4 you can see john woo's hand prints all over this one . the plot was thin , the characterization shallow , the dialogue naive . nothing like the ghost in the shell series . the height of this was when our hero pouted , jumped up and down and left the party almost hysterically and dramatically like a distressed school girl when she found out she had to stick to her new partner even though her old one ( so obviously her lover ) was up and running again . she was depicted as acting extremely unprofessionally , by assuming that she has the right to be outraged at a change of partner , just because she happens to be in love with him , and therefore suggesting that she potentially will be more than willing to jeopardize any larger goals for as long as she and her lover cum ex-partner can work together . a lot of other scenes could have been made more elegantly , but this was the worst . perhaps many years from now , advance psychological research may found that being emotionally entangled with the person you partner up with professionally is a healthy thing , especially in an extremely high stress profession like our heroes here . but even so , unless it is part of the story that human beings have by then evolved into a highly specialized being , where being a good combat soldier means loosing some of your maturity , or , they are so advanced that our hero is in fact a highly trained ESWAT soldier by the time she was 12 years old , this lover cum war combat partner dynamic was clumsily done , and the whole thing came across awkward and embarrassing .
also , how idiotic is it to traumatized someone by giving her a biological copy of her lover's former body as her professional partner to replace her still-existing-now-machine ailing one when it is widely known in the story that she has an emotional attachment to the latter ? ? i figured some of the old sciences must have died during all those wars which preceded our story here , one of them must be psychology . and perhaps some of the old political system too , is olympus a democracy ? how come national decisions were made by the two women rules alone ?
the movie is nothing like its trailer . it is boring to watch a lot of the times .
other than that , it has beautiful animation , great music , and some cool pradas ( anime has a habit of dressing their women as elegantly as pole dancers . it is nice to see that prada managed to get involved here . pity fashion can't help the quality of movies . sex and the city anime anyone ? )
128 4 A very good new story for the appleseed series . Is good ( not excelent ) in all the film aspects , but it worth every penny .
132 4 Unfortunately , most animae has turned to kiddy crap .
But not Appleseed ! The first movie was groundbreaking when animae was somewhat new . Then the newer and better version came out . Visually groundbreaking , and bigger and badder than ever .
Now Ex Machina comes out and does it a step further , filling out gaps in the last film and giving viewers an even more visual stunning , 3 - D groundbreaking special effects that is balls-to-the-walls sci-fi / action / adventure that will surely satiate those dying for these types of films .
The problem is - they don't make enough of ' em !
The latest Highlander animated film was another great one .
Man , wating this on my 70 - inch HD TV was truly remarkable . If you don't have that , then you need to rob a bank to get one .
This is great film-making . Let us shope the animae Batman movie coming out this summer is this incredible and groundbreaking .
140 4 I don't understand what they were trying to accomplish with this . The character interactions are like something a first time writer made . Their so abysmal and disinteresting . The reactions to situations in the movie are like a bunch of teenagers . The entire character development ( or lack there of ) was even more disappointing then the first . The first had at least a little bit of redeeming qualities even though the dialogue was fairly weak . This movie just made me wanna change the channel if it was on tv . If you're oohed and aahed by anything flashy and shiny , you might get something from this movie . Even then I doubt it as the action sequences aren't close to the 2004 Appleseed . The fact that the voices changed was even more disappointing . Every single character was done by a different voice actor . I mean come on . To some people the voices are just voices , but to me and many others the characters ' established voices were kind of like their identity . Sometimes I got lost in who was actually talking if the voice was from off screen .
Basically take Applessed 2004 and smash it to death with a baseball bat and you get Ex Machina . A bastardized version of the 2004 make . I don't know if they just got too far in the film to turn and go , It sucks lets start over . But I really wish they would have just done that . Overall a movie that leaves a gross taste in my mouth . I'll be honest and say that I couldn't watch it all the way through . I couldn't really see the ridiculous characters doing , saying , being anything redeemable . If you wanna see it , find a friend who has it and laugh at him for buying it after you watch it .
142 4 Much like the last installment , this movie has a couple big action sequences that may excite the small child within you followed by an hour and a half's worth of pandering , formulaic writing you'd have to actually be a small child to sit through without rolling your eyes . It's like they took the first Patlabor , added a couple of subplots from Star Trek , tacked on some insipid romance dreck and then threw in a re-creation of JFK's funeral just in case they'd still failed to evoke any semblance of emotion . This fails on more levels than I could even hope to count , and the already weak story's progressive disintegration into techno-zombies are very slowly attacking the city ! is just painful to watch .
Shirow clearly had little to no involvement in either of these films , which is a shame because the original story ( as he wrote it ) was actually fairly interesting . All this is is a committee designed licensing agreement and you can pretty much shut it off after the first 8 minutes without fear of missing out on anything important . The packaging is nice at least .
143 4 Appleseed the original movie ( from the early 90 ' s ) was great . Appleseed the CG update from a few years back was also great . This sequel is awful . The creative hand-off from Shirow Masamune to John Woo could not have been worse . Woo , you'll remember , gave us such heartwarming tales as Face / Off and Mission Impossible 2 . His signature idiom is that violence is * beautiful * . In CGI , that becomes an even MORE flawed premise than it is for live-action film because the constraints imposed by physics are removed . Most directors of anime are content to continue modeling such normal forces as , say , gravity or anatomy . But that apparently gets in the way of Woo's violence-porn story . In the future as envisioned by Woo , EVERY man is a muscle-bound spartan god , EVERY woman is a gorgeous D-cup . Woo is also in love with Matrix-style slow-motion spinarounds , his theory being that if a little of it is good , then gobs'n'gobs of it is better . The film speed slows down so often so we can watch superhuman gymnastics or visible bullet-trails that I wanted to ask the movie if I should get out and push .
Visual problems aside , the story is nothing to write home about . There's some vague use of the idea of human / cyborg tension and the awkwardness of meeting your own clone , but it goes nowhere and is dumped in favor of a villain whose I'll-rule-the-world ! monologues make Doctor Evil look nuanced and believable . At one point , the villain's lieutenant commits suicide and I ran the DVD back three or four scenes because I couldn't figure out why . But I still couldn't figure it out and I'm pretty convinced that either there's simply no reason for it or else they accidentally edited out whatever reason there was supposed to be for it . Even the hero's dialog jangles like a handful of loose change .
I never thought I'd watch anime that I enjoyed so little as this film .
148 4 Appleseed E.M . -
This movie's cell-shaded style provides tons of eye candy for Appleseed fans . The CGI effects are excellent except when it comes to the animation of body movement and character interaction in non-action scenes . I'm not sure if it's the affects of the CGI cell-shading or if it's by design ( cuz it seems rather glaring to me ) , but the characters seem to move like plastic dolls . There are scenes in which human flesh is depicted to come in contact with metallic cyborgs ( such as the scenes between Deunan and Briareros ) , but because of the clunky animation of the bodies and the seemingly unresponsive physical contact between characters , I miss out on the emotional conflict of what it must be like to be in love with a machine . The action gun-fight sequences are outrageous , but that is to be expected with John Woo at the helm of production . Personally , I don't mind the over-the-top flipping , looping , twisting , whirling gun fights . Those scenes are fun to watch , for me . Buildings , scenery , character models , and vehicle CGI are top-notch . Overall , most people would be the animation style of Appleseed E.M .
Now what I don't like , ( perhaps this is due to the nature of Animes in general ) is how little things just don't make any sense . For instance , in the first action scene , Deunan ( the main female protagonist ) launches a flash bomb into small group of terrorist before the order to attack was given . I understand a part of that scene was to illustrate she's an independent and strong woman not privy to the command of others at times . . . but the flash bomb really didn't provide any additional advantage to the ESWAT attack . Did I miss something ? Why did she throw that flash grenade and jeopardize the entire mission ? Then , after the scene in which Briareros grabs Deunan and jumps out of the chapel window , one of the ESWAT member holds her back from running to his body . Why couldn't she run to his body ? Perhaps I'm too nit-picky , but for anyone who is like me , this ruins a movie . I would have given the movie at least a 4 were it not for those bits of the storyline which left a bad taste for me .
149 4 This looks very good . The visuals are amazing on an HDTV . I am about 30 mins into the movie and I have to say that the story , acting and animation is horrible .
First the actors from the first do not lend their voices to this one .
Some of the characters seem to be different than from the first movie . The acting is pretty stiff and cliche ( the tough cyborg guy is annoying ) .
Some of the fights are just stupid for stupids sake . I mean does Duenan and Briarious need to spin and do cartwheels while shooting ? It doesn't even look cool , just stupid .
Why did they go with CGI models 100% this time ? Did the old animated cells not work anymore ? It sure looked a LOT better .
The events from the first movie don't even seem to play a part at all which is a shame .
I loved the first movie but I wouldn't consider this deserving of the same name . I will be selling this shortly as I regret buying it .
2 stars just because if you mute it , it looks very sharp .
Ex Machina , I almost wonder if the reviewers and I watched the same film . I found Ex Machina to take me into the neo-future of Olympus with it's new cell-shaded look and amazing 3D animation . The story , still deep and twisted , the action , mind-blowing , and the quality of work is top-notch . I have only praises to give to this masterpiece , and urge others to not miss out on the phenomenon that is Appleseed : Ex Machina .
050 4 The original Appleseed , in my opinion , was a masterpiece . I had doubts when I heard of a sequel , and how it was being criticized . After watching Appleseed : Ex Machina , I almost wonder if the reviewers and I watched the same film . I found Ex Machina to take me into the neo-future of Olympus with it's new cell-shaded look and amazing 3D animation . The story , still deep and twisted , the action , mind-blowing , and the quality of work is top-notch . I have only praises to give to this masterpiece , and urge others to not miss out on the phenomenon that is Appleseed : Ex Machina .
059 4 These is one of the best movies i have recently seen . Recomended to everyone that loves Anime.Super good fights and very detailed graphics . Toooooooo Coooooool ! ! rock on Apple seed ! ! .
064 4 I've enjoyed anime in the style of Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed . Appleseed Ex Machina is a worthy sequel to Appleseed . While the plot is not as intricate as one of the GITS movies , it's still engaging enoough to be enjoyable and a fun escape from reality . I recommend this movie .
089 4 Even if you are not an anime fan I think you can enjoy this film . Stunning visuals , cool story and killer action make for a great hi-def experience .
095 4 this movie was awsome great grapics amazing action real enjoyable better than the first , this was awsome .
GRAPHICS :
The level of detail in the graphics has improved dramatically , and characters look less like geometric objects with textures painted on and more like genuine people . The cityscapes are even more impressive . Furthermore , the action is more frequent and looks even slicker .
My two gripes with the visuals are these : First , in what is all too common in action movies like this , the best scene is the first one . Hands down . I don't understand why so many directors feel the need to frontload their movies . I will say that the movie is less guilty of this than its predecessor . Second , movement outside of action scenes still looks a bit jerky . Some might fault mo-cap technology , but for my money , Final Fantasy : Advent Children boasted some mighty believable movement .
STORY / WRITING :
Here's where Ex Machina falls apart . The story here isn't anything you haven't seen executed better in anime / other entertainment . Compared to the plot of the first movie - which created a unique sci-fi framework , this one felt like a filler episode . The villain was cliche , the story far less complex / meaningful than the first , and any intrigue or mystery the story might yet have held was ruined by the horrible writing . The film tasks itself with letting the viewer in on a number of concepts necessary to the plot , but rather than integrate them seamlessly into the dialog , it bashes the viewer over the head with them .
MUSIC :
The soundtrack wasn't bad - I just didn't notice it most of the time . This constitutes a slight letdown considering how often I return to the soundtrack from the first movie .
OVERALL : Ex Machina is a sight to behold and warrants a blu-ray purchase . Just don't expect it to expand much on the ideas introduced in the first Appleseed .
002 4 The first Appleseed film ( from 2004 ) was quite a treat . The cell-shaded CG graphics looked very good for the time . Complementing this obvious standout aspect was an intriguing story and an excellent soundtrack . It's worth noting that the story , in particular , felt like a genuinely original re-animation of sci-fi concepts .
Fast forward to today and we have the sequel , Ex Machina . It's pretty simple to separate what works and doesn't in Machina :
GRAPHICS :
The level of detail in the graphics has improved dramatically , and characters look less like geometric objects with textures painted on and more like genuine people . The cityscapes are even more impressive . Furthermore , the action is more frequent and looks even slicker .
My two gripes with the visuals are these : First , in what is all too common in action movies like this , the best scene is the first one . Hands down . I don't understand why so many directors feel the need to frontload their movies . I will say that the movie is less guilty of this than its predecessor . Second , movement outside of action scenes still looks a bit jerky . Some might fault mo-cap technology , but for my money , Final Fantasy : Advent Children boasted some mighty believable movement .
STORY / WRITING :
Here's where Ex Machina falls apart . The story here isn't anything you haven't seen executed better in anime / other entertainment . Compared to the plot of the first movie - which created a unique sci-fi framework , this one felt like a filler episode . The villain was cliche , the story far less complex / meaningful than the first , and any intrigue or mystery the story might yet have held was ruined by the horrible writing . The film tasks itself with letting the viewer in on a number of concepts necessary to the plot , but rather than integrate them seamlessly into the dialog , it bashes the viewer over the head with them .
MUSIC :
The soundtrack wasn't bad - I just didn't notice it most of the time . This constitutes a slight letdown considering how often I return to the soundtrack from the first movie .
OVERALL : Ex Machina is a sight to behold and warrants a blu-ray purchase . Just don't expect it to expand much on the ideas introduced in the first Appleseed .
012 4 Wow , I have got to come down hard on the side that believes this is better than the ( 2004 ? ) remake .
My history with this series goes back to the late 80 ' s when the Manga came over to the USA , and then the original OVA joined from Japan . These two remakes / reimagings are quite different from the original but carry the spirit and philosophical ponderings of Masamune Shirow with them as well .
My thoughts : Appleseed ( remake ) , the predecessor to Ex Machina had some stunning visuals however the combination of 2D and 3D art did not mesh for me . I had to get used to the downplay of philosophical / racial / political questioning which took a back seat to the action . The overall scope of the story seemed to have been collapsed .
Ex Machina ( The DVD here ) brought back the original's heady themes , uses a cohesive art style , and has the best characterizations of the three main characters ( one of which is new ) . We don't quite get enough of a view into their lives , but their relationships with each other are nicely developed . This will hopefully lead to a nice continuation in the third movie .
For those who like to have something to think about , the politics are amped up in this installment and feel quite contemporary with current security states and the modern shifting boundaries between freedom in society and security .
For those who like action , there is plenty as well , including ( fashionably ? ) zombie-likes , John Woo influenced choreography and Matrix-inspired scenes .
I highly recommend this DVD , and that means something coming from this jaded Anime and Manga fan . I can't wait for the next installment .
A side note : there is lots of shooting , but virtually no blood or gore and the language steers clear from offensiveness and foul words in the English dub . Even the dub is one of the better-quality dubs I've come across though I always recommend rewatching with the original Japanese language track and English subtitles .
5 stars from me , and hopefully not exaggerated due to my disappointment of the previous remake . I feel this is a worthy successor to the original story from the late 80 ' s .
024 4 If you liked Appleseed you'll like this , but don't expect to see anything new . The eye-popping visuals are back with a finer palette of colors but the storyline is weak . It feels more like an episode than a movie .
Personally I liked Vexille ( 2007 ) better . It will undoubtedly draw comparisons due to the fact that the writer / director , Fumihiko Sori , is the same man who produced Appleseed ( 2004 ) . But I think you'll find the storyline to be a little fresher . Still , Ex Machina is worth buying . I suggest that you buy this product at a retail store . My pre-order on the collectable metal case edition arrived sealed with the discs and nothing else . No chapter booklet , nor did it have the special edition comic that came with a retail purchase . A mistake I won't make again .
031 4 Animation - Prior to Ex Machina , the previous Appleseed anime ( 2004 ) was the best Appleseed anime yet . Unfortunately it suffered from awkward animation . The motion capture CG looked nice until the characters began moving around . Ex Machina fixes that for the most part . The movements are almost as smooth as those in FFVII Advent Children . There are still some awkward movements in this film , but only on a couple of minor parts . John Woo's influence can be seen in the fight sequences , as well as some Matrix-type moments , but they aren't overdone . If you are an old school John Woo fan , you'll like the small touches ( doves ! ) . . . brings back memories of The Killer .
Character design - The characters are very well designed and still retain an anime feel to them , not being made too realistic . Deunan's design has changed a bit from the orthodox look , which 2004 had kept . She has a younger and softer appearance , but it's not bad . I like how they gave a lot of focus on Briareos , especially on his cyborg body . His body seems more human-like like in the manga . This is especially emphasized in his combat with other characters and his clothing . I noticed his eyes were a different color from the 2004 anime , but that's fine . . . he's a cyborg ; it shouldn't difficult to change the color of his eyes . Other characters , such as Hitomi , are also done very well . The outfits , overall , were very nice .
Story elements - The story is very good . The two main elements are : 1 ) relational , between Deunan and Briareos , and 2 ) conflict , against an antagonist who threatens the genetically-altered peace ( Bioroid led world ) . The relational theme is the most well done , and runs throughout the movie , bringing in a new character to help it along . More history was given about the relationship b / n Deunan and Briareos , and explained their love for one another , which was kind of ambiguous in the past . Briareos's character is deeper in Ex Machina , which I really appreciated . They also did a good job of tying it in with the world crisis theme , which actually seemed to be there just to support the relational theme . The world crisis theme was not as deep or developed , and seems to end somewhat abruptly , which is why I feel like it was just a support for the relational theme .
Overall , this is a great anime . I recommend this to anyone with an interest in Appleseed .
035 4 I like the film because the graphics were a better improvement than the first not that the first was bad in the first place . The story was a little more creative that the original because the first part was a little more slower paced in the begining ( Not including the intro ) and picked up more in the middle . While this one picked up more quicker in the begining keeps you in the suspense till the end . The voice acting i felt was a better improvement than the original as well .
Is this movie worth buying ? Yes
Will it be better than the original ? Yes
Go get it and watch it you won't regret it . And for those who hated the first and writes that the sequel sucked . My reply is why did you see it in the first place if you hated the first ? Leave the reviews to the ones who like the first .
068 4 Reviewed by MJ Twain
John Woo and Shinji Aramaki's futuristic tale of cyborgs , bioroids , and humans spotlights the E.S.W.A.T . force of Olympus , a post-apocalyptic city .
Governments from around the world are about to join in a massive satellite-sharing operation . Terrorists attack from unexpected directions , causing turmoil in the city . The core of the E.S.W.A.T . team faces not only their biggest mission , but their most intimate challenge ever . Deunan , a hard-charging human , Briareos , her cyborg partner and love interest , and Tereus , the bioroid fashioned from Briareos's DNA must overcome excruciating obstacles to ensure the peace and safety of not only Olympus , but the world .
The motion-capture technology used for this film is much improved from earlier incarnations . Characters ' body movements were the most natural I've seen so far . Unfortunately , the animation style felt far more appropriate to a gaming environment than a movie . My fingers got twitchy in expectation of game play that , of course , never happened . This blended animation style continually pulled me from the story so I could check out where they splurged or skimped on detail ( ie : fine facial movements verses chunky locks of hair ) .
As to the story , I found the love triangle an interesting byplay to the larger situation . A conflicted Deunan deals with two versions of the same man . Set within the bigger frame of a terrifying social meltdown , this emotional situation adds tension to an already difficult day .
For the most part , the story was believable . Certain elements were predictable , but they were presented in a manner that will leave anime fans satisfied .
Hardcore fans might find this film a bit off the pace at times , but , overall , it'll be a fun title to add to your collection .
4 out of 5 Discs
077 4 I believe that the Appleseed franchise is definitely a new classic . . . I have to wonder if the second isn't better than the first . Great graphics and plot . My girlfriend who doesn't enjoy anime loved it . . .
098 4 I'm not good at communicating in English ; therefore , the following review and all of
my comments and writings you read herein probably won't make any sense or very
difficult to read and comprehend at the first place : I just hope that no one would be
offened or feel bad by reading them . I just wanted to express and share the good
feelings and enjoyment that I experiened watching this movie .
So , here I go : I liked this DVD presentation package very much indeed . As a product ,
this nicely metal-cased Two-Disc Special edtion give us a high quality 3D anime movie
on our living room monitor screen without loosing its picture quality seen in a local
movie theater with the hi-def image and sound at their highest levels , all neatly packed
in an easy-to-store slim heafty metal case . I thougt it looked really appealing felt nice
when you hold it in your hands .
The studio did the best they could to sustain its original quality with carefully perform -
ed the English dubs . ( Yes , I missed the original voice casts whom I liked very much
and I understand that some of the viewers commented how much they were dis -
appointed to find out the change . Still , I was really impressed with those American /
Canadian engineers and voice actors ' greate efforts and cares that had been poured
on to produce the English version , watching the surplimental materials . )
One thing that I could ask for was a documentary or commentary that showed or intro -
duced the behind-the-scene producton notes or materials , following / retracing the movie
with some interviews from the director , production staff members .
Otherwise , this is a great DVD set to purchase .
105 4 My only beef with this was the hand of god scene in the end that reminded me too much of Matrix Revolutions .
That being said this is still a FANTASTIC adventure !
The story telling is done superbly .
The relationship between Briareos and Deunan is fleshed out very nicely .
The inner conflict that Briareos has between his humanity and cyborg chassis is played out very well as an external conflict with his genetic equal .
There is a lot of good to say about this film .
1 ) High action ( you would expect from a John Woo film ) .
2 ) Close attention to details that make the world believable .
3 ) Story telling that compels you to watch .
4 ) High production quality .
5 ) And , a solid love story that displays integrity and loyalty for one partner . ( Who could blame Deunan if she fell for Briareos's bioroid ? But in the end she stayed true to what is left of the man she loves . . . that is a fine display of how relationships should be . )
The animation and overall production quality is even higher than the first of these done in 2004 . I have to admit , I didn't realize the production quality could get better until I saw this one .
The characters have lost a bit of their traditional anime look but it really is an improvement .
I can't wait for the next installment of the Appleseed Saga .
118 4 The CG animation is better then ever ( not cell-shaded like the last ) and looks fantastic . Shirow's art never looked so good . The previous film though , was much better written and a lot less predictable . Ex Machina has distinct story holes and an overly-contrived setup that makes the whole thing seem forced . Story that should have been more developed wasn't and plot that should have been trimmed was needlessly stretched .
I enjoyed the art , as I usually do with Shirow's work , and the voice acting wasn't bad either , but don't expect a brilliant screenplay . With the right expectations it's enjoyable for most any Otaku .
123 4 Overall I give this animation / movie the following scores :
Animation A + / Blu-ray B - / Video On Demand
Writing C -
Acting C
Story B
The movie honestly is a pleasure to watch , but please note that to get the best effect you should purchase the Blu-Ray version , otherwise the score goes from A + to about a B - since it stacks up against any average animation . My first mistake was getting it via Video On Demand and what a terrible mistake that was . Watching it in HD made all the difference .
However , the writing and acting was very disappointing as it reminded me of some of the things I used to read from my friends in Junior High School . It's really at that level in my opinion . It all felt very forced and bland in that respect . But , then again , the HD continued to captivate me especially since I enjoy anime .
135 4 alright . . . so ive been lookin around the web and find a lot of people who have a large number of complaints about the original appleseed from 2004 . IMO , the first was AMAZING . The voiceovers , in english and japanese were if you ask me very well done . the animation was unique and cell shading felt like the perfect type for the movie . The new appleseed . . . Ex Machina , just didnt have the same feel . The voiceovers are by new people for both Deunan and Briarious , and honestly , if you liked the originals , i dont see why you would like these . i began watching parts of the movie and just didnt feel satisfied with it so i skipped ahead to just see the end and understood everything that had been going on through the rest . No filler felt needed and everything just seemed so . . . rushed ? My other big complaint , in the first appleseed there is a short clip ( dream from Deunan's perspective ) which shows a bit of Briarious and if you ask me , in this movie , his ' clone ' looked far from the same .
This is all just my opinion . I loved the first one and would reccomend either a rent or download this . Not worth the 20 dollars and space it takes to keep .
137 4 Truly disappointing in so many ways it's hard to know where to start .
Dialogue - The worst aspect of this movie is the unbelievably horrible dialogue ; so bad it will make you cringe .
Story - As others have noted , you get the feeling there were multiple writers for the story and they kept getting fired and only using half of the previous writers work ; a few almost interesting points are brought up in the movie and then abandoned before they can be explored . It should also be noted that the movie steals ( without adding or improving ) quite a lot from other movies , the matrix , the borg cube , etc .
Animation - While it's admittedly a nice clean HD transfer , the actual CG animation used looks like it's from one of the straight-to-video Barbie movies ; half the time the characters move in a very unnatural , stilted way .
My recommendation : instead of purchasing this , just watch the previous Appleseed movie again , it wasn't that great either , but much better than this .
Story wise I would like to think that Exmachina is like the episode 2 of the first movie that was left out . . . sorta . . . cause it just kind of starts . . . not like the massive entrance sequence from the first . . . Now overall once it gets moving its actually rather quite solid . . . once thing leads to another . . and the story makes actual sense . . . unlike in the previous movie where it was one chop after another . . Although while its solid there are elements of it that are direct copies from other movies and it's a blatant . The giant floating announcement ship with digital signs : Blade Runner , The swarm of flying drones and there behavior - Matrix Revolutions , we are all one - Star Trek Voyager . . And the list goes on and on and on . . . I mean were talking over 40% of story is ripped from other media . . . BUT even with all of this the mix seems very unique and futuristic . . its just not that original . . but flipside wise it also matches the Appleseed universe pretty well . This Story is also more mature than the previous story line . . much in the way that Second Gig was a major mature shift for the Gits Franchise - death , cussing , terrorists , murder , riots , and plenty of violence . . Although all in all its entertaining and yes the story has depth to it . . . finally !
Graphics : MASSIVE upgrade from the first movie . . . very well thought out . . . Tons of awesome camera work . . . for anime its right up there with Ergo Proxy and Advent when it comes to shear graphics capability . . the animation is also far more detailed . . . its right on par with the times . . and OH YEA TONS OF ACTION ! ! ! gotta hand it to Woo and Aramaki . . . pretty good ! !
Voice : American voice cast is top notch ! ! ! ! . . they all sound very intense and the lines are pretty good . . granted some are cheesy
Overall : strangely enough I like this better than the first movie . . i guess just cause its darker and more involved . . . and a heck of allot more realistic
136 4 I felt the animation was very well done . What brought the movie down for me were the long moments of NO ACTION filled instead with long moments of boring dialouge . The whole being posessed idea has been done too many times before and seemed like an easy way out when it came to creating the plot for this movie . The main character says Riorios so many times they should have put a count at the bottom of the screen .
PROS : Great animation
CONS : Unengaging storyline
Long moments without any action
